The Holy Rosary Church

The Holy Rosary Church was a Catholic church in Longwarry.

Warragul Parish Priest (Fr M Roche) was the driver and visionary behind the new church, having identified a need in the district. A site was chosen and the church was built in 1905 of timber construction.

This church served Longwarry well over many years until it was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1943.

The community pulled together and a new red brick church was begun on the land in 1953. During the time between the old church being destroyed and the new church being erected, Mass was said in the “old hall” until its demise in 1951. When the hall burnt down, the church had no presence in Longwarry, until some locals opened their home allowing the church to continue its work in the town. Marie Dore remembered fondly at the time, mass being said in the back room of the Dore home on Drouin Road. This lasted until the new church was completed, welcoming worshippers for some 18 months. This is an illustration of the tremendous amount of community and civic pride and good-will prevalent at the time. The Dores welcomed all members of the church and ensured the work of the church continued during this trying time.

The new church opened at 3.00pm on 20th December 1953. Dr R.D. Ryan, the Bishop of Sale, officiated at the opening of the new church much to the delight of the parishioners present. Even allowing for the heat of that day (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded) a large crowd was on hand for the event.

Records show that these included such names as McCarthy, Ryan, Lynch, Sadler, O’Flattery, Moir, Broughton, Murnane, Dore, Hackett, McIvor, Chmlewski, Garrity, Ford, Barry, and Jim Norton.

At the time Longwarry was part of the Warragul Parish under Fr G Todd and Fr L Cusack. In 1956 Longwarry became part of the newly formed Drouin parish.

Fr James Duffy was the first priest of the parish and proceeded to form a branch of the Catholic Women’s Social Guild in Longwarry. In 1959 Monsignor J O’Hea succeeded Fr Duffy as the priest. Records from 1959 onwards are sadly scarce and difficult to uncover.

The Holy Rosary Church in Longwarry was sold in 2005 when it became necessary to consolidate the number of masses which were able to be said weekly due to the shortage of priests in the diocese. Mass was transferred to either Drouin or Warragul.

The old church still stands as a residential property at 6 Bennett Street Longwarry.

Sources:

Publication, St Ita’s Catholic Church Drouin by Brian Maunder 2007

trove.nla.gov.au

Pics and additional information courtesy Adrienne Dore