100 Years on Barney's Hill

A history of St Columba’s Parish, South Perth. There was a time when nearly every church building looked the same, but the Spanish Mission styled church of Saint Columba at South Perth was the one that broke the mould. A multi-cultural effort, it started with the land being purchased at the instigation of two Bishops, one Spanish and one Irish, then add in a Maltese priest, stir in a lot of Ireland and a touch of Hollywood. The church building is the result of a visit to the US by a Perth-based Irish priest, calling in to meet up with a fellow seminarian from their days in Dublin, who was now the parish priest of Hollywood, LA The priest was South Perth’s Father McMahon and he had come to admire, and examine, the Spanish Mission styled church at Hollywood, fell in love with the church, ended up drinking Champagne with Mae West and having morning coffee on a movie set with its star, Bing Crosby. If you think that it sounds like the plot of a book, keep reading …