George Henry Backhaus (15 February 1811 – 7 September 1882) was a German-born Catholic priest in Australia. Backhaus was born in Paderborn and was one of nine children of a boot merchant. He studied with distinction in Paderborn, going from there to Rome to study for the priesthood at the College of the Propagation of the Faith, graduating

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

in 1836 and being ordained on 24 August 1836. His enthusiasm for mission work took him to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, sailing from Ireland as chaplain, and later working at

Berhampur Brahmapur (; also known as Berhampur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Odisha. Bramhapur is most famous for its street food, silk sarees or pato sarees, temples and many historical places. Bramhapur al ...

in the vicariate of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. He stayed there for several years and in 1841 visited Ireland, returning to India with some

Loreto Sisters The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The cong ...

from

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...

Leaving India

Health problems with his liver forced him to leave India in 1846 for a cooler climate. Calling at

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

, he landed in Australia, spending eleven months in Sydney and finding an outlet for his musical talents with the Sydney Metropolitan Choir. Hearing that the Bishop of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

was looking for a priest for the German Catholics in his diocese, Backhaus decided to fill the post. Leaving Sydney on 20 October 1847, he endured demanding conditions in Adelaide for more than four years. During this period he resolved to make the Australian mission his life work.Australian Dictionary of Biography
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Victoria goldfields

When many of the settlers in the area left in 1852 to seek their fortune on the Victoria goldfields, Backhaus decided to follow them there. He left Adelaide in the ''Marshal Bennett'' on 4 March and landed in Melbourne eleven days later. Once there, he volunteered to minister to the spiritual needs of the diggers. In those early months he travelled extensively from

Mount Alexander Mount Alexander is a mountain located approximately 125 km north-west of Melbourne, near the town of Harcourt. It rises 350 metres above the surrounding area to a level of 744 metres above sea level. Being a prominent local landmark, ...

, visiting the various diggings. Later, a priest was stationed at

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Shire of Macedon Ranges, Macedon Ranges region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The Calder Highway, Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. Kyneton is on Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and W ...

freeing Backhaus to focus on Bendigo Creek. The first Mass site of the district was at Golden Square, but by the end of 1852 Backhaus was camping at the future location of St Kilian's Church.

Construction of church

When Bishop James Goold from Melbourne visited in 1855, he strongly suggested the construction of a church. Plans for a stone church were drawn up and building commenced so that it was in use in early 1858, but only completed after five more years. Knowing that most of the diggers were Irish, Backhaus dedicated the church to

St Kilian Kilian, also spelled Cillian or Killian (or alternatively ga, Cillín; la, Kilianus), was an Irish missionary bishop and the Apostle of Franconia (Franconia is nowadays the northern part of Bavaria), where he began his labours in the latter ha ...

, a pioneer Irish missionary in Germany and one of the patron saints of Paderborn.

Clerical duties

Backhaus was diligent in his clerical duties, and played an active part in public matters - his extensive medical knowledge was frequently called upon. In 1863 he tendered his resignation and announced his return to Europe for personal reasons. A banquet was arranged in his honour. In 1866 he returned to Australia and resumed work in Adelaide. He left for Bendigo in May 1867 and some months later when it was declared a diocese, Bishop Martin Crane appointed Backhaus as his

vicar-general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

. He gave up his parish work in 1881 and after another ceremonial farewell, retired to a house he owned at

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

near Melbourne. In August 1882 he became gravely ill, but insisted on returning to Bendigo, where he was buried in the churchyard of St Kilian's.

Real estate

He was an accomplished musician, creating some notable compositions and maintaining an excellent church choir. A sound investor, he acquired valuable properties in his early days. In 1863 he had pledged to make St Kilian's his heir, and to this end he allowed real estate worth $75,000 to appreciate over twenty years. His work and bequests made possible the construction of Bendigo's Sacred Heart Cathedral, one of Australia's largest churches and second tallest after St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne. It has the distinction of being the last

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

cathedral ever built.

Bibliography

*''The Enterprising Life of Dr. Henry Backhaus, Bendigo Pioneer'' - M. J. Nolan

References

External links

Sacred Heart Cathedral - Flickr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backhaus, George Henry 1811 births 1882 deaths 19th-century Australian Roman Catholic priests People from Paderborn German emigrants to Australia