Darwin and NT News regarding Nungalinya College

(The combined Catholic, Anglican and Uniting Churches’ venture providing Christian education for Indigenous students in theology, community development and leadership skills and preparing our Indigenous Christians for Ministry).

Nungalinya College is an adult education college based in Casuarina, a suburb of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded in 1974, it describes itself as a "Combined Churches Training College for Indigenous Australians", and provides training for Christian ministers and community leadership.

"Nungalinya" is a Larrakia word used by the local Larrakia people word, referring to "Old Man Rock", a reef off Casuarina Beach, that was a traditional place of learning for young men. After the name was suggested by a group of Larrakia people, it was agreed to by a meeting of Trustees in 1973. On 4 August 1974, Archbishop Sir Frank Woods, the Anglican Primate of Australia, laid the foundation stone, a large round granite rock from the Mount Bundey mines.

Many of you would know that late last year Carol Muller resigned from her long-held position as Catholic Dean at Nungalinya College. Carol’s contribution to the cohort of Catholic students there and to the College as a whole, is widely recognised as having been phenomenal. In the final Report as Catholic Dean that Carol put together, her opening paragraph was as follows: 

“It is with pleasure that I write this Report after having been the Catholic Dean at Nungalinya College for the past eight and a half years.  The journey for me has been a most memorable and enlightening one and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work in a missionary and combined training college for Indigenous Australians from the Catholic, Anglican and Uniting Churches.  The Churches work in harmony while focusing on the Churches’ Mission to reach out to disadvantaged and often neglected remote communities throughout Australia, but particularly in the Northern Territory.  Our mission is to equip and empower our Indigenous leaders to serve and minister to the people in their own communities in a spirit of love and reconciliation.”

The diocese owes a great debt of gratitude to Carol for the outstanding dedication and attentive caring she showed to so many students from our Catholic Indigenous communities.

Not an easy act to follow!  But after a careful search and selection, Bishop Charles has appointed Regina McCarthy as the new Catholic Dean at Nungalinya College.

February 15th 2021

And added to her 4 day-a-week role at the College, Regina will be based one day each week at the Diocesan Office working as the Aboriginal Ministry Coordinator. This is a new role and Regina sees herself as first up researching Aboriginal Ministries nationally and within the Territory, including what has been done in the past, what we are currently doing and where Aboriginal Ministry in the NT should be heading.  Regina sees this as including dialogue with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC), the NT Diocesan Aboriginal Pastoral Council, Nungalinya College and much more…

Recently I asked Regina to write something about herself that would introduce her to the wider diocesan membership.

This is what she sent me:

“My name is Regina McCarthy, Wadjigany woman from Bulgul, from the West Wagait region of the Northern Territory. Bamagaya is my Aboriginal name, given to me from my mother’s country, north of the Daly River mouth, located south-west of Darwin overlooking the Peron Islands. I am an Indigenous Australian, eldest of five siblings and mother of three adult children. I spent my childhood and primary school at Nauiyu Nambiyu, Daly River and my secondary schooling at St John’s College, Darwin and Mt St Bernard College, Atherton Tablelands, North Queensland, respectively. I have worked in Indigenous organisations, education and employment services sector. I am also a member of St Martin de Porres, Catholic Aboriginal Community and have been so for the last twenty years. During this time, I have been involved in various ministries. I attribute the foundation and continuity of my faith provided for by the role-modelling and teaching of my parents, my mothers (aunties), my family, St Martin de Porres Community and Chaplain and many other Christian connections. My journey has brought me to a new chapter which sees me working at Nungalinya College and the Catholic Diocesan office, which will continue to develop my Christian walk and to share in the faith journey of Christ with others in a meaningful way.”

Robyn Reynolds OLSH, taught Nungalinya

Let me finish this write-up on a rather personal note.

When I first came to the Darwin diocese in 1978, Regina’s father, Peter McCarthy, together with his brother Bob, were working at our Daly River Mission, alongside MSC priests and brothers and OLSH Sisters, as Lay Missionaries and had been there since 1970.

Daly River

Peter was gifted with a wide range of practical skills. He could fix anything.

Now, some of you will be familiar with the semi-lifesize crucifix in the Chapel at “The Ranch”, the MSC house in Nightcliff.

Well, about 10 years ago, the corpus or figure of Jesus on the crucifix began to come apart, due to the rusting of the metal structure inside the figure. The external statue part hanging on the wood was breaking up, dismembering the corpus. I thought the damage was irreparable.

Brother Ted Merritt knew who to turn to: Peter McCarthy. The repair job he did was absolutely professional. To this day the Ranch Chapel crucifix is as good as new.

I consider it to be a fitting memorial to Peter McCarthy.

Father Malcolm P Fyfe msc

Vicar General