New Norcia' s Growth:

Salvado's Correspondence - Years 1873-1878 ©

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SHORT VERSION WITHOUT NOTES OF - BORRADOR SIN NOTAS DE: Teresa de Castro, "New Norcia’s Growth: Salvado’s Correspondence from 1873-1878”, New Norcia Studies Journal, no. 17 (2009) pp. ===. (El Crecimiento de Nueva Nursia: La Correspondencia de Salvado entre los años 1873-1878)
Teresa de Castro © 2009-2016

 

 

None of the big problems and dramas that affected New Norcia in the preceding decade was present in the period that this article covers and, despite the daily difficulties, New Norcia’s economy and reputation grew. The Community was finally moving steadily.

 

 

New Norcia correspondence for the period 1873-1878 contains letters and other documents sent to New Norcia –mostly to Abbot Rosendo Salvado, Fr Bernardo Martínez, and Prior Santos Salvado– from Australia and overseas, and some copies of letters sent from New Norcia. It is also possible to find misplaced documents written in 1858, 1864, 1866-1872, 1879-1882, 1884, and 1893, and some undated and undatable documents. As the table below shows, most of the correspondence arrived in this period was written in English. The files and language of the documents is as in the tables below:

* Still to finish

 

 

 

 

1.1. Letters from Colonial Officers
 

The offices of the Governor, Colonial Secretary, Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey Office, Treasury, and the different departments related to the administration of Justice (Attorney General, Comptroller General, Resident Magistrates, Justices of the Peace, and Inspectors of Sheep) and their representatives, generated the correspondence in this section. The lease, purchase, and/or transfer of public or private blocks of land are the matters that generated more correspondence in these years. Among these letters, one that deserves mention is the one that George Leake addressed to Rosendo Salvado on 9 January 1873 about some blocks of land used by the Catholic Church in Perth, of which the Archbishop of Sydney was the owner since 1852, and the items of news about the work of survey performed by Harry Johnston in New Norcia runs at the end of 1874 and beginning of 1875.

 

The references to the expedition carried out by Jack Wheelan and James W. McLean –Melbourne gold prospectors– in 1874 to survey some areas in the Victoria Plains and Greenough Flats, are abundant. Frederick Barlee and Malcolm Fraser gave many details about these expeditions and about the prospectors. McLean’s letters to Barlee were mostly requests to pay Salvado for different purchases and services rendered at New Norcia, except for his first letter (20 March 1874) in which he mentioned his first impressions on his prospecting, and expressed great praise of Salvado. Jack Wheelan had an accident in the bush and was initially taken to New Norcia and treated there , and, once he was in Perth, Barlee and Fraser gave details about his state. In 1875, Barlee wrote again to Salvado to introduce T. D. Wanlis from Victoria, who was going to visit Salvado’s district as he was convinced that valuable minerals existed there.

 

The references to the Aborigines are common. Three letters deserve a special mention. Firstly, a confidential letter by Governor Frederick Weld to Salvado about the launch of the Bill of Aboriginal children in orphanages, reformatories, and native institutions in 1873 with his advice about how to proceed to get it passed. Secondly, a reference to the killing of an Aborigine by other Aborigines near Yatheroo, of which Weld informed Salvado in 1874. Thirdly, the letter that Governor William Robinson sent in 1876 to Lord Carnarvon –Secretary of the State for the Colonies– informing him that an Aboriginal woman educated at New Norcia was the telegraphist at the Mission, and praising her skills as well as those of her Aboriginal substitute when she was sick.

 

Part of this correspondence discusses private affairs or some public ones confidentially. Henry Spencer, a newly-converted Catholic and Government clerk, wrote to get Salvado’s opinion or to mention his feelings on matters that worried him as a Catholic, like the preparations for the celebrations in Perth of the O’Connell Centenary and a sermon given by Griver; Spencer also gave details about his son Herbert’s studies, the departure of the Welds and their life in Tasmania. Also interesting are the farewell letters by Frederick and Philomena Weld before leaving WA, and Anthony O’Grady Lefroy’s letter about the situation of John Lomas, of whom he gave many personal details. Resident Magistrate Robert Fairbairn also mentioned Lomas and commented on the escape of the Fenians, while Captain Jackson wrote in 1873 asking of Salvado a letter of introduction for the professors at Stonyhurst College in England, where his son was going to be educated. Gugeri commented on Salvado’s evaluation of his wine, and on his plans to market it in 1875. A misplaced confidential letter by Weld related to the votes for the Bill of Education in 1871 is also kept with this period’s documents.

 

The Newcastle Resident Magistrate’s reminders to pay the Sheep Tax and the release of timber licences, and the Inspector of Sheep’s notices of inspection and the release of quarantine licences are frequent. This correspondence also contains information about invitations to Salvado to private dinners and public balls, requests for hospitality at New Norcia, and a circular about the list of things suitable for the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878, among other matters.

1.2. Letters About Business Affairs
 

Private settlers and small dealers sent most of the business letters addressed to New Norcia. Most of them dealt with sale and purchase of horses, cattle, sheep, wheat, and blocks of land. However, there also letters about the exchange of tallow for soap, the sale of sawing tools, caustic potash, bricks, and leather. I include here the correspondence sent by some lawyers (Stone & Son, S. Burt) and their representatives, mostly related to the transfer of land blocks and leases. A good part of the letters on horses is linked to the export of New Norcia horses to Calcutta in 1876-1877.

 

 

1.3 Work-Related Letters
 

Western Australians of “low origin” have an impressive representation in New Norcia Archive in this period, with the letters of temporary or permanent workers – shepherds and sawyers particularly, but also shearers, brick makers, well diggers, and handymen. I include here some letters of men offering their services to New Norcia (shepherd H. J. Cooke, technician W. B. Douglas, plasterer and handyman John Gordon, sawyer Finney, brick makers Job Shenton and Stevenson, John Martin Butler and Frank H. Taunton), some workers that we do not know if they were working for New Norcia (Henry Cuper), and of workers who were definitely not working for New Norcia, (P. Campbell and James Boddy), related to both personal or working matters. Shepherd George Henry Ikin and Sawyer George Short were the main contributors.

 

Most workers wrote in a straightforward unadorned way, a fact that makes their letters very colourful. The reader will be surprised at finding how hardworking and honest these men were, at how much they cared about the work they were doing, and at the sincerity with which some of them expressed their thoughts and opinions to their bosses. The shepherds appear as men of character, sometimes bad-tempered and grumpy, particularly those who declared themselves not two-faced, as Peter Flinn and Ikin. The request of rations (tobacco and matches included among them, as these workers were heavy smokers), medicines, clothing, and other sundries, their accounts with New Norcia or with other people, and notices of leave are common subjects.

The shepherds’ letters deal with the movement of the flocks under their care, the availability of water and feed in the runs where they were staying; the loss, recovery, death of sheep, and any problem with other shepherds or sheep owners. They showed their preferences about certain runs, based both on what suited the flocks, and their distance from their base camps; they could get upset if they were assigned to runs that they did not like, or to some in which the wells, troughs or fences were in a bad state. They showed their distress when the animals were sick or dying and they could not stop this from happening. Noteworthy are the references to the robberies of rations in the huts of some shepherds in 1876 and 1878, and the financial problems that Ikin had due to the debts of his wife in 1877. The sawyers’ letters dealt mostly with the number of shingles, slabs, rafters, boards, and battens cut or to cut, period of collection, prices, and the request for renewal of timber licences on their behalf

 

1.4. Letters by Other Western Australian Settlers
 

People from all the corners of the State wrote to New Norcia, particularly from New Norcia surroundings, Perth and Fremantle. Most of this correspondence deals with the loss of New Norcia branded horses belonging to private people. In addition, New Norcia’s neighbours wrote to request medical and blacksmith services. The letters about the exchange of wheat for flour, the lending of plastering products, notices on having of New Norcia animals in their paddocks, payments of debts, and the forwarding of cheques are common. There is also a request for purchase of New Norcia wine. The exchange of garden seeds (R. W. Wells, James Atkinson, J. Hillman & Michael W. Carr) and industrial seeds like cinchona (A. J. Hillman and William Dale) is also the matter of a set of letters.

 

I would like to highlight the correspondence showing traits of the personality of the writers. Judith Butler wrote two interesting letters from Perth Colonial Hospital in 1873 mentioning her recovery from her mental illness, the visits she had received and the ones she was missing, her friendship with Johnny Whocomejohn –a 6y.o. half-caste with a broken thigh–, and expressing her love for the Aboriginal girls of New Norcia, of whom she had been matron, “thanks to Him [God] and his Divine // Mother, the consolatrix of the afflicted, they have wacheed [watched] over me here as well as on the vast ocean of water that I had to cross to come to this country, where I saw the dear Natives, the children of my adoption. I say again the children that I loved and I do love more than any earthly kindred or relation, even more than my own parents.” Thomas Guilon’s letter asking Salvado to help him to pay his passage back to Europe in 1873, Herman Look’s fuming letter to Salvado in January 1876 after New Norcia claimed the expenses made for the keeping of his lost horse at New Norcia. The most interesting character in these years and the main contributor was John Martin Butler.

 

John Martin Butler was a colourful character, one of those persons whose existence left a stamp on the others. Salvado described him as an impetuous man with a strange character, and some of his letters prove him to be so. For example, his letter to Martínez of 15 January 1874 renouncing to a piece of ground in New Norcia Cemetery –supposedly belonging to him– in favour of John Clune’s deceased son. Also strange and in tune with this are the two letters and a long memo (dated 16, 19, 26 September 1874) he devoted to proving that a block of New Norcia land near the Moore River belonged to him; this block was the one he took from New Norcia in 1851 –legally according to him, as the land was vacant, illegally according to the Land Office as New Norcia had already applied to the Office for it  . In these letters, Butler depicts himself as a poor hardworking man fighting against an injustice, but his bitterness is softened by an apologetic honesty that makes us forget the more hostile Butler of previous years. In fact, a vulnerable, feeble and hypochondriac Butler shows off in his two letters of 2 February and 21 March 1877, in which he described his symptoms and asked Salvado to send Fr Bernardo Martínez to administer to him the sacraments as he was fearing death. Butler proves to be a man ready to ask for forgiveness in a declaration he wrote on 4 April 1877 apologizing for his behaviour after a fortuitous bout of intoxication that occurred on 26 January concerning which he unfairly accused to some people. Despite everything, Butler seems to be in a good relationship with New Norcia most of the time. However, despite being St Joseph’s School Schoolmaster, he does not write about his work at the school. In fact, just one letter, the one he wrote to the Chairman of the Board of Education on 7 April 1873, mentioned that he was, with John and Jeremiah Clune, one of the school managers.

Other letters provide us with details about the death of some settlers. Like Peter Fraser’s son, who died in May 1875 after 14 days lost in the bush, and an old Protestant man hosted by Thomas Kelly on 1 November 1875. Finally, two medical letters, one from veterinarian Robert West in 1874 with instructions of the medication to apply to some horses, and the long letter that Dr Alfred Waylen wrote in 1876 after his examination of Santos, complete this section.

 

 

Archbishop James Alipius Goold from Melbourne, Archbishop John Bede Polding and his successor Archbishop Roger Bede Vaughan from New South Wales, and Bishop Christopher Augustine Reynolds from Adelaide wrote the small number of letters arriving from the Eastern Colonies in this period. Three main subjects were discussed in this correspondence. Firstly, the preliminary meeting for the Third Provincial Synod (or Australian Synod) held on 12 September 1873; one of the most important results was the controversial proposal of creation of two new dioceses (Ballarat and Sandhurst) out of Melbourne Diocese. Secondly, the renewed interest in the pastoral care of the Catholics in the Northern Territory, at the time under the civil jurisdiction of South Australia. Bishop Reynolds wrote on 20 May 1873 informing Salvado that after a good number of people had left SA for the NT they were in need of pastoral care and, before sending a priest there, Reynolds needed to know whether they were under Salvado’s jurisdiction –as their settlement was within Port Victoria Diocese– and, if positive, asking him to send his faculties to the priest going there. A littler late, on 7 October 1873, Polding wrote an identical query and request, but mentioning that he had received instructions from Rome to send some priests to Port Darwin –30 miles West from Port Victoria– and that Fr Julian Tennyson Woods was the priest going to visit the region. Finally, the creation of the Apostolic Vicariate of Queensland, with the letters from Archbishop Vaughan, Fr V. Coletti and Fr Tarquinio Tanganelli, as mentioned in section 1.5.1.

The comments of Bishop Reynolds in 1873 and 1874 about the debts of his new bishopric of Adelaide, the lack of priests, and the bad effect of the drunken behaviour of Fathers Horan and Henderson on the faithful –who were in disunion and distrusted the clergy– are also interesting. The 2 letters from the Jesuit Fr Michael Watson in 1876 and 1877 are related to the request for information about the Aborigines of New Norcia to be published in an article in Ireland. Bishop Griver wrote a letter from Melbourne in January 1878 describing in detail his trip to Melbourne and Sydney, and the ceremony of consecration of Vaughan. The collection for the construction of a mortuary chapel to the late Archbishop Polding is the main object of some letters written in 1878.

 

This period was very convulsed politically in Spain, with the end of the so called Revolutionary Sexenio, the triumph and defeat of the First Republic (11 February 1873 to 3 January 1874), the 3^rd Carlist War (1872-1876) and the beginning of the period known as The Restoration (1874-1931), with the restoration of the Bourbons to the Spanish throne.

 

4.1. Letters by New Norcia Brothers’ Relatives and Friends

The long silences of some of New Norcia Brothers worried their families in Spain and moved them to write asking about them. Thus, Fr Bruno Ruiz De Eguilaz who wrote in April 1873 asking after Br Benito Romarategui, and Jaime Barbará wrote to his uncle Br Plácido Barbará in 1876; he sent his letter through a former member of the Community, Fr Francisco De Asís Marsá, who also wrote to Br Barbará on the same date. Marsá’s letter is very interesting because he gave information about the way bread was prepared during the first year of the Mission –kneaded on a bag and baked under the ashes– his life after leaving Western Australia, and about deceased ex-Br Francisco Illá. The two letters by Fr Sebastián Salgado addressed to his cousin Rosendo Salvado in 1876 deal with Santos’ illness, and his advice to Rosendo on how to help him to recover.

4.2. Letters by New Norcia’s Lay Friends in Spain

 

After Salvado’s long absence from Spain, only his closer friends kept writing and, even those did so seldom. The joy of receiving Rosendo or Santos Salvado’s letters and photos, the news about their family, common friends, and acquaintances (members of the church hierarchy among them), the political situation of Spain, the hatred of Liberalism and Revolution, and the longing for the Salvados were common subjects in the letters from Ruiz Mantilla, the García-Maceiras, the Parceros, the Marchioness widow of Santiago, and José Nacarino Bravo. Noteworthy is Ramón Gómez Parcero’s correspondence about Santos’ ailments; Parcero acted as a doctor by correspondence, guessing the origin of Santos’ ailments by his symptoms, and sending medical remedies. Ramón’s comments on regional politics are also very interesting. 

The Marchioness Widow of Santiago mentioned the activities of the Association of the Vigil to the Blessed Sacrament, her work in the Sundays Schools and her support for the opening of the chapel of Our Lady of Los Ángeles in Cuatrocaminos (Madrid) on 6 August 1873. Ruiz Mantilla gave details about the floods in Seville in December 1876, but his most entertaining letter, written in 1878, contains long details about the internal fights of the Spanish Royals, the public events related to the wedding of King Alfonso XII, the volatility of the political situation in Madrid, and the description of the works of enlargement in Madrid

 

4.3. Letters by New Norcia’s Clergy Friends in Spain

 

Most of the contributors were exclaustrated Benedictine priests writing from Madrid, but for the Abbot of Montserrat Fr Miguel Muntadas. A myriad of subjects was written about, but a few of them were discussed at length.

 

4.3.1. The complaint about the political situation in Spain, the persecution of the Church and the state of moral and spiritual desolation of the country, which were the result of the triumph of Liberalism and the permanence of some anticlerical republican laws and practices during the first years of the Restoration. The 3^rd Carlist War was a hot topic as the correspondents supported the Carlist troops, as well as most part of the Catholic World. Particularly interesting are Fr Pedro Naudó’s letters describing the effects of the War in Catalonia and the anti-Carlist repression after the defeat of Carlism, that forced Naudó to exile, as mentioned in section 7.

 

4.3.2. The claim and obtaining of Santos’ salary as exclaustrated monk, and his pension as former Royal Chaplain. Fr Feijóo’s letters deal mostly with this matter; Fr Chillón also mentioned the reasons why Santos –as many other staff of the Royal Chapel– did not get his pension as Royal Chaplain.

 

4.3.3. The plan to resume the settling of New Norcia’s noviciate in Spain. The Royal Decree granting Salvado permission to open his noviciate in Spain was revoked after the Revolution, in March 1869. After the Restoration and the end of the Carlist War, the Religious Orders working in the Spanish colonies started to re-settle and open houses in Spain with the permission of the Government. They had to start from scratch, though. The references to the matter are indirect, as New Norcia Archive does not keep the original letters that Rosendo and Santos Salvado wrote on the matter. Nevertheless, this correspondence shows that they contacted their confreres in Spain and the Philippines to resettle the noviciate –in El Escorial if possible– and to get postulants for New Norcia to be prepared in Spain and/or France. Muntadas wrote to Salvado in 1877 wishing Salvado well and stating that he would get good results if he did not ask the Government to repair the damages of the past. However, the Salvados’ plan was precisely to get the Spanish Government to re-validate the Decree of 1868 and continue with the initial project. Fr Tomás Chillón mentioned in November 1877 that he had visited the Ministry for Overseas and Colonial Affairs on behalf of New Norcia and requested just that of the Undersecretary. He replied that he did not have any problem in the Benedictines founding a college for the missionaries in the Philippines, and advised New Norcia to mention in their new application the grants obtained before the Revolution, and in which area they would settle; he pointed out that El Escorial had returned to the Patrimony of the Crown and it was not available for the project. Despite this, Santos Salvado was very positive about the success of the project. However, Chillón put Santos’ feet on the ground in May 1878 when he mentioned that the situation had changed a lot in Spain since Santos’ departure and it was still unstable, that the money and help promised in the past were not available at the time, that Rosendo Salvado would certainly count only on his own money for the project (while the other Orders were helped by their houses in Spain and the Philippines), and that they could not count on any Benedictine house or Benedictines in Spain as most of them had died or were very old, and there was not unity or good relations among those alive.

 

At the same time, Rosendo Salvado had contacted Bishop Ildefonso Infante to gather postulants for New Norcia and send them to the monastery of Saint Pierre in Solesmes, where they would be educated and prepared; Infante, although wanting to do so, mentioned the difficulties in finding postulants due to a) the lack of vocations, b) the laws on military service, c) that the other Orders had gathered the postulants available, d) that the Spanish prelates attracted and pampered any worthy boy because they were in need of ministers, and e) that the surviving Benedictines monks were old and useless. Nevertheless, Infante proposed to Abbot Muntadas to send two or three Montserrat choir monks and one lay brother to put them in Infante’s seminary to found a new Benedictine community to serve the Canaries and the Philippines, and indirectly New Norcia; Infante’s plan ‘B’ was to take two or three monks with missionary character to the monastery of Santo Domingo and test them there before they joined the Order.

 

Fr Rafael Carmona Manso, an serving Army Chaplain, wrote in 1877 requesting to be admitted to New Norcia; he mentioned his strong missionary vocation and that Salvado’s Memoirs had been the key to his wish to become a missionary. Fr Rodrigo Menoyo also gave some biographical details about Carmona in his letter dated on the same day. Carmona would arrive in New Norcia on 7 November 1878.

 

4.3.4. New Norcia’s affairs and finances. Father Pedro Naudó’s letters are related to the searching for and forwarding of donations for Mass celebrations and bequests from private donors to Salvado’s agent in London to be cashed-in. Naudó also was in charge of the purchase and forwarding of serge for habits and any other thing ordered from New Norcia. The three letters by Fr José Nofre to Naudó are short notes about the sending of Masses for Fr Ildefonso Bertrán. Fr Gregorio De Santiago Guzmán wrote on 25 July 1875 accepting, not without reluctance, to be New Norcia’s agent to receive and send any donations for the Mission while he was in Madrid.

 

4.3.5. José Benito Serra’s two letters written in 1878, one addressed to Bishop Martin Griver and the other to the Treasurer of Propagation de la Foi, are related to Propaganda Fide’s edict granting him a yearly pension of £100, to be paid from Perth Diocese’s funds, starting on the 30^th anniversary of Serra’s episcopate (11 June 1877), and Serra’s temporary and voluntary renunciation of the sum in favour of the Diocese of Perth until he was in need of the money.

 

 

4.4. Letters from Benedictine Nuns in Spain

Most of these letters are related to the Benedictine Sister Carmen De San Jacobo Baliñas and her foundation in Cuntis. A misplaced letter from the Sub-Secretary of the Ministry of Grace and Justice José María Manresa in 1867 addressed to Cardinal García Cuesta asked him to send some documents to help the Ministry to take a decision on Baliñas’ application for permission to found the monastery. Baliñas wrote three letters to Santos Salvado mentioning her delight at watching New Norcia photos in the stereoscope, and commenting on her return to Cuntis on 26 November 1876 to settle for the 2^nd time, the works she had initiated, and the selection of the novices. Baliñas offered some blocks of land of her property to New Norcia to settle the noviciate in Spain. The letter by the Benedictine Sister Gertrudis De San Joaquín from Santiago deals with a sum forwarded by the Abbot of Samos for New Norcia. The Carmelite Sister Gertrudis del Carmen Prado wrote two letters in 1879 commenting on the news of her Community, and the items of news received from New Norcia; Gertrudis has a vivid way of expressing herself, funny at times, and her descriptions of the attempted suicide of a man in town and the discovery of the remains of the Apostle St James in the Cathedral in 1878 are precious.

 

4.5. Others

I include here two letters by Queen Mother Isabella, addressed to Rosendo and Santos Salvado in 1877, thanking them for their congratulations on her return to Spain, expressing her happiness about the progress of the Mission and her admiration for the work and results obtained at New Norcia, of which she felt very proud as a Spaniard; she promised Santos to help Rosendo to get the licence he wanted, probably to re-settle the noviciate in Spain. Several misplaced letters complete this section.

 

 

As in other periods, most of the Italian letters arrived from the Benedictine monasteries of La Cava or San Callisto/San Paolo, and from the Regnoli family. Common matters are the longing for Salvado’s letters and the time spent together in the past, the excitement about the opening of the Telegraph at New Norcia and the Aboriginal Telegraphist, the worry about Salvado’s health, and the exhortations to Salvado to write oftener. They would also exchange news about members of the community, common friends and acquaintances, and the situation of Politics in Italy and in the Vatican.

 

5.1. Letters from Vatican Authorities

 

The prefects and secretaries of Propaganda Fide –the congregation in charge of the apostolic and missionary work in the world– produced most of the letters in this section, which include a petition regarding the retreat of the clergymen in the New Subiaco noviciate, the decree of appointment of Martin Griver as Bishop of Perth on 6 August 1873, one about Salvado’s petition to get New Norcia separated from the Benedictine province of Subiaco, and two about the Vicariate Apostolic of Queensland (as mentioned in section 1.5.1). From the Congregation of Rites arrived a letter from Prefect Patrizi in 1873 with a Plenary Indulgence by Pope Pius IX, whereas Prefect Quaglia from the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars wrote in 1866 granting Sister Baliñas her petition to found a Benedictine house at Cuntis.

 

 

5.2. Letters from Benedictine Monks

 

5.2.1. MONASTERIES OF SAN PAOLO AND SAN CALLISTO IN ROME

Both Angelo Pescetelli and Francesco Zelli gave details about the repercussions on the Italian Benedictine monasteries of the law of suppression issued on 19 July 1873 and about the extraordinary chapter of the Benedictines celebrated in San Callisto on 23 April 1874. Both of them, but especially Pescetelli, provided a considerable amount of information about the Benedictine houses in Europe and America, the Cassinese Congregation, and the monastery of Farfa –of which Pescetelli was Abbot–. In fact, Pescetelli’s long and gossipy letters commented on the fall from grace of Pietro Casaretto, the crisis of the English Casarettines headed by Abbot Wildfrid Alcock, the election of Pope Leo XIII, the works of restoration in Montecassino to prepare the celebrations of the 14^th Centenary of St Benedict, the Catholic Mission in the Gulf of Carpentaria, the appointment of Cardinal Domenico Bartolini as new Protector of the Benedictines, the Vatican intricacies involved in the appointment of Guglielmo Sanfelice as Archbishop of Naples, Fr Infante’s frustrated steps trying to become an Abbot and found a Benedictine house in Spain, among many others matters. Moreover, Pescetelli wrote about his endeavours and whereabouts acting as Salvado’s agent and messenger with Propaganda Fide to get Salvado’s renunciation of the Port Victoria Diocese considered and to get New Norcia separated from the Benedictine Congregation of the Primitive Observance. Francesco Zelli gave many details about Cardinal Falcinelli’s health problems and death that happened on 12 April 1874, whereas Pescetelli did the same re Cardinal Alessandro Franchi’s death that happened on 31 July 1878. Luigi Vaccari’s two misplaced letters, written in 1870 during the Vatican I, complete this section.

 

5.2.2. ABBEY OF HOLY TRINITY AT LA CAVA, NEAR SALERNO

In these year, La Cava was an active cultural and editorial centre despite the difficulties that they, as all the religious houses, had at the time in Italy. A good part of Abbot Michele Morcaldi’s correspondence deals with the publication and forwarding of the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, of which he was one of the editors. Morcaldi exhorted Salvado repeatedly to write a continuation to the Memoirs, and among other requests, he wrote in 1875 asking Salvado to collect and forward bulbs and seeds of native flowers of special beauty, mentioning their Aboriginal and Italian names and cultivation instructions, for Marquis Atenolfi.

 

Paul Guillaume –teacher of History at La Cava– wrote on 15 January 1877 informing Salvado of the sending of a copy of his history of the Abbey, L’Essai Historique sur L’Abbaye de Cava, which had been printed with Salvado’s help, and that he had dedicated his life of St Leo to Salvado. Tancredi De Riso –former monk of La Cava and at the time living in his native Catanzaro– wrote on 26 February 1877 remembering Salvado’s stay in Rome in 1870 nostalgically, and giving news about his clergy brothers Antonio and Bernardo.

 

5.2.3 OTHERS

Cardinal Falcinelli wrote in May 1874 thanking Salvado for his congratulations on his becoming a cardinal and mentioning his poor health, and Dom Andrés Álvarez and Giusto Sáez –former missionary on Djerba Island, Apostolic Vicariate of Tunisia– wrote in November 1876 commenting, among other matters, that Abbot Miguel Muntadas had sent Sáez as prior of the Priory of Montserrat in Naples as there were not monks available in Montserrat for the position.

 

5.3. Letters from Lay Friends

 

The Regnoli family, particularly Malvina, sent most of the correspondence arriving from Italy in this period. Malvina Regnoli’s long chatty letters are a portrait of her moods and worries regarding herself and her family. Malvina confessed to Salvado her most intimate thoughts and feelings, and described her spiritual and corporal ailments. She showed an unlimited interest in the Aborigines, the Community, and the town of New Norcia. Especially interesting are her comments on the death of King Vittorio Emanuele and Pope Pius IX, and the election of Pope Leo XIII. However, her letters focused mainly on her poor health, the progress of her son Scipione, the death of her brother Ciro in 1873, and the marriage of her brother Oreste to a married woman with whom he had been having an affair before she became a widow in 1875. Malvina thought –not without reason– that her letters annoyed Salvado, but she trusted that he –being so perfect and superior– would forgive her for her many complaints and questions.

 

The short letters by Emilia Regnoli show her progressive withdrawal from the world, and her increasing appreciation of Prayer. Pietro Regnoli’s most interesting letter is the one mentioning the works of restoration of the roof beams in the Basilica of San Paolo and describing the mosaics of the façade in 1876. Pietro Regnoli worked hard to provide his friend Fr Raffaele Martelli with a set of vestments, altar linen, altar ornaments, breviaries, and brass candlesticks for the church at Newcastle [Toodyay], which he sent via Charles James Wainwright in London, to whom Pietro wrote in April 1878 informing of the shipping of the case.

Giuseppe Rigacci wrote to Salvado in 1873 with details of the deaths of his brother Giovanni, his brother-in-law Salvatore Parisi, and their common friend Dom Tommaso Garzoli. Finally, Luigi Pigorini –one of Salvado’s acquaintances in Rome and a friend of the Regnolis– wrote in 1876 as Head of the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography informing that the Aboriginal objects that Salvado had donated to the Regnolis had been deposited in the Museum; he also requested Salvado to send more artefacts to the Museum to complete the section on Australia

 

 

Manning & Co. and its head Charles J. Wainwright –Salvado’s agent in London– produced most of the correspondence sent from the United Kingdom. Most of their letters dealt with the sale of New Norcia’s wool, the sending of sundry goods, tools, machinery, fabric, books, and the forwarding of money and cases with goods from Spain and France. In this period, the purchase of an advanced threshing machine and a steam engine from Ransomes, Sims & Head was a hit. The Archive keeps several reports about the state of the wool market in London sent by brokers Hazard & Caldecott, Henry P. Hughes & Sons, and R. W. Ronald & Sons. Worth noticing are Wainwright’s unusually long comments about the so-called Eastern Question (Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878), in which he showed his aversion towards Russia, Turkey, and the English politician William Ewart Gladstone. The Earl of Carnarvon wrote to Governor Robinson on 8 September 1875 requesting to provide him with another copy of Salvado’s Memoirs, as the one that Governor Frederick Weld had forwarded in 1871 had been mislaid. A. Jimenez & Sons’ letter informing of the forwarding of a case from Spain addressed to Br Florentino Gasulla, Fr Valerio D’Apreda’s letter –as mentioned in section 1.5.3.B– and Sister Mary Frances’s two letters to Salvado from the convent of Poor Clares in Kenmare in Ireland, related to the sale of religious books, complete this section.

 

 

Fr Théophile Bérengier –Prior of the Abbey of Sainte Magdeleine in Marseilles and main contributor from France– was New Norcia’s agent in France, in charge of sending money from Mass celebrations and donations, and procuring vestments and sacred ornaments for New Norcia Church. Bérengier was a faithful supporter of Salvado, of his apostolic work, and the way he had organised the monastic life at the Mission. Besides, he was a fruitful intellectual and translator and, during these years, he produced, among other works, a history of New Norcia in French La Nouvelle-Nursie: Histoire d'une Colonie Benedictine dans l'Australie Occidentale (1846-1878), which he published by chapters in the illustrated magazine Missions Catholiques. Bérengier regularly translated some of Salvado’s letters (or parts of them) and forwarded them to be published in Missions Catholiques, or in the Annales de la Propagation de la Foi with the purpose of making New Norcia known and attracting resources and donations. Bérengier constantly advised Salvado to send regular reports to Propagation de la Foi to get money, and introduced Salvado to some French organizations of charity (Oeuvre des Tabernacles and L’Oeuvre Apostolique des Églises Pauvres) which sent some vestments, altar linen, and dresses for the naked Aborigines of Western Australia.

 

Bérengier acted as messenger for Salvado with the Abbot of Solesmes, Fr Louis Charles Couturier, after Salvado requested him to host Spanish novices for New Norcia in Solesmes, Salvado paying their trip, education expenses, and boarding. Fr Couturier wrote directly to Salvado in January 1877 informing that the abbatial chapter had been moved by Salvado’s description of the dangers menacing the Mission and that, despite the difficulties that such a project would create for them, they would accept four novices at a discounted price of ₣1,000 per year each. Bérengier also kept in touch with Bishop Ildefonso Infante, who was in charge of looking for the novices to send to Solesmes.

 

Noteworthy is Fr Pedro Naudó’s letter sent from Enveitg on 8 September 1873 about the exile and tribulations of some Catalan clergymen after the victory of the republican volunteers in Barcelona; he mentioned the situation of the Carlist and Revolutionary troops and the every-day problems in Spain due to the turbulent political situation.

The President and Treasurer of Propagation de la Foi (Verdiers and Certes) informed of the allocation of sums to the Bishopric of Port Victoria and to New Norcia. A letter from René De Semallé sending a small donation and requesting Salvado to baptise one of the Aboriginal children with his name, and an obituary card of the death of Dom Prosper-Louis-Pascal Guéranger –Abbot of Solesmes and Superior of the French Benedictines– headed by Cardinal Pitra complete this section

 

 

8.1. Letters from Burma and India 

 

Most of the letters received from Burma and India in these years are related to the export of New Norcia horses to India, a business that León Hernández –a Spanish merchant living in Burma– had suggested to Salvado. Hernández wrote regularly to Salvado with information about his family, his business, and commenting on any political event affecting the area.

 

Gillanders, Arbuthnot & Co. wrote the majority of the letters arriving from India, all of them dealing with New Norcia’s horses sent by the Ellora on 27 January 1877, which arrived on 21 February. They mentioned their condition on arrival, their stabling and sale, and advised Salvado on the characteristics of the horses that would suit the Remount of the Royal Horse Artillery of the Indian Government; they also advised on the best ships, grooms and periods to make the journey. Gillanders also showed their wish to become Salvado’s agent for future shipments and advised him how to avoid the expensive stabling fees Salvado had paid to Cook & Co. W. A. Roberts, the Remount Agent, wrote to Gillanders specifying the characteristics of the horses that the Army required. Luiz Martelli, a 42-year-old priest working in Mahé (India), wrote in June 1874 requesting to be admitted in New Norcia; he also mentioned that he had a good knowledge of English, and a fair knowledge of French and of some native languages.

 

 

8.2. Letters from Ceylon

 

8.2.1. THE FORNELLI AFFAIR

Fr Ramiro Maria Fornelli –an Italian Cassinese monk originally attached to the Sylvestrines and the Congregation of the Primitive Observance– was one of those persons coming to settle in Western Australia to depart soon afterwards. Fornelli contacted Salvado on 12 March 1874 asking for permission to stays six months at New Norcia to recover his health. Once Salvado agreed, Fornelli confessed that his real intention was to have a trial at New Norcia and join the Mission if he liked it and if he was accepted, and he secretly asked for details about the lifestyle and observance followed at the monastery. Fornelli wrote on 6 August positively impressed with Salvado’s reply, mentioning that he would go with a young lay Singhalese Brother and an Irish orphan child for whom he would pay the passage and would give the Master of Novices ₤10 and ₤20 respectively; Salvado replied on 3 January 1875 accepting the youngsters, but without taking any responsibility for them. On 15 February, Fornelli informed Salvado that he would leave at the end of March or beginning of April. However, he got sick and cholera spread in Colombo, and on 1 March he had to inform of a delay in his departure. Fornelli wrote on 2 May informing that he would leave in June to write again on 12 May about a new delay as he had the fever. In his letter of 10 July, he mentioned that the Procurator General of the Order had offered him a mission in New York, and that he had to accept it, and that he could not go. However, he left for New Norcia supposedly advised against it by Ilarione Sillani –Bishop of the Apostolic Vicarship of Colombo–.

 

Fornelli arrived in Western Australia on 29 August 1875 –in the heart of the Western Australian winter– with the Irish orphan and the Singhalese novice, the latter sick with a fever. His initial impressions on the climate were very positive, and he was very impressed with the two Aboriginal telegraphists. A few hours after arriving, having slept at New Norcia only one night, Fornelli told Salvado that he was going to write to the Bishop of Perth to ask him permission to settle there.

 

Martin Griver’s letters dated 7 and 22 September mentioned Fornelli’s letter and his wish to work in the Diocese if allowed to be in charge of the education of his boy. Fornelli even hinted that Griver could free Matthew Gibney from the Subiaco Orphanage and put him in as Director. Griver replied by advising him that to accept him he needed to obtain permission from his monastic superior –Salvado– and to prove his abilities for the ministry. Griver did not think Fornelli would learn English, as he had not done so during his seven years in Ceylon, and without English Fornelli was useless to the Diocese. Moreover, the faculties that Sillani had given to Fornelli mentioned that Propaganda Fide and the superior of the Order had authorised his departure as a gyrovague monk. After receiving Griver’s reply, Fornelli wrote again stating that his previous letter was a sort of compliment to Griver and not a real proposal.

 

Fornelli found banal reasons to leave New Norcia. He had complained to Griver about the fact that New Norcia monks slept in a communal dormitory. Then, a nasty form of flu spread through the Mission and Fornelli decided to leave and go to a flu-free place. Salvado mentioned that New Norcia was flu-free before the party arrived, and that the sick Singhalese was the possible cause as the sickness had spread about three days after their arrival and it was a virulent form never seen in the Mission. Griver, Salvado, and Fr Raffaele Martelli agreed in saying that this was an extraordinary event, and that Fornelli should at least stay his initially-planned six months before taking the decision to leave.

 

Fornelli left the Colony with the Pera on 18 October 1875, not even two months after his arrival. The Community was happy about his departure, as he had annoyed everybody with his flamboyancy. Fornelli wrote from Galle on 6 December thanking Salvado for his hospitality and mentioning that he was leaving for Rome. He did so on 14 December, upset with Bishop Sillani because he had refused to give him new missions or send him to his former ones. Once in Rome, he had asked for a room in the monastery of San Paolo, and Abbot Zelli had offered him a probation time, which he rejected on the excuse of a new sickness. Fornelli left then for Genoa –his hometown– where he was trying to get a Government pension about mid 1876. He would leave for Buenos Aires (Argentina) on 14 November 1877.

 

It is difficult to understand why Fornelli took so much trouble in coming to WA and then left so soon, especially because Salvado had informed him of the New Norcia way of life. Fornelli’s behaviour had been obscure and insincere since the beginning. Salvado noted that, despite Fornelli’s complaints about the bad effects of the climate on his health, he had put on six pounds in such a short time, and that the toughness of the New Norcia system of life was what Fornelli could not stand. What is more, Salvado suspected that Fornelli had come to WA not to join New Norcia but to become a diocesan priest, and, as this was unachievable, he had departed. Salvado also complained about Fornelli wanting his orphan to be treated as a prince, and that Fornelli himself acted a bit prince-ish too – a shocking behaviour for a monk of the Congregation of the Primitive Observance. Bishop Sillani mentioned on 27 December 1875 that Fornelli was a decent religious and a proper monk, but he was not a good missionary as he was too severe and arrogant, had difficulties adapting to the roughness of other places, and he did not adapt well to the customs of the Singhalese. Angelo Pescetelli was neither surprised at the sudden departure of Fornelli, of whom he said he was a lunatic with a voluble character and a presumptuous monk as most of the Casarettines. Martelli had also described Fornelli as silly and added that he had not kept much of the monastic spirit he had learnt at the monastery of Santa Scholastica.      

 

8.2.2. Fr Benito Martin wrote 3 letters from Galle before he died on 1^st April 1876. He criticised harshly the First Republic, the attitude of the Military and the newly rich people in Spain, particularly those public workers going to the Philippines. The most important items of news mentioned in these years were the sending of a cope and incense to New Norcia, the prophetic political predictions of the stigmatic woman, the return of ex-Brother Fr Salvador Ribaya to Ceylon, and the placement of a ceremonial tablet on the church that he had helped to build in Martín’s honour. Clemente Pagnani –Bishop of Kandy– wrote in April 1876 inviting Salvado to send horses, which were in great demand in the Ceylonese market according to S. W. Walles & Co., whom he recommended as agents. He probably sent Walles’ business card kept at the Archive. Finally, Bishop Sillani mentioned the opening of a new monastery in Kandy in 1876 devoted to teaching both sexes.

 

8.3. Letters from the Philippines

 

The correspondence arrived from the Philippines in these years revolve about three main topics. Firstly, the activities of Fr Juan Carreras after his departure from Western Australia, his trip to Ceylon, his visit to the Jesuits in Manila, his joining of the Order, and the start of his noviciate in Tamontaca (Mindanao Island); Carreras also offered news about ex-Brother Jaime Micalet. Secondly, the wish of the Superior of the Jesuits in the Philippines, Fr Juan Heras, to get milk cows from Western Australia to provide milk for the house of the Order in Manila, and to start rearing them in the archipelago. Heras wrote to Salvado in October 1877 and March 1878 mentioning the sort and number of cows he wanted, the approximate price, and the best way to send them via Singapore or Hong Kong, and putting Salvado in charge of the searching and shipping. Salvado would contact a merchant of Fremantle, William Marmion, who wrote in July 1878 mentioning that the plan would be difficult and very expensive to carry out. Thirdly, the establishment of a branch of New Norcia Mission in the Philippines. Bishop Gaínza –who had organised with Rosendo Salvado and Nacarino Bravo the settlement of the Benedictines in the Philippines at the end of the 1860s– wrote to Salvado in January 1878 informing him that he had contacted the secretary of the Governor General about the matter; Gaínza cheered up Salvado to go to Spain despite his age to push the affair of the noviciate and get quicker results, and mentioned that he had had built a lepers hospital in the area initially assigned to the Benedictines in the 1860s. The Secretary replied to Gaínza in October 1876 mentioning that, after Christmas, he would send the documents in the folder that expired in 1868, adding that Mindoro Island should be the best place to settle, and that he would support the Benedictine mission in the archipelago as he knew of their success in Australia. Moreover, both Carreras and Heras exhorted Salvado to found a Mission in the Philippines to teach Agriculture to the natives, and they offered beautiful descriptions of Tamontaca and of the fertility of the archipelago. Gaínza’s letter dated 22 February 1875 is just a circular requesting to sign a petition for getting a plenary indulgence for All Souls Day.

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The seven letters that arrived from the United States were all written in 1876 by members of the Benedictine Abbey of St Vincent’s at Beatty in Pennsylvania: Abbot Boniface Wimmer, Innocent Wolf, and Fr Edward Hipelius. Most of this correspondence deals with the promotion and sending of copies of the Ceremoniale Monasticum, the activities in preparation for the centenary of St Benedict in 1880, among them the publication of an improved Benedictine Album Benedictinum, of which Hipelius would be the curator. In fact, Hipelius sent a circular in May 1876 asking to be provided with specific requested details about New Norcia to be included in the new Album. Wimmer’s letter dated 31 March 1875 provides interesting details about St Vincent’s telegraph, their College, the American Benedictines, and about his project to publish Petrus Lechner’s German commentary on the Bible.

 

 

These years show a steady growth of New Norcia as a Community, as a mission, and as an agricultural station. The purchase of modern machinery, the continuous botanical experiments, the shipping of horses to India, the construction of new buildings for the Monastery and the Aborigines, the success in the education of the Aborigines at New Norcia –highlighted by the abilities of the Aboriginal Telegraphists– are all proofs. This growth, together with the normalization of the relationships between Perth Diocese and the Mission after their jurisdictional separation, turned the Mission into a unique monastic entity that depended mostly on its own work for survival. Salvado’s interest in renouncing his bishopric of Port Victoria and his efforts to get a permanent separation from the Congregation of the Primitive Observance have to do in part with his need to devote himself just to the Mission so as to work with the least possible constrictions from the Order and ecclesiastical authorities. New Norcia still had to fight a big battle to solve the main threat for its future survival – the establishment of a noviciate in Spain, and renewed steps were taken in that direction. This is also the period of the ‘reign’ of Prior Santos Salvado, whose strictness of character and enthusiasm permeates a good part of the correspondence. It is thanks to him that we have a more holistic vision of the missionaries and Aborigines of New Norcia, but, unfortunately, his contribution to the early history of the Mission has passed unnoticed.

 

The correspondence related to the Vicariate of Queensland puts into evidence the lack of knowledge that the Vatican authorities had about Australia, and about the needs of the Catholic Church here, temporarily appointing priests to positions that where thousands of kilometres away and on having similar expectations as with the Native missions in India. Not only so, it is clear from all the documents related to this affair that the wordiness of the Latin documents issued by Propaganda was somewhat obscure as it would lead to contradictory interpretations. This affair proves once more how difficult it was for the Bishop of Perth to dispense with the services of any of his scarce priests, especially of Fr Adolphus Lecaille, a hard-working priest serving several communities in the Greenough and Champion Bay areas.

 

Western Australian historians are fascinated by great human figures like Rosendo Salvado, Martin Griver, and José Benito Serra, but in my opinion, people “less important” deserve far more attention than they have received. Mauro Beleda’s letters are among the most interesting in the Archive, for he was not only an ex-Brother corresponding with New Norcia’s superiors, but also a settler who lived, married, and died here. The abundance of letters from workers makes us wonder whether Salvado decided to keep them on purpose. I am inclined to give a positive reply, firstly, because there must not be many literate or semiliterate workers at the time and Salvado was aware of that; and secondly, it is difficult to explain the survival of letters that are not always related to accounts and payments –a reason that would explain their keeping– but to a wide range of working and sometimes personal matters. It is my intention to keep working on this precious source for the history of Western Australia and to publish a book on which I have started to work.

 

The biographical references to specific Aborigines being sent to New Norcia or those who had left the Mission –both children and adults– are very numerous and detailed. They show once more that the circumstances of each case were very different as well as their degree of tribal, social and cultural deracination. In these years, Fathers Delany, O’Reily and Lecaille, particularly the latter, were actively involved in the forwarding of Aborigines to New Norcia, but the intensity of their search decreased because –as Lecaille would say– it was very demanding, meant neglecting the faithful under their care, and success was not guaranteed.

 

Except for some references to D’Apreda, Bourke’s “dark years”, the stay of Fornelli, and the faults of Fathers McCabe and Carreras are nowhere to be seen. They are important. Not because they display the shortcomings of the Catholic Church in Western Australia at the time, but because they give us an insight into how that same Church purged –actively or passively– anybody unable or unwilling to adjust to the challenging social, political and ecclesiastical environment of the Colony at the time. The History of the Catholic Church in Western Australia needs to fill gaps and acknowledge its troublesome episodes in order to offer a fairer overall view of what being Catholic meant at the time.

 

Many letters in these years deal with medical matters. This is so because those who were sick or attending to the sick were Fathers Martin Griver and Santos Salvado. The first was a doctor by formation, an ailing old man, and one who had to visit any sick Brother in the hospital. The second was another ailing old man who loved to exorcise his worries and bouts of melancholy by writing about them. These references, with the many others mentioned in this article, are extremely valuable, as they reflect the medical practice in vogue at the time in which a mix of modern and old theories and practices were present.

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