Charles O'Hea
| Charles O'Hea | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1814 Cork, Ireland |
| Died |
1903 Melbourne, Australia |
| Nationality | Irish-Australian |
| Occupation | Priest |
| Title | Fr |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Father Charles Adolphus O'Hea OSA (1814–1903) was an Irish-Australian Catholic Priest in Melbourne. He is best-known for baptizing Ned Kelly.
Biography
Biography
Charles Adolphus O'Hea was born in 1814 in Cork, Ireland. He entered the Order of the Hermits of St. Augustine in Drogheda in 1844, and moved to Melbourne, Australia, seven years later.
Career
He served the community of Pentridge from 1853 to 1882. He was the man who, in 1867, called a public meeting to discuss the potential for a change of name, as "Pentridge" was seen as too evocative of the gaol.[1] As a result of this meeting, the name of the suburb was changed to Coburg.[1] He now has a street named after him in that suburb.
During his time in Melbourne, he was responsible for the building of four churches: Beveridge (1857); St. Ambrose Church (1869); and Woodstock and Epping (1879). All four were constructed from local basalt in the Gothic architectural style.
In the 1880s, he baptized and ministered to Ned Kelly before the bushranger was hanged in 1880.[2] Fr O'Hea was described by Hugh McCrae "as a burly priest, developed like a Thessalonian bull, fisted like a Castor or Pollux; yet withal a learned man, a witty one, and a friend of the masses."
He retired in 1882 and lived in retirement in what is now Mercy Convent.
Death
He died in 1903, at the age of ninety.
References
- 1 2 History of Moreland Fact Sheet 3 Moreland City Council information sheet on Coburg and Pascoe Vale. Accessed on 22 August 2005.
- ↑ IronOutLaw: Fr O'Hea
Bibliography
- Ebsworth, Rev. Walter (1973). Pioneer Catholic Victoria. Polding Press. ISBN 0-85884-096-0.