Photo of Julian Tenison Woods taken in Perak, Malay Peninsula in 1883.
Father Julian Tenison Woods died on 7 October 1889. He was in his fifty-seventh year and extremely unwell. Julian had returned to Sydney after extensive and exhausting field work in parts of Australasia and the Northern Territory.
Many of the letters and reports he wrote while abroad have survived. In letters to his friends and family, he describes the various style of his accommodations which range from a canoe, to the homes of those representing the face of the British Empire and royal palaces. He includes observations of the local flora and fauna he encounters, or in the case of the tigers narrowly avoiding an encounter. He tells of joining the missionary priests whenever circumstances permitted and celebrating the sacraments in exotic settings. In articles destined for Australian newspapers, he writes an account of the causes and aftermath of the eruption of Krakatoa. The reports he prepared for the government commissions detail his observations and surveys of minerals and other natural resources.
My favourite photograph of Julian was taken in Perak, Malay Peninsula in 1883. Julian is seated at a writing desk and wearing the garb of an explorer of the Victorian era. A closer look takes one beyond the tropical safari suit to a portrait of a priest-scientist. He is wearing a clerical collar. On 15 November 1883 his letter to his brother Terry and sister-in-law, Sarah, told them about his outfit: “As for my outfit I have only to send a requisition to the government storekeeper & it is sent to me. I dress in white & though I had a good stock of clothes Sir Hugh would not let me travel without nine more suits of flannel & linen coats & trousers &c.” (Woods 2008, 38).
Julian brought together his dual vocations of priest and scientist. As the photograph illustrates, he wore both with pride, and he wore both at the same time. He insisted that he was a priest first. His scientific peers saw the two vocations present and as complementary. Professor Ralph Tate (1840-1901), eulogised Tension Woods in his 1890 annual report to the Royal Society of South Australia saying:
Though at all times a scientific enthusiast, he was nevertheless the devoted priest, and as a preacher he was acknowledged to be singularly earnest and powerful – his fine presence and elocutionary power intensifying his influence. As a scientist his life became a part of the scientific progress and history of Australasia, laboring with equally good results in Geology, Botany, Palaeontology and Zoology (Tate 1890, 253).
On this 135th death anniversary of Julian Tenison Woods, we remember a man who Saint Mary MacKillop described as someone with “a many-sided mind”. (MacKillop and Press 2010, 50).
We lift our hearts in thanksgiving for the life of Julian Tenison Woods.
We remember his founding with Mary MacKillop which brought the Josephite Congregations to birth.
We remember his gifts as pastor, scientist, artist and poet,
His passion for mission, his reverence of Earth,
His respect for the Aboriginal peoples, and his love of God.
We give thanks for his influence in our lives.
From the Josephite Prayer Book (vol 1, page 72)
Sr Mary-Ann Casanova PhD
View a photo gallery of some of Fr Julian’s drawings of Malaysian views and natural history (ca. 1883-1884). The whole album can be viewed here: https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/digital/lGMGwDbeEA5QN
References
- MacKillop, Mary, and Margaret M. Press. 2010. Julian Tenison Woods: A Life. Canonisation ed. Strathfield, N.S.W: St Pauls Publications.
- Tate, Ralph. 1890. “Annual Report.” Transactions and Proceedings and Report of the Royal Society of South Australia 13:252–55.
- Woods, Julian Tenison. 2008. Yrs Most Afftly: Letters from Father Julian Tenison Woods to Terry and Sarah Tenison Woods, 1878 – 1887. Edited by Player. Brisbane: Sisters Perpetual Adoration.