Saturday, 24 December

It is Christmas Eve and all is calm, all is quiet.  The builders finished yesterday and will have a deserved break.  I caught up with them at the Co-wyn Building Group's enjoyable Christmas party yesterday.

In the photo below looking up the corridor you can see a room in the foreground on the left, the common room on the left in the middle distance and two rooms on the right.

Structural steel gives an outline of the roof

The roof supporting triangles are beginning to walk up the corridor.

Looking through the courtyard to the corridor

The oratory is beginning to take shape as the walls rise.  In the background you can see the Hoop Pine we saved.  The brickies have been wonderful they way they have entered into the building process.  Alex Coutts, the architect, remarked: "It's a thinking man's job."  High praise for Terry and Paul and the brickies.  Terry laughed heartily when I retold this.  However he is obviously enjoying the job and proud of what he and his team are achieving.  He told me yesterday that he dreams about the job.  Its when he gets his best ideas!

Here below you can see the oratory, the community prayer space,  from the exterior of the building.

Hoop Pine outside the Oratory

Formwork for an arch and oratory windows.

The arch in the foreground of the photo above will be over the recess for the tabernacle.  The others are for the windows in the oratory. 

Looking out the front office window

The front windows have good views down to the dams.  It is always soothing to see water in the distance.  When the landscaping comes in then the whole view will be wonderful.

The windows of the front office with the veranda

Below is a view from our cemetery looking up the the veranda and library of the priory.

Priory looking over the cemetery

The builders are having a break over Christmas and New Year.  I will be away myself giving a retreat to the clergy in Toowoomba from January 1 to 6 and will then visit the Carmelite nuns in Ormiston and catch up with the Brisbane Secular Carmelites.  I shall be back in Varroville on 9 January.

The peace and love of Christ be yours this Christmas.  Every blessing for the New Year.

Sunday, 18 December

It has been a great week.  It has been cool with little or no rain.  And so it has been a week for building.  Some days there have been crowds of men swarming over the site.

The brickies have been working very diligently.  What is wonderful to see is the pride they take in their work.  They want to make sure the Timbercrete walls look the best.  I am delighted with the colour of the dry mortar and the overall honey colour effect. 

Looking into the entrance foyer

As well as the brickies the steel fabricators have been back and we can now see the corridor taking shape and the roof line of the bedrooms. 

Looking up the corridor.

In the photo below you can see the corridor from the foyer.  The library is on the left the meeting room is straight ahead and an office is to the right.

Looking towards the meeting room

When we were seeking city council approval for our building we had to submits many engineers reports.  One of the concerns was for the thermal insulation of the building.  We had to have a cavity wall with a layer of insulation between the blocks.  The R rating of our walls is R3.9.  This is impressive.

Insulation in the cavity between the blocks

This morning I was showing a retreatant over the site when I was surprised to see Gordon working away on a Sunday.  While I had said nothing Gordon was quick to explain.  It turns out he wasn't working at all.  He was doing penance.  He is a penitent.  A Lutheran penitent!

It is just four working days before Christmas.  Then there will be a break for a fortnight before work recommences.

Saturday, 10 December

It has been another cold and rainy week.  Not great for building.  Especially as our miry clay has made the site into a virtual island.  Still it was a good week.  The brickies came on site and now the walls have begun to rise.

The end of our old main electricity switchboard

As well as the new building appearing some relics of the old have been demolished. The old brick shed that housed our electricity switch board has been replaced by a completely new system and during the week the old shed was demolished.  You can see the remains in the photo above and in the photo below the new main switchboard.

Our new main electricity switchboard

 

We now have walls!

The brickies had a seminar on how to lay Timbercrete on Monday.  They picked up some important tips.  They laid two courses around most of the main entry block of the new priory.  Then these were capped with an anti-pest layer.  Finally and with care and precision they began to build up the walls of the building.  Here you can see something of the final look of the walls of the priory in the photo above.  I am very happy with how it looks.  What do you think?

On Friday I attended a hearing at Mittagong of the NSW Upper House Inquiry into Coal Seam Gas.  With Jacqui Kirkby I gave evidence on behalf of the Scenic Hills Association.  Srs Jennifer and Jocelyn from the Carmelite nuns made a separate presentation that was well received.  In fact Joc was interviewed by a reporter from ABC Radio.  This was broadcast on the AM programme this morning.  The report is entitled "David vs Goliath as nuns take on CSG industry".  Here is the link  http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2011/s3388166.htm


Rebecca Barrett from ABC TV News followed up this afternoon and interviewed Joc and Paul Maunder, our prior.  It was telecast during the main evening news.  We were very impressed by both Joc and Paul and the sensitive way in which the ABC portrayed how CSG extraction will affect the retreat centre, our life and that of the sisters.

Sunday, 4 December

When I was young there was nothing more fun than mud and playing in it.  Of course I have grown out of this.  When it rains our clay soul turns into the stickiest mud imaginable.  With each step one's boots become heavier and more clogged.  It is demoralising.  We have had our share of rain and mud recently which has slowed our build.  "Patience obtains all things" as St Teresa's bookmark tells us.

Thankfully the roofers have been working away and now we have a roof to keep out the rain and the hot summer sun when it shines.  Now you can see the shape of the building.

Looking to the entry and the clerestory

When you walk into the foyer the height of the clerestory gives a wonderful impression.  However the exterior of the building is not overwhelming.  It is really a humble building.  The roof of the chapel is much higher than the roof over the entry foyer and the cross on the tower stills commands the site. 

From the left, the roof of the oratory, the library and foyer

There are different roofs for the oratory, the library, the foyer and the meeting room.

Brother Andrew sees the new priory

We have had two Marist Brothers with us on retreat.  Brother Andrew from the Solomon Islands and Brother Marcel from Vanuatu.  I showed Andrew around the site on Friday.  My friend Gordon said hello.  He has had a more interesting life than I imagined.  He told us he was in Bougainville during the civil war as a lieutenant to the independence leader, the late Francis Ono.  Andrew said with some respect: 'He is a rebel'.  Indeed.  I think I need to treat Gordon with more respect.

The brickies will arrive this week and will start to lay the Timbercrete blocks so that we will soon have the walls for our priory.

Tuesday, 22 November

In the background to the building of our new priory is the hot political issue of Coal Seam Gas Mining in the Campbelltown Scenic Hills.  A number of years ago I was asked by our Carmelite community to be their representative in regard to local political issues that directly affect us.

This has been an interesting involvement.  We have formed the Scenic Hills Association and battled various attempts to industrialise our rural part of the Sydney Metropolitan Area.  In the process I have met up with many politicians, we have had our photos in the papers and been on TV. I even addressed a rally in Martin Place (still on Youtube).   Last weekend I attended the Fishers Ghost Festival in Campbelltown to get signatures for our SHA petition against CSM in our environmentally protected area.  I met Laurie Ferguson, our very supportive member of Federal Parliament, for the first time.  He surprised me by asking where in Ireland my Burke ancestors came.  Mine came from Clare his from Galway.

On Tuesday of last week, along with Jacqui Kirkby, the power and brains behind the SHA, I met with Cr Anoulack Chanthivong, the Mayor of Campbelltown, and Paul Tosi the City General Manager to discuss the issues facing us and how best we might respond.  Paul Tosi remarked that with all the development in South West Sydney our area will be the only remaining island of green, rural landscape.  This environment is vitally important for us and for those who come to us on retreat.

Yesterday we had a meeting of many of the friars from St Ives and her along with lay advisers, Geoff Stumbles,  Michael Gray, and Lorraine Murphy and our usual facilitator Br Graham Neist.  We reviewed our options in regard to the post priory phase of our building programme and some of the immediate decisions that need to be made regarding our retreat programme for next year.

Meanwhile things were happening on site.  In fact there was a major flurry of activity which caused a traffic jam.  This is not a usual occurrence in these parts.  The electricity utility people came to disconnect the old power lines and system and connect the new system for the whole complex.  We were without power for an hour and a half.  In the middle of this a shipment of Timbercrete blocks was brought from Kyabram by "Macka" McCluskie.

Traffic jam as electricity wires disconnected

Traffic jam gets worse as Matthew unloads the blocks

In the above photo you can see the old wires dangled over some seats on the balcony outside the retreatants dining room.  Below you can see the last lines attached to the retreat house.  I am very happy these wires have gone.  I could never entirely relax with the high voltage power lines hanging just a few feet above my head.

The last wires hang loose

The foyer is ready to get a roof

 Meanwhile back at the site the steel frame of the building and roof has been going ahead for stage one of the building.  The roof should soon begin to be laid.

Framework

If you click on this photo you can see where the gutters will be attached.  After I took this photo yesterday I walked back to our meeting and almost tripped over a bit of steel on the ground.  I was surprised and taken aback and let out an expletive.  One of the workers, Gordon who is a bible believing Christian and who calls me Reverend was nearby.  He calls me Reverend as he won't call me "Father" or indeed anything else.  I was embarrassed that Gordon would hear my cry, but his response was to shout: "Hey Reverend, I didn't know you spoke human".  Indeed.  Thanks Gordon and blessings on you.

Our week

I intended to add a few lines on our community life this week but somehow couldn't add them after the last picture in the previous post. It was not a typical week and so needs to be chronicled.

The Carmelite nuns from around Australia, NZ and PNG finished their General Assembly on Thursday and went home on Friday.  It was wonderful to have our sisters here.  You may imagine that Carmelite nuns are quieter than mice.  This ain't necessarily so.  So it has been good to have the house back to its usual peace and quiet, not to mention simplicity, silence and solitude.  All done in our own way, of course.

We got away on Tuesday for a community day out.  Well, most of us did.  Shane and Greg Chee were caught up during the day.  We were joined by Greg Homeming and Des from the St Ives community and we picked up Shemil from Cronulla parish where he is helping out for a month.

Johny and Shemil used their mobile phone to record the day.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to use Shemil's photos.  This is sad because there were some good shots, including some of himself obviously flourishing and enjoying himself.  He is learning a lot of Australian expressions and culture at Cronulla.  The brethren kindly added some more for his use.

We went to Kurnell where Captain James Cook landed on 28 April, 1770.  He had been sent on an expedition to observe the transit of Venus in Tahiti.  Tahiti is clearly a very suitable place, even now, to observe Venus and it was even better in his day.

When that mission was accomplished he sailed west and explored.  He encountered the land we now know as Australia and entered Botany Bay looking for water. Further up the coast, in present day Queensland, he claimed the whole continent for the British crown.  Joseph Banks, a botanist on the voyage, then campaigned for a settlement at Botany Bay.  The First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay in 1788 and raised the flag just up the coast in Sydney Cove on 26 January.  The rest is history.

Gabriel in front of a model of Cook's ship, the Endeavour

We met at the Visitor Centre and walked down to the bay getting a good sense of Aboriginal Life on the way and what the first meeting with white people meant for the Aborigines. There was a plaque which had a quote from Kevin Rudd's historic address as Prime Minister saying sorry to the Aboriginal people for what they have experienced as a result of European Settlement.

Saying sorry

Greg B, Shemil, Aloysius and Des reflect

The first landing place

Discussion with Cook's monument in the background

Johny at Cape Solander

As part of the national park at Kurnell some of us walked to Cape Solander, others drove.  here we clambered around the cliff tops and were delighted to see a number of whales heading south for the summer.  Some were very close, just below the cliffs.

Paul enjoys a smoothie at the Endeavour cafe

Burkie contemplates eternal verities

The sea, the sea

In the evening we went to the excellent "Summerhouse" restaurant at Fairfield RSL for a lovely meal which was also very reasonable.  Patrick and his staff were so attentive and the food so good we decided to have our annual staff Christmas celebration there.  A confusion with some of the deserts meant that the big kids got even more gelato.

I don't like sweet things!

What? Not more ice cream?!

Sunday, 13 November

It has been an interesting week at Mount Carmel in a number of ways.  The steel frame is now up for the lower part of the building and we can have some sense of what it will look like.  The make the picture bigger just click on it.

Looking towards the front entrance of the new priory

You can now see how the new building fits onto the site and how tall the roofline is beside the chapel and cemetery.

The roofs of the oratory, library, foyer and meeting room

Also working away have been the electricians.  A big panel arrived and is being made ready by Pete and his co-workers to be commissioned.  It will handle the distribution of electricity into both the retreat centre, chapel, novitiate and new priory.  We are set to be connected on 21 February.  The brickies are set to arrive on 17 November to begin work.  Things are moving, and a lot of the developments now are above ground.

Pete at work sorting out the electricity connection

Monday, 7 November

Timbercrete blocks arrive

Last week was a quiet week on the building site.  But today we are making up for it.  First the steel fabricators came to put the buildings framework into place- it is like some giant Meccano set, with all the steel fitting exactly and seemingly effortlessly.  Then a truck came all the way from Kyabram, Victoria, with the first load of Timbercrete blocks for the building. 

The first pallet of Timbercrete is on site

The building takes shape

On other fronts life at Mount Carmel has not been quiet at all.  We have had fifteen Carmelite sisters from the Our Lady of the Southern Cross Association with us for their triennial General Assembly.  There were sisters from Carmels in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.  Some of us friars have been involved in some sessions.  I spent a morning on St Teresa and her times and our challenge in our times. 

Today, Sr Moira Kelly from Ormiston Carmel was elected the new President of the Association. 

Srs Benedicta, Cecilia, Eliane, Sarah and Moira

In this photo sisters congratulate Sr Moira after her election.  They are Sr Benedicta from Gelorup, WA, Sr Cecilia from Ormiston, Qld,  Sr Eliane from Bomana, PNG, and  Sr Sarah from Varroville, NSW.

Also last week we had on Wednesday a visit from contestants in the Miss Earth Australia competition.  They came to plant trees.  I became involved in organising their visit, as you can see from the photo below.

Miss Earth Australia contestants with Greg Burke

Contestants mediating in our chapel

 Among those who chaparoned the contestants was Fr Pat Corbett, CSsR, who was at Galong for many years.  He has obviously fallen on his feet if this is included in the duties of the vice-Provincial.  Sadly I forgot to get a photo of him.  However the day was about planting trees and we soon got down to it.

Contestants planting and trees

Clr Fred Borg and contestants celebrate

 We were visited by Campbelltown City Councillor Fred Borg and his wife Coral.  Fred encouraged the girls in their concern for the environment and their continued involvement in the life of the community.  It was a very successful day on many fronts.  Next year I will better know what to expect!

 This was the second time the Miss Earth Australia contestant visited us this year.  When they came previously I was in Galong giving a retreat.  Fr Johny took some snaps to record the first visit.  Since he shared them recently I thought I would include them here.

Our prior, Paul, leads by example

Gabriel gives outstanding witness

Contestant preparing to plant a tree

Friday, 28 October

This week we had a spectrum of weather, so typical of Spring.  We had hot days and nights and then cold and wet days and night.  Not the easiest environment for building. 

Tall crane over the chapel

On Wednesday a big crane arrived to lift more of the steel framework for the building into place.  It was a very high crane.

Crane placing beams for the library roof

The crane was expertly choreographed so that it placed the steel beams together so they could slip into place.

The roof of the library takes shape

The library takes shape

While all this was happening the other trades were busy.  Pete, our electrician has been here continuously.  Part of his job is to connect the present retreat centre building with a new electricity supply.  This involves placing a number of cables underground.   The cables in the photo below are about to disappear down the small pipe coming up from the ground next to the wall.

Pete, on the right, with cables

Pete is a man of many parts.  For some years he had a pretty big boat in Apia, Samoa, complete with a Kiwi captain taking tourists on fishing expeditions.