Edited by Anne Benjamin and Seamus O’Grady. Published by Coventry Press, 2020. Reviewed by Jenny Collins

Not Forgotten features 30 biographies and reflections about Australian Catholic education. It is written as a tribute to the lay teachers, clergy and the thousands of teaching sisters, brothers and priests who founded and ran Catholic schools. Published in 2020, the book celebrates 200 years of Catholic education in Australia and is the first publication from the proposed Biographical Dictionary of Australian Catholic Educators.

The book is a rich historical resource. Although some accounts tend to be hagiographic in style, I enjoyed reading about key figures such as Ronald Fogarty FMS, who wrote a seminal history of Catholic Education in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, which I mined extensively in my own research.

The selected biographies ensure that educators’ contributions to Catholic schools are not forgotten. Given that teaching sisters formed the vast majority of workers in the vineyard it is surprising to find they are given so few entries — half the accounts feature the contributions of clergy and male religious. As it stands, Not Forgotten is an intriguing sample of a much bigger story, one that could provide fascinating insights into the history of Catholic education for readers and historians on both sides of the Tasman.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 265 November 2021: 31