In 1846, Father Angelo Confalonieri escaped death by a shipwreck to become the first missionary in the northern part of Australia. He lived near Port Essington for two years after that. Later on, there was a Jesuit mission on the daily river that had to be abandoned due to a flood in 1899. This mission included Donald, the brother of Mary MacKillop.
In 1911, Father Gsell, who later became a bishop, started a mission on Bathurst Island. He’s popularly called the Bishop with 150 wives because of his “buying” of young brides who have been promised in marriage.
In 1935, Layman Francis McGarry also co-founded a mission in Alice Springs and in this same place in 1986, Pope John Paul II addressed Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders and spoke about justice as well as missionary works and the traditional culture.
In 1940, Garden Point was established on Melville Island for children of mixed race.