Maryknoll

History

Father Wilfrid Pooley of the Catholic Church envisaged a new religious intentional community in West Gippsland where residents could live rural lifestyles ideal for the raising of families and practice of the Catholic faith. The name Maryknoll replaced the original name of St Mary's in 1955, and the Maryknoll Post Office opened on 3 October 1955. The original settlement consisted of about 30 families. By the mid-1980s, the Maryknoll cooperative society formally closed. This had been an economic society, not connected with the social make-up of the community. Restriction of residents to Catholics had not been implemented since the 1960s. Father Pooley and Des O'Connell were founders of Maryknoll. Pooley was the leader of the community and lived in Maryknoll until he moved to the presbytery of Iona when the two parishes were combined. He died in 1968, and O'Connell died 2017 at 102 years of age.

Most-observed species

• Prickly Horn Snail

  Cerithium echinatum Lamarck, 1822 · Gastropoda
  6,143
• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  3,089
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  2,906
• Laughing Kookaburra

  Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) · Aves
  2,504
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  2,466
• Crimson Rosella

  Platycercus elegans (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  2,443
• Brown Thornbill

  Acanthiza pusilla (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  2,371
• The Tree Geebung

  Persoonia arborea F.Muell. · Magnoliopsida
  2,112

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2026-05-09
  4 km ESE of Mirboo North, Australia
• M 3.9 — 2024-08-06
  34 km SSW of Mount Buller, Australia
• M 4.3 — 2024-02-08
  3 km E of Leongatha, Australia
• M 4.4 — 2023-06-29
  34 km SSW of Mount Buller, Australia
• M 3.8 — 2023-05-28
  5 km W of Mickleham, Australia
• M 2.9 — 2021-11-05
  4 km S of Rosebud, Australia