Sir James Duhig, KCMG (2 September 1873 – 10 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years 1917-65. At the time of his death he was the longest-serving bishop in the Catholic Church (1905-1965).
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Duhig was born in Broadford, County Limerick but emigrated with his family to Australia as a young boy. He completed his education at St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, Queensland. After that, he worked for the Cooperative Butchering Company.
After undertaking his studies for the priesthood at the Irish College in Rome, Duhig was ordained a priest in 1896 and his profile grew rapidly. On 10 December 1905, he became the youngest bishop in the Catholic Church when he was ordained Bishop of Rockhampton. On 26 February 1912, he was transferred to Brisbane, where he became the Co-Adjutor Archbishop to the elderly Archbishop Robert Dunne. On 13 January 1917 he succeeded as Archbishop of Brisbane, a position he held for 48 years until his death in 1965.
In the early years of Duhig's ecclesiastical provinciate, his archdiocese took on an extensive building program, including churches, hospitals and schools, erecting more than 400 buildings, earning him the nickname of "Duhig the Builder".[1] These buildings are a prominent feature of the Brisbane landscape to this day. His most ambitious project, the Cathedral of the Holy Name in Fortitude Valley, was a casualty of the Great Depression which destroyed the value of the investments that were to finance the project. In addition to the construction of buildings, Duhig created over fifty new parishes and encouraged the establishment of twenty communities of Religious men and women in an Ecclesiastical Province that had previously been dominated by the Irish Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Mercy.
Duhig played an active role in public life. However, unlike his contemporary, Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne, who seemed to thrive on public attention and controversy, and in inflaming public passions, Duhig favoured accommodation with the (largely Protestant) established order. This was reflected not only in his being awarded official honours, but also in the positive ecumenical legacy that he left to the Christian community in Brisbane and indeed throughout the State of Queensland.
In 1937 Duhig successfully proposed that the River Road (from Brisbane city to Toowong) should be renamed Coronation Drive, to celebrate the coronation of King George VI.[2]
Politically conservative, Duhig played a fairly neutral role during the split in the Australian Labor Party that led to the formation of the Democratic Labor Party. He was adamant, however, that Catholics should make a positive contribution to the development of the State. He was acknowledged as an upstanding citizen and a magnanimous churchman.
Duhig played a major role in the development of the University of Queensland, being a member of the University Senate from 1916 until his death in 1965. He established St Leo's College, where an annual lecture is given in his honour. The University recognised Duhig's contribution by naming the Duhig Library after him and awarding him an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
He was appointed a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1954,[3] and made a Knight Commander (KCMG) of the Order in 1959.[4]
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| Preceded by Robert Dunne |
3rd* Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane 1917 – 1965 |
Succeeded by Patrick O'Donnell |
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