Party: Regional Records - Cooktown. St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Hope Street, Cooktown, 4871
Summary
The history of the Church in Cooktown began in 1877 when a Papal brief appointed Dr John Cam, Vicar-Apostolic of Queensland with headquarters in Cooktown The Queensland Vicariate was responsible directly to Rome, and its central mission at the time of foundation was to serve the Aboriginal people, though this policy modified as European settlement increased in the Cooktown hinterland, as the result of the goldrushes. From 1887 it was renamed the Vicariate of Cooktown, until it became the Diocese of Cairns in 1941, with the Diocesan headquarters established in Cairns.
Cooktown parish records: Baptism registers: January 1891-present.
Confirmation registers: October 1889-present.
Marriage registers: 1901-present.
Father Michael Endicott of Villanova College, Coorparoo, Brisbane, is currently writing a PhD thesis on the history of the Queensland Vicariate, based at Cooktown.