Archbishop Daniel Mannix (1864-1963) was Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne from 1917 to 1963. Mannix was born in Ireland, and was 49 when sent to Australia. Here he quickly established a reputation for belligerence and social divisiveness as he confronted enemies of the church and denounced evils such as freemasonry, mixed marriage and birth control. He gained a huge Catholic and working class following, antagonising establishment Protestants with his open hostility to the British Empire. The greatest sectarian conflict in Australian history developed out of his opposition to Billy Hughes's bid for conscription. In 1920 the British navy intercepted a ship carrying Mannix to prevent his visiting Ireland. In later life Mannix was mentor to BA Santamaria. He died, with all faculties undiminished, at the age of 99.
