History
History of Petrie
In 1951 Archbishop Duhig purchased ‘Murrumba Homestead’ from the Petrie family with the intention of one day building a church and school.
Fr Tom Guy was appointed Parish Priest of Aspley / Zillmere this also included Bald Hills where the parishioners would travel each Sunday to mass. Fr Guy saw the need for a Church to be built at Petrie and would travel every second Sunday to say mass in Bray Hall, which became a weekly event over time and the plans started.
In 1963 as the building of the school had not commenced Fr Guy purchased a small house from Aspley and moved it to the Petrie site, and was to be used as a temporary classroom. The Holy Spirit nuns from Aspley would travel daily to the school.
The first church/school building was blessed and opened by Archbishop Duhig in September 1964 and on 15 November 1964 Fr Guy announced the formation of Our Lady of the Way Parish, which comprised of Petrie, Bald Hills and Dayboro. The first parish priest was Fr Richard Wilson.
Parish Priests
- Fr Richard Wilson 1964 – 1968
- Fr Denis Long 1968 – 1979
- Fr Leo Skelly 1979 – 1989
- Fr John Manthy 1989 – 1993
- Fr Peter McCartin 1993 – 2013
- Fr Dave O’Connor 2013 – 2014
- Fr Johnbosco Chima Ofor 2014 – 2017
- Fr Geoffrey Agu 2018 – 2020
- Fr Geo Francis MCBS 2020 – Jan 2025
- Fr Louie Jimenez Jan 2025 – Present
Assistant Priests
- Fr Brian Moynihan
- Fr Leo Simmonis
- Fr Martin Kenny
- Fr Conn Busser
- Fr Paul Byrne
History of Dayboro
DAYBORO Catholic Community’s story begins with the first immigrant settlers in the area, known originally as Hamilton, and later Terrors Creek, after Captain Griffin’s stallion Terah.
It became known as Dayboro in 1917. European settlement began with the Moreton Bay penal colony in 1824 and the arrival shortly after of the first free settlers.
But long before the white man came, the Turbal Aboriginal people lived, hunted and fished in the area. John McKenzie, the first known white settler, apparently got on well with them.
But closer settlement with land clearing and destruction of wildlife and the introduction of diseases destroyed their way of life and by 1886 records show there were no Aboriginal people left in the area.
Transport problems did not stop the Dayboro area’s first Catholics from coming together to celebrate their faith even though there was no church building. There are early records of Mass “stations” where people gathered to celebrate Eucharist when a priest was in the area. These “stations” were private homes in such places as Whiteside and Petrie. The first recorded Mass in the region was celebrated at Samford station on November 16, 1875.
Priests are known to have come to the area from Caboolture and may have come also from Kedron. They arrived on horseback on Saturdays, staying overnight for Sunday Mass. Fr Andrew Monaghan was the first to ride over the hills. Others followed: Fr Ryan in 1891, Fr William Byrne in 1907, Fr Baldwin in 1909 and Fr Andrew Wright from 1918-20. By the mid-1890s the need for a church at Dayboro was apparent and impetus for its construction came from Rody Cruice. The Cruice family history records that Rody, 36, and wife Maria (nee Boyle), 25, arrived in Terrors Creek from Gympie in 1870, with three sons.
Their fourth child, Joseph, born on January 2, 1872, was the first white male born in the district and the first Cruice baptised in the fledgling Catholic community. Over the next 15 years six more children were born. They were initiated into the Church community by Rody and Maria with minimal priestly instruction and with the sacraments conferred in unknown venues.
Finally the first church was built by John Bond, whose son Bertram, was the first baby baptised in it. A correspondent for the Brisbane press reported that the church was “of the best timber and is about 30 ft (10 m) long by about 20 ft (6.5 m) wide … the cost about £160” ($320). St Francis Xavier Church has been altered over the years but continues to serve the Dayboro community.