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- 13 November 2001
Bishop John Steven Satterthwaite Retirement
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Page: 18420
The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI [10.23 p.m.]: On the eve of the retirement from active duty of Bishop John Satterthwaite in Lismore I bring to the attention of the House his service. Bishop John Steven Satterthwaite was born in Randwick on 11 August 1928 when his parents were moving from the Murray River district to Ashford near Inverell in northern New South Wales, where his father had been appointed shire engineer. His mother remained in Sydney to deliver John and joined the family later. His father worked as a civil engineer in the shire of Inverell. His father was called Charlie, but as Gough Whitlam pointed out to the bishop on a visit, the family name of Satterthwaite derives from "satter" meaning sheep and "thwaite" being a place where sheep graze. It was one of the bishop's great claims to fame that he was a shepherd on the North Coast without any sheep.
His primary education was at Ashford State School, and in 1941, at the age of 13, he was sent to St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, as a boarder to complete his secondary schooling. Having gained entrance to university he enrolled in the faculty of engineering. He took up residence at St John's College in 1946. His participation in the life of the college, particularly in debating and rugby—he was also a member of Joey's first eight rowing team—did not interfere with his studies. Academically brilliant he graduated in 1949 with a degree in Bachelor of Engineering. He took up work as a junior engineer with Australian Iron and Steel at Port Kembla.
However, 1951 brought a change of direction in the life of John Steven Satterthwaite. He decided to study for the priesthood. Having been accepted by Bishop Edward Doody for the diocese of Armidale he proceeded to St Columbia's College, Springwood. From there he went to St Patrick's College, Manly. He left for Rome in 1953 to study at the Irish College and at the Lateran University. He was ordained a priest in Rome on 16 March 1957 by Archbishop Luigi Traglia, and obtained his Doctor of Divinity degree after a further 12 months. On his return to the diocese of Armidale Dr Satterthwaite was appointed assistant priest in the parish of Glen Innes, where he served for a period of time, and then three years later Bishop Doody brought him to the cathedral city to be his secretary and chancellor of the archdiocese.
In March 1969 John Steven Satterthwaite was elected the Titular Bishop of Tignica and Coadjutor Bishop of Lismore. Tignica is taken from an area in Tunisia in the vicinity of Carthage. Sixteen members of the Australian hierarchy were among the congregation of some 1,300 who witnessed the episcopal ordination in St Carthage's Cathedral in Lismore in 1969. Two years later he became bishop on the retirement of Bishop Farrelly. He was ordained as bishop by Cardinal Gilroy, and I remember the great celebrations in Lismore at that time. For 26 years he gave all his time to the diocese. He co-ordinated and implemented many outcomes of the Vatican Council and established a Diocesan Pastoral Council and a Council of Priests. He afforded maximum support for education in the diocese through building schools and did something quite extraordinary: he set up the Catholic Education Office in Lismore. One notable appointment has been the appointment of an episcopal vicar for education and a lay director of the Catholic Education Office.
Bishop Satterthwaite had an ongoing commitment to supporting charitable works, which is a diocesan policy. He arranged for the diocese to be responsible for the conducting of St Vincent's Hospital, Lismore, the St Joseph's Cowper Children's Home and two homes for the aged. He encouraged parishes to provide care for the aged and he supported the Sisters of Mercy, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and similar projects. Bishop Satterthwaite is well known for his work in building up the dioceses but, more important, for his long walks around Lismore at night and driving his little old car over large distances. He will be sadly missed. He is a man who has certainly served his flock and looked after the people on the North Coast. I wish him well in his retirement. [Time expired.]
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