Ten Years of the Y.C.W. Movement in Melbourne

7th National Conference Opens in Brisbane on Sunday Under the presidency of his Grace Archbishop Simonds, Episcopal Chairman of the Young Christian Workers, a hundred lay-leaders and priest-chaplains from all parts of Australia will meet in Brisbane next Sunday for the opening of the seventh national conference (September 9-15).

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the foundation of the movement in Australia, his Holiness Pope Pius XII is sending a special message and a recorded message has been received from Monsignor Cardijn, founder of the J.O.C. The main address at the conference will be given by Archbishop Simonds.

THE Young Christian Workers’ Movement on September 8, Our Lady’s birthday, celebrates the tenth birthday of its foundation in Australia. On September 8, 1941, the Young Christian Workers’ Movement received official mandate for Catholic Action from his Grace Archbishop Mannix.

From the very beginning, the Y.C.W. directed its efforts to the formation of leaders who would be truly apostolic. As early as Christmas, 1940, before the actual formation of the movement, an experimental leaders’ training camp was held at Mornington. The second leaders’ camp was held at Hanging Rock in Easter, 1942.

This work received a tremendous boost in 1943 when the Y.C.W. acquired its first property—a leadership training centre “Maiya Wamba” (House of Youth) occupying nine acres at Cheltenham. Since then, approximately twenty-five leaders from throughout the archdiocese have been in training at “Maiya Wamba” each week-end.

The purchasing of this property during the war and at a time when the Y.C.W. was having a battle to build up a stable organization was a sign of courageous confidence in the future of the movement.

The raising of the necessary finance for this venture was largely due to the efforts of the Melbourne Y.C.W. Men’s Extension Committee. This committee had originally been formed in 1942 to assist in the organization of the Xavier Youth Rally.

Mr. Frank Murphy was its first honorary secretary. Mr. Bernard Foley later became the full-time secretary of this committee. In 1947, Mr. Reuben Quirk succeeded him in this position.

Since their inception, both the men’s and ladies’ extension committees have made tremendous efforts to raise finance necessary for many of the Y.C.W.’s projects—including the purchase of the Albert Park Y.C.W. Hostel for underprivileged youth, the Hawthorn Y.C.W. Migration Hostel, and the staging of the Xavier youth rallies. This committee has so far raised over £100,000.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

While these activities were taking place in Melbourne, the Y.C.W. had been spreading to other dioceses throughout Australia. In 1943 the Episcopal Committee of Catholic Action made it a National Movement and appointed his Grace, Most Rev. J. D. Simonds, D.D., Ph.D., as episcopal chairman.This was a historic year for the Y.C.W., as in addition to the

development previously mentioned, it was the occasion of the first national meeting of the Y.C.W. chaplains. On this occasion 110 priests from all over Australia were in conference for two days at the Convent of the Good Shepherd, Abbotsford. Largely due to the inspiration of his Grace, Dr. Simonds, this meeting was a huge success.

In 1943 the Y.C.W. in Australia appointed its first full-time worker; Frank McCann, now secretary-manager of the Y.C.W. Co-operative Trading Society, was appointed as national secretary by the episcopal chairman. The following year a preliminary national conference of chaplains and leaders was held at “Maiya Wamba.”

The first full-scale national conference was held at Brisbane in 1945. One hundred leaders and sixty chaplains from all over Australia were present, and his Grace Dr. Simonds presided. Subsequent national conferences have been held in Newcastle, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth. In June, 1947, a great Y.C.W. international conference, was held in Montreal, Canada, to mark the fifteenth birthday of the Y.C.W. in that country, 42 countries were represented.

Ted Long, Melbourne diocesan secretary, and a member of the national executive, was seint to represent the Australian Y.C.W. at the conference.

It was as a result of ideas brought back from this conference that the Pre-Cana Conferences for engaged couples were started later in the same year. Since then the Pre-Cana Movement has spread throughout Australia. Some thousands of engaged couples have availed themselves of this tremendously important service since its inception.

In 1948 Frank McCann, national secretary, was sent by the Australian Government as a representative to an international youth conference in London. While Frank was in England the information he gained of the English Y.C.W. proved a great assistance to the movement when he returned.

In 1949 Frank McCann retired as national secretary to take over as secretary of the Y.C.W. Cooperative Trading Society in Melbourne. Terry Barker, who had been a full-time Y.C.W. national field-officer since 1947, was appointed national secretary in May, 1949.

In 1950 Terry Barker attended an international Y.C.W. conference in Brussels to mark the’ silver jubilee of the Y.C.W. The same year, the national chaplain, Rev. Father Lombard, returned to Australia after having studied youth and migration problems in the countries overseas at the request of the Australian Government.

NEW YOUTH

Right from the beginning of the national movement in 1943, the Y.C.W. realized the need for publishing a newspaper which would be the voice of the movement in bringing Christian values to the young worker and the public in general. New Youth, a monthly paper, was first published in 1943. The appointment of Ken Treacey as full-time editor of New Youth in 1948 was immediately reflected in the standard of the paper.

The Y.C.W. is immensely grateful for the assistance and advice given New Youth at the time by the late Alan Powell, a prominent journalist on a leading Melbourne daily. David Burke succeeded Ken Treacey in February, 1949, until .February, 1951, and further improved the quality and standing of the paper.

LATER MELBOURNE DEVELOPMENTS

Since Father Lombard s appointment as full-time Melbourne chaplain in 1944, and the appointment of Ken Treacey as fulltime Melbourne secretary in 1945, the Y.C.W. progressed rapidly in the archdiocese. Ted Long, who had been acting national secretary while Frank McCann was ill, became Melbourne secretary when Ken Treacey was appointed editor of New Youth in 1946. Noel Murphy, Frank Quinn and Bill Davies increased the Melbourne staff and led to a further expansion of services.

In 1946, the Y.C.W, acquired a hostel at Albert Park for under privileged youth. This hostel was later extended and accommodates 22 youths from St. Augustine’s Orphanage with Rev. Colin Miller as resident chaplain. In the same year, 1946, the first Y.C.W. Co-Operative Housing Society was registered. This has developed until at the present time, the Housing Co-Operative have a guaranteed capital of £3,000,000 and 2260 members; 720 homes have already been completed. In 1947 the Y.C.W. established an accommodation bureau as well as an apprenticeship and employment advisory bureau. These services did much to meet some of the major current problems of youth in Melbourne.

The Y.C.W. Migration Hostel at Hawthorn for young worker migrants from the British Isles was first purchased in 1948. The first batch of 34 migrants arrived in 1950. Regular batches of young workers from overseas have been arriving since that time. Rev. J. A. Carroll is resident chaplain at the migration hostel Another important development was the. purchase of a 25-acre property at Phillip Island in 1949 as a permanent camp-site for young workers.

Also in 1949 the Y.C.W. Co-Operative Trading Society was formed with Frank McCann as secretary. Since then 500 young families have obtained their home furnishings from this society on a co-operative basis.

The years 1949 and 1950 saw a considerable change-over of staff at Melbourne headquarters. Frank Quinn in 1949 was succeeded by Peter O’Donnell. In 1950 Dan Callahan and Ivor Davis joined the staff, replacing Ted Long, Noel Murphy and Bill Davies, who took up other positions, but continued to assist the development of the movement. Ted Long who joined the staff of the housing co-operatives, has recently returned to the Melbourne staff. Peter O’Donnell, who joined the Redemptorist Order, and Ivor Davis later left the staff in 1950.

The present fulltime workers at Melbourne headquarters are Ted Long, Dan Callahan, Bill Bainbridge, Bill Ginnane and Peter Kelly.

Rev. Father F. W. Lombard, National Chaplain, Australian Y.C.W., with Monsignor J. Cardijn, founder of the Y.C.W.

SOURCE

Ten Years of the Y.C.W. Movement in Melbourne (Thursday 6 September 1951, page 8) (Trove)

Seminarians Summer School of Catholic Action

HELD AT “MAIYA-WAMBA”, FEBRUARY 2-8, 1948

Back Row (from left to right): J. Kelly (Ballarat), T. Holland (Adelaide), F. Lyons (Melbourne), J. Cross (Melbourne), T. Brophy (Melbourne), E. D’Arcy (Melbourne), F. Larsen (Melbourne), K. Ryan (Melbourne), L. Wholohan (Sydney), J. Allman (Sale), W. Murphy (Sandhurst).

Middle Row: R. Harden (Sydney), B. Burke (Melbourne), J. Cassidy, (Sydney), Leo Clarke (Melbourne), J. Murray (Melbourne), B. Lohan (Goulburn), F. Murphy (Melbourne), N. Timbs (Sydney), J. Ellis (Melbourne), R. Merrick (Melbourne), P. de Campo (Sandhurst), J. O’Shea (Melbourne).

Front Row: Rev. G. Weissel (Goulburn), Rev. D. O’Neill (Sandhurst), Rev. V. Marley (Sydney), Rev. K. Pranty (Sydney), Rev. B. Rosen (Sydney), Rev. C. Mayne, S.J. (Melbourne), Rev. B. Kennedy (Maitland), Rev. J. Phelan (Melbourne), Rev. E. Lloyd (Goulburn), Rev. J. Atkins (Melbourne), Rev. F. Doolan (Melbourne), Rev. F. Brouggy (Sydney).

SOURCE

Seminarians Summer School of Catholic Action (Advocate (Melbourne, Vic. : 1868 – 1954), Thursday 12 February 1948, page 7) (Trove)

Power House Of Christian Youth

Y.C.W. Training Centre Opened By Archbishop

“I TAKE a deep interest in the movement, and I would be quite unworthy of my position if I did not realise its value. I have no misgivings about its prospects of great success.” This was stated by his Grace the Archbishop in opening “Maiya Wamba,” the training centre of the Y.C.W. movement, in Weatherall-road, Cheltenham, on Sunday last.

“I can assure you that you could not have given me a better birthday present than to give me the opportunity of coming to this function and formally open ‘Maiya Wamba,’” said his Grace. “We are greatly privileged in having with us to-day the Bishop of Kimberley. I know he was anxious to be here, but it looked as if he would be now on his way to his distant diocese. However, Providence intervened, and he lost his place on the ’plane. In consequence, he was able to avail himself of the opportunity to be with us to-day. These buildings have already been blessed and, as it were, baptized, and this is the day of their Confirmation. They have been given the aboriginal name of ‘Maiya Wamba,’ and it is very appropriate on the day of Confirmation of this institute that we should have the Bishop of the aboriginals here. I am delighted that an aboriginal name was selected for this institution. To my mind ‘Maiya Wamba’ is a musical and very appropriate name.

Tribute to Archbishop Simonds and Fr. Lombard

“I am sorry,” added his Grace, “that Archbishop Simonds is not here to-day because this movement owes a great deal to him. I know he is most deeply interested in the Y.C.W.M. and that his hopes for the future of Australia are largely, if not almost wholly, centred in the movement. I regret that circumstances do not permit him to be here, but I am sure he is with us in spirit, and he has made a notable contribution to the funds. “Nobody has done more for the movement than Fr. Lombard, who is really its father in Melbourne. His enthusiasm and indefatigable zeal have already carried him a long way. I would ask his executive committee to spare him as much as possible and not to make more use of him than could be reasonably expected. I am delighted to avail myself of the opportunity on this occasion to return him my most grateful thanks for what he has done for the youth of Melbourne, and, by his example, I hope, for the youth of the whole of Australia. It is a pleasure to me to do whatever I can to assist this movement. I hope it will increase in usefulness in the years to come and that it will be a backbone to Catholicity and Christianity in Australia.

Time for Action

“I need not dwell upon the need of the movement. Fr. Lombard and other speakers have already dealt with this aspect, and the time for talking about it is really over. It is the time now for doing things. You are asked to put your hands to the plough, and I know you are not going to look back. There is a heavy responsibility on the movement I know the generosity of the Melbourne people. They have never been known to fail, and they are not going to fail to support this admirable institution. The contributions that have already come in show that the appeal has touched the hearts of the people. Collections were also taken up to-day in the various churches, and I am confident when the amounts are made known that Fr. Lombard and his committee, who have given such notable assistance, will have easy minds and consciences. I congratulate Fr. Lombard, and I thank, in a special way, the laymen who came to his help and urged him to go forward and not trouble about finances. I know that the people of Melbourne can be relied on to meet the financial responsibilities, and the institution will be able to face the future without being hampered by a heavy debt. I thank all those who nave helped this movement, and I also thank those who have come here to-day in such splendid numbers to show sympathy with the movement and to inspect this splendid property. I hope your sympathy will never lessen, and that this great institution, where youths will be trained for their important work, will fulfil our highest hopes and expectations. May the Confirmation of ‘Maiya Wamba’ to-day be a memorable event in the history of the Y.C.W. movement.”

POWER HOUSE OF YOUTH

Rev. F. Lombard, P.P., said he hoped his Grace would be spared to be with them for many years. There was no diocese in Australia where the interests of youth received greater consideration than in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. “Maiya Wamba” was a power house to infuse a Christ-like spirit amongst Australian youth, and it was the Church’s answer to the problem of youth. He believed that present-day youths were just as good as youths of the past, but they had to face graver difficulties. In the workshops and factories religion was belittled, and many youths failed to stand up against the forces surrounding them. It was necessary that boys and girls should be specially trained to face the difficulties, and the Y.C.W. movement had been set up to enable boys to lead Christian lives.

Taking the Offensive

It was a movement of action and attacked the evil. Youth movements had been very successful in France, Belgium, England and Ireland, and he was confident that the Y.C.W. movement would be equally successful in Melbourne. At “Maiya Wamba” leaders, would be trained, and they would study the problems of daily life. The purpose of the movement was to make youths see that Our Blessed Lord was a Leader beyond all other leaders, and to implant in their minds the need for spreading the principles of Christ. Already some 200 boys had had a course of instruction at the Home. The cost of the building and 10 acres was £5000, and, in furnishings and improvements, from £1500 to £2000 was spent. He hoped that a generous response would be made to the appeal for funds. It meant much for the Church in Australia to make the movement a great success. Already £1400 or £1500 had been subscribed, and be hoped that the amount would be increased to £2000 by that day’s appeal. In addition, special collections were to come from the various churches. A long subscription list was afterwards read, and among the donors were Archbishop Mannix, £100, and Archbishop Simonds, £10. The day’s collection exceeded £1000. Other speakers were Mr. L. McLennan, chairman of the committee; Bishop Raible, P.S.M.; Mr. E. Long, president of the Y.C.W. movement; Mr. Field, M.L.A.; and the Mayor of Moorabbin. Apologies for inability to be present were received from Archbishop Simonds, Hon. A. A. Calwell (Minister for Information), Hon. I. Macfarlan, K.C., and Mr. H. M. Cremean, M.L.A. A vote of thanks to his Grace was carried with acclamation at the instance of Mr. P. J. Mitchell, seconded by Mr. C. Clements. A guard of honour was furnished by 1500 Young Christian Workers, who displayed their fine standards. The property, which has spacious grounds, was inspected by the large assembly, and favourable comments were made on its situation and its suitableness for training work. At the close of the speech-making, Solemn Benediction was given in the open by Bishop Raible.

Among those present together with his Grace the Archbishop and Bishop Raible were Very Rev. J. M. Murphy, S.J.; Very Rev. J. Meagher, S.J.; Very Rev. T. Considine, S.J.; Very Rev. J. Ciantar, S.C.; Very Rev. H. Bakker, P.P.; Rev. Frs. A. J. Martin, Cullinan, (S.A.), Lande, G. and N. Coughlan, O’Donnell, Arthur, Hunter, J. O’Rorke, O.P.; Aquinas, O.F.M.; Vill and Kupke, P.S.M.; Dorias, S.S.S.; T. Daly, J. A. Kelly, O’Neill, English, Catarinich, D. Coakley, Hardy, J. F. Kelly, J. Perkins, Rovira, Dando, S.J.; Hannan, Sullivan; Rev. Bro. Jerome; Messrs. Field and Mullins, M’s.L.A., and the Mayor of Moorabbin. Before the opening ceremony selections were played by St. Vincent de Paul’s Boys’ Band and the Irish Pipers’ Band.

“Maiya-Wamba” Rhymes with Rhumba

At the opening of the Y.C.W. Training Centre at Cheltenham on Sunday there was some variety among the crowd in the pronouncement of the name, “Maiya Wamba.” According to Dr. Herman Nekes, P.S.M., the missionary philologist and authority on aboriginal linguistics, who suggested the name, the closest approximation to the native inflection would rhyme with “rhumba.” The word “Maiya” (rhymes with “high-ya”) means “house” and occurs substantially in all Australian native languages, while “Wamba,” which means “men,” is peculiar to the north-west tribes of the Yaora (Broome) and the Njol-Njol (Beagle Bay). The combination, therefore, means “House of Men.”

THE ARCHBISHOP’S BIRTHDAY

“Looking Back and Looking Forward”

Acknowledging birthday greetings at “Maiya-Wamba” on Sunday, his Grace the Archbishop said: “! will always endeavour to keep in touch with young people. After all, I am not as old as I might be. In a letter I received some time ago from South Australia, the writer told me he was not an old man, though he was 84. This is the right way, 1 think, to look at life, looking back and looking forward.”

SOURCE

Power House Of Christian Youth (Advocate, Wednesday 8 March 1944, page 7) (Trove)