MALENY’s country church was nothing but a “dry paddock” before the land was given to the local parish in 1924 – and 100 years on, that dry paddock has come to nourish thousands of people.

Parishioners past and present flocked from all over south-east Queensland to be at Sacred Heart Church’s centenary celebrations on Sunday, February 4.

Parishioner Elizabeth Caffery said the centenary celebrations were “absolutely fantastic”.

She said it was splendid to have Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge with them to celebrate Mass, and concelebrated by parish priest Fr Josh Whitehead and former parish priest Fr Kevin Smith.

“It was really a joyous Mass and an uplifting day,” she said.

It was also a chance to look back and share gratitude for the communities who had supported the life of the Church there in the past.

The first Catholics in the area, like the McCarthys and the Daleys, were mostly Irish pastoralists who settled on the Range in the late 1800s.

They built their church in 1924 high on a hill in Cedar Street overlooking the then sparce town centre.

The acre of land, his “dry paddock”, was gifted by Patrick Daley to the Church.

The church was built out of local timber with a galvanised roof at the cost £836.

When built, a local report described it as “a very handsome and pleasing addition to the many fine buildings of this fast-developing centre”.

The present more modern church building replaced it in 1975.

There were many nods to the past during the liturgy.

In 1924, when the church was opened, the Ave Maria was sung and it was sung once again at the centenary celebration by Margaret Taylor, a well-known operatic singer in Maleny.

After Mass, the community enjoyed a morning tea, farewelled some 2024 memorabilia into a time capsule and listened to Ms Caffery’s talk on the history of the local church.

The morning ended with the launch of the book by Jack Wilcox – The Heart on the Hill on which four members, Liz Caffery, Anne Minter, Vince Carbery and Judy Berlak, of the History Group had been working for many months.

The book will be available by contacting Anne Minter at guyanneminter@gmail.com until the end of February and later at the Caloundra Catholic Parish Office (0754309390) at the cost of $25.