Sister Mary Paul Mulquin

Sister Mary Paul Mulquin (1873) wrote in her passenger diary that 'for our part, the thought of going for God?s Glory, would reconcile us to undergo the trial. One should be on shipboard to understand the truth of my simple statement'. The voyage to Australia during the nineteenth century was a long and challenging experience. Spending up to four months at sea was arduous, from the monotony of the voyage to the changing weather, there was plenty for passengers to complain about. At one point, Sister Mulquin compared the 'oppressive heat' on board to 'purgatory', using her religious beliefs to demonstrate the harsh conditions she experienced. Sister Mary Paul Mulquin?s diary demonstrates the different ways in which religion was utilised by passengers on board. From relying on religion as a crutch to help tolerate the voyage, utilising services to socialise with other passengers or using religious beliefs as a key motivator for migration, religion presented itself in many different ways.

This story focuses on the diary of Sister Mary Paul Mulquin, written aboard the SS Great Britain in 1873 on one of her final voyages to Australia. The diary sheds light on the experience of seven nuns who migrated to Australia from Ireland to set up a convent school in St. Kilda, Australia. In the 1970s, the diary was discovered in a trunk at the convent, shedding light on how religion was not only practiced aboard passenger ships but was also used as reason for those to undertake the voyage in the first place. This is not the first time Sister Mary Paul Mulquin?s diary has been looked at in depth. Tamsin Badcoe examined the diary in the edited collection Shipboard Literary Cultures. Badcoe argues that the diary demonstrated the transient nature of these voyages, highlighting how passengers' lives were 'temporarily intertwined and held in suspension by the voyage' (Badcoe 2021: 182). The voyage has been studied extensively by historians such as Robin Haines (2003) and Andrew Hassam (1994), both exploring life at sea en route to Australia. Rowan Strong (2017) specifically writes about religion on voyages across the British Empire, exploring the spread of Christianity throughout British settler colonies. 

There were a large number of Irish migrants who travelled to Australia and this voyage was no exception. Sister Mulquin wrote that out of the 700 passengers on board, 300 were Irish emigrants heading to Queensland. She wrote that 'they regale us with national songs and frequently come to ask for Agnus Deis, scapulars, beads and other articles of devotion'. Queensland was a popular destination for Irish Catholics. James Quinn, the first Catholic bishop of Queensland, migrated to Brisbane in 1861, founding the Queensland Immigration Society in 1862 (Bryan 2009). The society facilitated the migration of thousands of people, mainly Irish, to Queensland. The arrival of many Irish migrants fuelled anti-Irish sentiments in the colony, with Quinn referring to Queensland as Quinn's land, highlighting the impact he had on Queensland?s demographic.  The society was dissolved in 1865 so did not facilitate the movement of any of the passengers travelling with Sister Mulquin. However, the many Irish migrants settled in Queensland no doubt encouraged further migration throughout the century. 

Sister Mulquin's group were saloon passengers and they described themselves as one of the few Irish passengers not in steerage, the lowest class of a passenger ship. It was common for religion to be a prevalent part of the voyage. However, Sister Mulquin?s voyage was unique in that there were no priests on board. She wrote in her diary that ?the last passage they have five priests and a Bishop, but never had nuns till now ? so one makes up for the other.' The group of nuns therefore filled this gap, visiting steerage in order to provide the Irish passengers with a Catholic service. 

It was unusual for saloon passengers to visit steerage, demonstrating how religion was able to break down class barriers. Sister Mulquin wrote that ?on Sunday we shall pay a visit to the emigrants, our countrymen, and do their service, distribute articles of devotion, and do perhaps work of the Apostles. It is on board a steamer like this one feels the want of our own sweet piety, with them every labour is light, but without them, at least partially, one cannot settle the mind down for any business.? Sister Mulquin described the journey down to steerage, writing that ?the dark passages down is really terrifying, and the spot itself confined and narrow. The poor people were all arranged down the table and quite delighted to see their country-women acting the 'clergyman'.' Despite this cramped description, she stated that the berths themselves were 'very roomy'. 

Sister Mulquin commented on the religious diversity aboard the ship, writing that ?in the saloon 'there are persons of every creed here ? a German Jew, High Church protestants, and all other denominations.' However, Sister Mulquin consistently presented Catholicism as the ?true faith? and actively tried to convert other passengers, often commenting on the likelihood of her chances. She wrote of one of her fellow passengers, a Mr. Masters, and his family, that 'perhaps we may convert them, as it is a pity that people who are so good are not of the true faith.'

While passengers often remarked on the difficulties of the voyage, it was also a time in which friendships were formed and community was built. Sister Mulquin described the many friends she made, who all promised to visit them in St.Kilda. She also described how the other passengers perceived the group of nuns. She wrote: 'when we first arrived everyone was afraid to approach thinking, as they tell us now, we would freeze them with long austere faces ? soon the ice melted and they consider us quite social to use Mr. Engall?s expression ? "The brightest lights of the Great Britain"? This has opened a new channel of ideas of nuns as they were looked on here as being strange formations -but we have dispelled the illusion in part, for though we keep to ourselves a good deal and go regularly though our duties, yet we go among our fellow travellers quite freely at times, and all seek out society as a favour.? Sister Mulquin presented simply the presence of her delegation as a missionary act, seeking to change the way Catholicism was perceived. 

With the formation of a community came knowledge exchange among passengers. Not only were the nuns active in teaching their fellow passengers about Catholicism, but they were also keen students. Sister Mulquin befriended a Jewish passenger from Germany, whom she learnt German from. She wrote ?In truth the folk here heed little about religion and one could learn a vast amount of sense and information on board.?

My PhD research, funded by the South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, looks at how social networks informed and facilitated migration to Australia during the 19th century. It seeks to centre the voyage experience, presenting it as a place where communities formed and knowledge exchange occurred which influenced migratory decisions.