Well Paul 1405... there were a few doubters there. There may still be room for you?

What an absurd statement! I have heard of Mary Mackillop. I was captain of Mackillop house at my school. I would suspect that almost every Australian who has attended a Catholic school or put their children through a Catholic school (whether they are Catholic or not) in the past twenty years has heard of Mary Mackillop. They probably have a pretty good idea about what she did in the world, too. For the most part, they just don't feel the need to bleat about it like the media does.

How many generations out of Scotland do you have to be before you can be Australian? Am I, for example, a Welshman despite never having been to Wales?

Well Otokonoko, Australians do rather cling to some long distant past don't they?

I've never understood why the 'Irish' here, that is, those with an Irish name whose grandparents, at least, were born here, think they have any connection to Ireland at all.

Some are not content to be 'Australian'.

Odd really.

You have to make up your own mind as to whether you are Australian, or Welsh.

If you were born here, I suggest you opt for the obvious.

TBC Don't get me started on the CATHOLIC CHURCH. The only nuns I knew had black habits and big sticks to belt kids with, was this person Ms MacKillop one of them. A saint that belted kids can't be half as bad as one that burnt people at the stake, he's on the list.

Think than move, I didn't say there were no Catholics on this forum. I said, "you'll 'probably' find they are not Catholic - - - - that means that maybe there could be a Catholic or two. Check out what "probably" means. About aboriginal people here, I am not aware of even one aboriginal person who contributes. Are you aware of aboriginal people here, posting day by day? If so, who are they?

I'm afraid this forum is NOT very representative of Australia's population. I get the impression that the vast majority of people here are white, middle to right wing and middle aged to older males with old fashioned out of date social attitudes.

The ONLY reason people have heard of Mary Mackillop is because of the sainthood issue. If she had never been a candidate for sainthood, she'd have remained an unknown except amongst the Sisters of St Joseph. I was educated by the Sisters of St Joseph for the first 5 years of my schooling, and if it wasn't for the sainthood issue, I wouldn't have remembered her name.

My daughter went to a MacKillop School, so we knew all about her.

Mind you, at all the school events over the years, where Mary's great deeds were praised, I never recall hearing about the fact that she was excommunicated from the Catholic Church for about six months after she tried to blow the whistle on a paedophile Priest.

I guess some things never change...