Sunday 28 August

Life is more than building.  Since last Sunday the Carmelites from our three Australian houses (Varroville, N.S.W., Morley, W.A. and St Ives in North Sydney) came together for a week-long chapter meeting.  This involved sustained reflection on our life in Australia, and our hopes in the face of difficulties and challenges.


It was also a time to renew the bonds of Christian dedication and friendship that bind us.  It was especially good to have, Fr Jim Noonan, the Irish Provincial with us.  His relaxed presence and his sharing of the experience of our brothers in Ireland, England and Nigeria brought helpful insights.

Fr Jim Noonan, the Irish Carmelite Provincial

We voted in a new leadership team leaded by Fr Aloyius Rego with Frs Greg Homeming and Paul Maunder as councillors.  We agreed on a concluding statement which listed our hopes, affirmed what we had begun and made a number of propositions for our future.  We met and listened to our sisters from the Australia/Oceania Association of Carmelite nuns and the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites in Australia/Samoa and New Zealand.

Attentive listening by Jim, Jennifer, Aloysius and Greg Homeming

In the photo we are from left to right: Sunny Peackal, Gerard Moran, Tadgh Tierney, Sr Marie Therese, Br Graham Neist FMS (facilitator), Greg Homeming, Sr Jennifer, Paul Maunder, Peter Dowd, Greg Chee, Jim Noonan, Aloysius Rego, Mary Clancy, Des Williamson, Mary Heffernan, Greg Burke, Lorraine Murphy, Gabriel Maliakkal, Shane Kelleher and Johny Arattukulam.

On Wednesday Sr Jennifer from the Varroville Carmel, Lorraine Murphy, the Australian/Samoa OCDS President, Mary Heffernan OCDS President New Zealand, Shane Kelleher, Sr Marie Therese President of the Association of Carmelite nuns and Mary Clancy, OCDS who with Lorraine and the local OCDS group has responsibility for the Carmelite Priory Bookshop visited the site.


Our concluding document the draft of which was crafted by our facilitator Br Graham Neist, FMS was titled "Unless the Lord build the house".   The scriptural quote came from the ceremony of blessing of the new priory which took place during the chapter.  The scenes and intense activity of the work on the foundations was seen as a fitting image for the context of the Australian Carmelite Vicariate at this time in our history.

"We desire to put into place solid and suitable foundations for the future development of Carmelite life in this part of the world.  Like the actual priory building it is difficult to see the final result from simply looking at the foundations, but with commitment and determination we believe we will see our dream come to life."

On Thursday Aloysius leads the procession to building site

We gather, listen to scripture and pray

Aloysius is assisted by Pete in the blessing

During all our meeting the workers on the site worked away smoothly and efficiently.  The work of drilling the piers has continued.  The deepest was over 4 metres deep.  Though most are just over 1 metre deep.

First you drill, then you place in the reinforced steel

Then you fill them with concrete

The plumbing is now making an appearance

So it was an eventful week in our life together.  There will be changes that will come as a result and the new priorities and direction it has set.

Today is Sunday, a day of rest and in the day the Church asks us to reflect on the spiritual and moral issues involving Migrants and Refugees.  Bishop Peter Ingham will celebrate mass this afternoon in the parish church for the people of many the nationalities and cultures that make up our Church and nation.  It will be followed by a very inclusive celebration.

Peace and Blessings on all.

Sunday 21 August

Today is Sunday and the day before our chapter begins and so a quiet day.  However, the Manummel Province today celebrates their Province day as it is the feast of their patron, Pope St Pius X whose saved their existence was threatened when they were a Third Order Regular OCD Congregation.  So happy feast to all Manjummel OCD.  

In a mood of mild celebration Shemil and I walked up to the site.  On the way we passed one of the great characters in our community- the goose.  The goose hisses at anyone coming or going, friend or foe alike.  Whatever about his welcome he is the sole survivor of a flock.  It is odd that he is nameless but he is not so much a pet as a watchgoose.

The goose guards our ute and all vehicles

The underground water tank now has a lid

We walked up to see the underground water tank with its new lid.  Because of the rain there was a lot more water on the building site than in the tank.  If you are wondering how we got such a nice aerial photo of the tank then see the image below.  The photos were taken from the top left pile.

The cottage roof tiles have been recycled

Looking over the entry of the new priory to the old novitiate

Coils of reinforced steel for the piers lie between us and the chapel

Thursday 18 August

It has been a busy few days with some showers and lots of mud. 

Tidying the drenched site

Looking over the site from under the fig tree towards the chapel

Yesterday,Peter Coad, the architect in association with Alex Coutts, came in the morning and we checked where the fire hydrants are to go.

Formwork for the rain water tank

Putting in the form work for the lid of the water tank

The first construction on the site took place yesterday.  The big hole for the underground water tank was formed into a tank.  The workers put in the reinforcing and then dropped in a mould in sections which was then filled with more reinforcing and then concrete.  I was entranced watching how the did this after lunch yesterday when I turned to leave and tripped over a branch and fell head long into the mud.  It all happened in slow motion and I was not even aware of what was happening.  There was no lasting damage done but I was a bit bruised.  The workmen were concerned.  One told me my missus would not be happy.

Nothing daunted at 3.00pm Aloysius, Gerard, Johny and I gathered with other members of the Scenic Hills Association for a meeting cum photo shoot on the road opposite our place.  We gave interviews to the reporter from the Macarthur Chronicle to highlight our concerns about Coal Seam Gas extraction in the our locality.

Next week we have our regional chapter at which we elect new officials and set our our priorities for the next three years.  To give thanks for the past three years we had a meal together at the Catholic Club.  As happens we met people we knew there who we had married or who were parishioners.  Sadly no photos were taken.

Today  they are finishing off the tank by putting on the lid.  Johny and I were there this morning saw the formwork go on as well as the concrete supports of the lid.  Johny took the photos.  He is famous for his photos.

Maurie's office- drilling piers on the muddy site

The builders have been drilling the piers and then placing the steel reinforcement before pouring concrete into them.  They have done three sections of the building.  The site was very boggy this morning.  Shoes pick up a weight of muddy clay.

A line of piers

Maurie's muddy boots

Sculptural installation- future drains and sewer covers

Monday 15 August

The cottage has gone completely.  It was all demolished by Friday, 5 August.

Just the chimney and fireplace left of the cottage

Looking at the cottage site from the belltower

Rubble awaiting removal- all that is left of the cottage

I showed Greg Homeming over the site that evening.  He claimed it looked like the Great Wall of China.  I thought this particularly inscrutable.  He also eyed the fig tree and thought it should go. 

Then from Monday 8 August they set to work demolishing the farm yard and buildings.  They were a little too enthusiastic.  I thought we had an agreement that we would keep the last three bays of the barn.  However on Tuesday after lunch I went up and found it all been demolished.  The farmer had moved out his last bails of hay and the tractor was out in the yard.

The barn begins to go

The barn has gone but the farm yard remains

The cleared site- just add one new priory!

So that set me off to find a place for the tractor out of the weather.  I walked around with Andrew Theiring which was helpful.  The west facing covered area of the novitiate seemed best.  By Thursday the tractor and slasher were snug there.  All we need to do now is get a new battery so we can start the tractor without jump leads.

Also on Tuesday I took Des Williamson up to view the site.  He was delighted the farm sheds had gone.  Not too surprisingly he was also keen to see the end of the fig tree.  When the regional chapter is in session next week we may need to discern the fate of the fig tree.  I hope not.

The fig tree

The main work last week was clearing the site and getting the levels set.  Towards the end of the week the surveyors came back and plotted out marks which were recorded in an apparently simple but sophisticated instrument so that the builders could find exactly where everything was to go.  This is actually quite complicated.  There are many levels in the building and few 90 degree angles.  This is what will make the building interesting to walk through.  But it does mean that the builders have to be painstaking, precise and patient.

On Friday I missed seeing Maurie,the foreman.  In the evening as I was approaching Fairy Meadow parish in Wollongong for the disco sponsored by the Bethzatha group for disabled people my phone rang.  It was Gerard.  There was no water in the novitiate.  The novitiate was needed for a big retreat group.  He thought the builders may have turned it off.  I doubted if this was the case.  It seemed more likely that the builders had broken a pipe in the excavations and not known where it was going or if it was still needed.  I gave him Maurie's number.  It was all sorted as best as could be at that hour.

First thing on Saturday morning while we were at mass the plumbers arrived and set to repairing the pipe.  This was not so easy as we do not have a record of where the various pipes are.  Thankfully they found the tap to turn off the water so that they could then fix the problem promptly.

Today, Monday, the excavators are digging down into the rock to excavate the big underground water tank.  There are plumbers all over the site.  They are preparing to dig the trenches for the new water supply which will be needed for the fire hydrants and our new water supply.  This trench will be at least 600 metres long!

Excavating our underground rainwater tank

Much of the cost of the new priory is for things that we will never see as they are underground- such things as the pump for the fire hydrants, the new pipes and the foundations of the priory.

The foundations are complicated.  Basically the building rests on piers which are holes drilled into the ground which then have steel reinforcement placed in them and are filled with concrete.  The concrete slab is floated on these, sometimes with a 'waffle pod' between the concrete and the soil.  All this is necessary because our soil is reactive clay.  It expands when wet and contracts when dry.  So, as we know from the retreat centre building, reactive clay can crack large buildings.

Just how gluggy the wet clay can get was clear when I took Jim Noonan the Irish Provincial over the site on Thursday.  My boots and his sandals doubled in size.  Cleaning them was a chore. 

They start drilling the piers tomorrow.  It will be a busy week on site.

Today is the feast of the Assumption and Indian Independence Day.  Happy celebrations!

Wednesday 3 August

We had the formal site meeting with minutes today. When I arrived the architects Alex Coutts and Peter Coad, with the builders Marc, Maurie and Kevin Cohen were standing near the large Hoop Pine I wanted to keep. (I had thought it was a bunya nut- both are araucaria: araucaria bidwillii is the bunya nut and araucaria cunninghamii is the hoop pine.) They announced they had solved the problem threatening the tree by some minor modifications to the building and adjacent landscaping. Soon we were joined by Matthew Taylor, the landscape architect. We all agreed on the changes. Then we walked up to the fig tree.

The Moreton Bay fig tree was walked around and its extraordinary roots were followed before Matthew decided it could be saved with some trimming of branches and roots as well as protection for pipes etc. The builders got out some bright fluoro spray paint and got Matthew to mark what he wanted done. Sam, the arborist came later and he had his professional views and suggestions about how things were to be done.

We then sat down to our formal meeting. The minutes are very succinct- there is a column headed action which is described as "an instruction to proceed". Not much leeway there. One thing I learned was that the builders intend to set out the site, get all the levels exactly right before the drillers come for the piles which will go down to the rock so that the slab can then float on the piles. After this they will erect the steel frame and put on the roof. Only then will the brickies come and begin to lay the walls using Timbercrete.

Meanwhile the demolishers were beavering away. By afternoon the outside toilet was all that was left of the cottage. Most of the debris had been removed, as well. The site is looking clean. They start on the farm sheds tomorrow.

Tuesday 2 August

Yesterday, Monday, the excavators started removing trees from the site. It is fairly brutal work. They attack the tree breaking off limbs and as much of the trunk as they can. Then they dig around the stump before lifting the whole thing out of the ground. The excavators were also used to remove the top soil which was of a high quality. It is now in large mounds around the cleared site and will be put back in place when the building is finished.

In the afternoon I heard a loud sound and wondered what had happened. It was a port-a-loo for the demolishers being dropped on site.

This morning I saw a demolisher with a mask and special gear bringing out all the asbestos sheets which had been used for the ceilings. These were then wrapped and taken away to a special facility. More and more of the cottage had been disappearing but after lunch a huge excavator got to work ripping into the fabric and contents. I was watching one fellow manipulate the huge claws to lift out the bath when the fellow who was hosing the debris to keep down the dust suddenly turned and ran towards me. He didn't want to be under the bath as it passed over him. It was dumped with a loud bang onto the grass in front of the (ex-)cottage.

With the big equipment the site can be dangerous, so it is best to be obvious. Maurie gave me four bright safety vests for the brethren to use when on site. Des and I wore them while looking at the site after lunch. Then along came Johny and Gabriel similarly attired and looking quite dashing I thought. Johny complained his vest was not big enough. But it did the job. He was quite obvious.

Greg and Des

Johny vested

Now where is the new priory?  Des, Gabriel and Greg

Trucks have been coming in to take away the material from the cottage and the timber from the trees. There will be more trucks coming and going tomorrow. There will not be much left of the cottage by tomorrow evening.

The shell of the cottage

Wednesday 27 July

On Wednesday 27 July I had a site meeting with Marc Cohen from Co-Wyn (the builders), Alex Coutts and Peter Coad (architects). We walked around the site and looked at the siting of the buildings and the different rooms. They will get an arborist out next Wednesday to give us his professional opinion on what we can do about the fig tree. The landscape architect will be there as well.

Then we met with the man who will supply all the glass for the project and make up the windows. Two different types of glass have been specified. One type with special coating is for all north and south facing windows and the other for east and west windows. Both are laminated and much thicker than our present glass. The laminated glass keeps heat both out in summer and in in winter. It makes a 7 degree Celsius difference. We then closely examined at the plans taking note of all the windows, the shadow angles and the landscaping. We were satisfied with the specified glass. We cut out the external vertical shields Alex had specified for the clerestory windows. We will see what happens when the building is complete whether we need them or something similar. After this we then examined the windows in the bedrooms and made some modifications there. Then we examined all the doors on offices and interview rooms and made a change in one of them. Such was our first site meeting. For all the close attention it was not as tiring as some other meetings I have attended with some of the engineers. Next week we will have minutes taken!

After lunch on Wednesday some of the brethren went for a walk around the site looking at the various rooms. Those who missed out went for a walk between the afternoon community meeting and Evening Prayer.

Greg and a tree that has to go

The site begins to take shape

There was no work on the site on Thursday or Friday. However a large machine arrived on Friday which looks like it will be used to knock down the cottage and anything else in its way.

Tuesday 26 July

The Cottage

The demolition of the cottage began yesterday, Monday, beginning with the roof. By the end of the day the tiles had been removed and were then reused as foundational rubble for the new driveway to the new priory. The demolishers found numerous birds nests in the rafters at the corners of the cottage. The amount of nesting material was astonishing. By the end of today all the timber had been removed from the roof. The cottage will be gone by the beginning of next week.

Excavator, tree and house remover

Nesting material in the eaves!

The cottage is disappearing before our eyes

A view through the cottage

Greg pointing out where the new priory will be?

The surveyors came today to set out the extent of the building. We now have some sense of the size of the building and how many trees will be lost in clearing the site. It certainly looks like a building site now.

Tuesday 19 July

Maurie Cohen in front of the barn

Today I met with Marc, Maurie and Kevin Cohen of Co-Wyn Building Group at 9.00am to discuss the builders taking possession of the site and the demolition of the cottage and farm outbuildings. We discussed the removal of things we would need from the cottage and the outbuildings. The builder will help us remove the three statues the Varroville nuns have stored with us. It was agreed we keep two or three bays of the end shed so that we can keep the tractor there. Bruce Page our handyman who was also present suggested the builder will make this part of the shed weather proof. We also spoke about the Moreton Bay Fig which is very near the building. The fear is the huge roots will damage the building. The builder and architect will seek technical advice on this from the landscape architect.

Recovered Statue of Our Lady

Maurie organised a meeting later in the day with Vince Lopresti, whose cattle we agist. I attended this meeting at which Vince explained what he needed and Maurie Cohen agreed to put this into effect. Andrew Thiering also was in attendance and explained he owned a shipping container behind the sheds. I told him he needs to remove its contents and the container. Maurie expressed interest in buying the container for the use of the builders during the construction period. Maurie later told me he had bought the container.

After lunch the brethren rallied around and we went through the cottage, taking out and preparing for storage things that we do not want to lose.

The building site fence comes right to our chapel

Why a new Priory? How we got where are are.

In March 1995 the Australian Discalced Carmelites began a discussion about how we were to move into the future.  This focussed on the suggestion that we build a new residence for ourselves.  This would enable us to renovate our retreat centre to make it more comfortable, quiet and secure.  Since we could not begin the refurbishment until we moved out it was important to begin to think about what we needed and wanted.

Mount Carmel Retreat Centre

We then shared our reflections on what values we wanted our new priory to support and symbolise on our property (we have over 300 acres 50 kilometres south west of Sydney).  We wanted a building that was simple but would last.  We wanted it to relate tot he environment and be energy efficient.  We wanted a building that would assist us in our lives of prayer and solitude while providing generous spaces for our fraternal life in common.

The Chapel at Mount Carmel

From these reflections there grew a detailed brief which we discussed and modified.  We then began the search for an architect.  We made enquiries and from this came a short list of three architects.  We took a day to visit four new monasteries in Sydney.  This was interesting and helpful.  From this came the decision to ask ALex Coutts to design the new priory for us.

There then followed further discussions about the site of the new priory and all manner of discussion about what should be in the plan and where it might be.  We also had to negotiate with Campbelltown City Council and ensure we complied with all regulations.  Fees were paid, plans drawn, consultant engineers and other specialists were consulted until we came to the day when we had it all together.

Would we go ahead?  It was an expensive exercise but one we felt was necessary for our future.  After another process we accepted the tender of Co-Wyn Building Group and signed a contract on 6 July, 2011.  Building was to commence on 18 July, because the cottage was to be used for hospitality during Br Shane Kelleher's ordination on 16 July.