Fr Julian Tenison Woods

Julian Edmund Tenison Woods was born on 15 November 1832 in Southwark, England, the fifth surviving child of James Dominick Woods and Henrietta Maria St Eloy Tenison. From his family, he developed a lasting love of learning, nature and the outdoors, along with a strong pull toward a life dedicated to God.

In 1855, aged 23, Julian arrived in Tasmania, where he worked as a chaplain to convicts and as a teacher. He soon moved to Adelaide to complete his studies for the priesthood, and was ordained on 4 January 1857.

His first parish was Penola in rural South Australia, a stretch of country covering 57,000 square kilometres. He travelled it on horseback to reach his parishioners, and it was on these journeys that he met a young governess named Mary MacKillop in 1861.

At the time, Julian was under pressure from his bishop to establish schools for the parish’s Catholic children, but no Catholic teachers were available. His answer was to found a new religious order of teaching Sisters. In 1866, Mary accepted his invitation to become one of its first members, and the Sisters of Saint Joseph began. Julian went on to become Director of Catholic Education in Adelaide.

Alongside his work as a priest, Julian was a scientist, writer, musician and popular lecturer. A lifelong student of geology, palaeontology and zoology, he shared Mary’s commitment to education for families experiencing poverty, and later spent years travelling and reporting on mineral deposits across New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland and Asia. He was awarded the Clarke Medal for distinguished service to science, and died in Sydney on 7 October 1889.

Underpinning all of it, his work as a priest and as a scientist alike, was an unshakeable belief that the providence of a loving God guided him and pervaded all creation.