A Boystown Ex-pupil Receives a Settlement Many Years Later

Broken Rites
April 19, 2012

http://brokenrites.alphalink.com.au/nletter/page276-boystown-beaudesert.html

In 2011 the Catholic religious order of De La Salle Brothers agreed to offer an out-of-court settlement to a former pupil (let's call him "Zachary" — not his real name), who lived at BoysTown, a Catholic institution in Beaudesert, Queensland, for a part of the 1960s.

This institution, to which disadvantaged boys were sent in their early teens, was established in 1961 by Monsignor Owen Steele, who was the parish priest in charge of St Mary’s parish at Beaudesert, south of Brisbane.

The institution was staffed by De La Salle Brothers, assisted by some lay employees. In the 1960s, the senior De La Salle Brother at BoysTown was Brother Alban Dwyer. Later, other members of De La Salle Brothers took over as the administrator and as assistants. The institution closed in 2001.

In 2010, “Zachary” served a civil demand on the De La Salle headquarters (in Sydney) regarding certain actions which he alleged were inflicted on him at BoysTown in the 1960s.

In January 2011, Zachary and De La Salle reached an agreement for an out-of-court settlement.

The settlement deed says that the settlement was made on behalf of the ”Trustees of the De La Salle Brothers, a Body Corporate under the Roman Catholic Church Communities Lands Act 1942 (NSW)”

The settlement deed was signed by “Brother Ambrose Payne in his capacity [in 2011] as Provincial of the De La Salle Brothers (the Institute)”.

According to the settlement deed, the ex-pupil [whom Broken Rites is calling “Zachary”] has alleged that he was “unlawfully assaulted" by:

the late Brother Alban,

other students at Boystown and

other employees at Boystown.

[The settlement deed does not indicate what form the “unlawful assaults” took.]

According to the settlement deed, this ex-pupil “further alleges that, as a result of such unlawful acts, he sustained loss, damage and injuries and he may require specialist counselling and therapy.”

The deed states: "The Body Corporate [that is, the Trustees of the De La Salle Brothers], on an ex-gratia basis and without any admission of liability on the part of any party, agrees to pay a lump sum … inclusive of costs and disbursement, to [the ex-pupil].”

The deed mentions the amount of the payment but says this figure is to be kept confidential.

According to the deed, the ex-pupil “acknowledges that, by accepting the agreed sum and executing the deed, he is not entitled to make any further approach to the Body Corporate or the [De La Salle] institute for financial assistance, including assistance with respect to any specialist medical advice or for damages or otherwise..."

[That is, the settlement deed released De La Salle from being subjected by any further legal action by this ex-pupil.]

Brother Alban Dwyer

Alban Dwyer (who is named in the settlement deed as being one of the persons who allegedly committed unlawful assaults on "Zachary") was born in Australia on 23 May 1908 and died on 27 May 1983. His real name was John Alphonsus Dwyer but when he joined the De La Salle Brothers, he adopted the “religious” name Alban (in honour of an ancient “Saint Alban”).

“Alban” Dwyer was the eighth in an Irish Catholic family of ten children. Of these ten Dwyer children (who grew up in Sydney), five took up careers in the Catholic Church — two as religious Brothers, two as priests and one as a nun.

Number Seven in the Dwyer family — Louis Victor Dwyer (three years older than “Alban”) — adopted the religious name “Brother Fintan Dwyer (named after an ancient “Saint Fintan”) when he joined the De La Salle Brothers. Brother Fintan Dwyer, who was widely known as a child-molester, was put in charge of recruiting boys to become De La Sale Brothers. Fintan Dwyer is the subject of a separate article on the Broken Rites website.