Eugene Stockton facts for kids

Eugene Stockton was born in 1934. He is a retired Catholic priest and an archaeologist. An archaeologist studies old things to learn about the past. He worked in the beautiful Blue Mountains area of New South Wales, Australia.

Early Life and Learning

Eugene Stockton grew up in Lawson, a town in the Blue Mountains. He loved nature from a young age. His mother, Elsie, became Catholic while working at St Columba’s Seminary, Springwood. Eugene's father sadly passed away a few months after he was born.

When Eugene was only six years old, he decided he wanted to become a priest. He was accepted into the seminary when he was 13. A seminary is a special school for people who want to become priests. He studied at St Columba's Seminary in Springwood and St Patrick's Seminary in Manly.

In 1958, at age 22, he became a priest at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. He continued his studies and was the first person to earn a special high degree in Theology from the Catholic Institute of Sydney.

He taught at St Columba's and St Patrick's Seminary. Then, he traveled to Rome, Italy. There, he earned another degree in Sacred Scripture, which is the study of the Bible. After that, he spent four years in Jerusalem. He studied at two important schools there: the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum and the École biblique et archéologique française. These schools focus on archaeology and understanding the Bible.

Archaeology Adventures

In 1967, Eugene Stockton was living at the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem when the Six Day War started. He had to leave for Cyprus for a short time. He later returned to help lead the British School of Archaeology. He also worked on his research about ancient Arabian Cult Stones.

During this time, he became friends with a famous scholar named Roland de Vaux. Eugene helped Roland de Vaux get supplies from the British Consulate. Roland de Vaux then helped Eugene with his research paper.

Eugene gained a lot of experience digging at archaeological sites. He worked on digs in the Jordan Valley, near Jericho. These digs would last for many months. Eugene said that once you learned how to dig carefully at difficult sites, you could do any other excavation work easily.

After returning to Sydney, Australia, Eugene earned another high degree. This one was in Archaeology and Semitic Studies from the University of Sydney. His research was still about the Arabian Cult Stones. He kept teaching at Catholic Seminaries in Sydney. Later, he went back to the Middle East for more studies.

Once, in Jordan, he was arrested. People thought he might be a spy because of how he spoke Arabic. But he was released after an English-speaking officer questioned him more carefully.

Helping Communities

When he came back to Sydney, Eugene Stockton worked as a chaplain at Sydney University. A chaplain is a priest who helps people in a specific place, like a university. He also helped at many churches in Sydney, including Parramatta, Narabeen, DeeWhy, Mt Druitt, Penrith, Riverstone, Springwood, and Lawson. He also worked in far western New South Wales, in a town called Bourke.

In 1986, he helped start the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry in Parramatta. Cardinal Gilroy chose Father Eugene Stockton to be the first priest to help Aboriginal Catholics in Sydney. He believed that the Aboriginal community should lead this ministry themselves.

Eugene Stockton said, "The idea of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry was to get away from the mission idea." He meant that Aboriginal people should run their own centers with help from others like him. He also said, "All over Australia, Aboriginal Catholics have been developing ways of worship and spirituality that are special to them."

Archaeology and Beliefs

Because of his training in archaeology, Eugene Stockton became very interested in Australian Aboriginal archaeology and their spiritual beliefs. He explored many archaeological sites in the Blue Mountains, along the north and central coasts, and in the far west of New South Wales. He also looked at areas in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and Central Australia.

His most important work included six excavations in the Blue Mountains. Many Aboriginal tools and objects were found there. Digs at Kings Tableland and Wentworth Falls showed that people had lived there continuously for at least 22,300 years. Excavations near the Nepean River at the base of the Blue Mountains found objects that showed humans were present up to 50,000 years ago.

Blue Mountain Educational and Research Trust

In 2008, Eugene Stockton started the Blue Mountain Educational and Research Trust. This group helps support local research and writing in the Blue Mountains. They especially focus on Aboriginal, religious, and spiritual studies.

Eugene Stockton has written over 150 articles and many books. These books cover topics like Bible studies, Christianity, theology, archaeology, and Aboriginal spirituality. In his book Australian Religious Thought, Wayne Hudson says that Stockton wants to create an "Australian theology." This means combining ideas from the Bible, respect for the land, and Aboriginal spiritual beliefs.

Stockton's book The Deep Within: Towards An Archetypal Theology explores his idea that Aboriginal spirituality should become a part of mainstream thinking. He believes that European and Aboriginal ways of thinking can connect deeply.

Published Works

• Stockton, E. D. and Holland, W. N., 1974. Cultural sites and their environment in the Blue Mountains. Archaeology and Physical Anthropology in Oceania. Vol. 9 (1), pp.36–65.
• Stockton, E. D., 1979. The search for the first Sydneysiders. In: Stanbury, P. (Ed.), 10,000 Years of Sydney Life. A Guide to Archaeological Discovery, pp 49–54. The Macleay Museum, The University of Sydney, Sydney.
• Stockton, Eugene, 1982. Arabian Cult Stones. Department of Semitic Studies, University of Sydney, PhD Thesis.
• Nanson, G. C., Young, R. A. W. and Stockton, E. D. 1987. Chronology and Palaeoenvironment of the Cranebrook Terrace (near Sydney) containing artefacts more than 40,000 years old. Archaeology in Oceania 22: 72-8.
• Stockton, Eugene, 1990. Landmarks : A Spiritual Search in a Southern Land. Parish Ministry Publications, Eastwood (Revised ed. 2013 BMERT, Lawson) ISBN: 978-0-646-91021-5
• Stockton, E. D., 1995, The Aboriginal Gift : Spirituality for a Nation. Millenium Books, Alexandria ( 2nd Edition 2015 BMERT, Lawson)
• Stockton, Eugene, 1998. Wonder : A Way to God. St Pauls Publications, Strathfield. ( Revised ed. 2018. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust) ISBN: 978-0-9941555-7-3
• Stockton, E. D. and Merriman, J. (Eds.), 2009. Blue Mountains Dreaming: The Aboriginal Heritage. (Second Edition). Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. 255 pp. ISBN: 978-0-646-50386-8
• Stockton, Eugene and O'Donnell, Terence 2010. Aboriginal Church Paintings : Reflecting on our Faith. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson.
• Stockton, Eugene, 2011. The Deep Within : Towards an Archetypal Theology. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. ISBN: 978-0-646-56079-3
• Stockton, Eugene. (Editor), 2013. Sydney Rock – On the Ways to the West. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. ISBN: 978-0-646-90536-5
• Stockton, Eugene. (Editor), 2014. This Tortuous Ridge – Linden to Lawson. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. ISBN: 978-0-9941555-1-1
• Stockton, Eugene, 2018. Martha and Mary of my Mind: Studies into Deep Consciousness. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. ISBN: 978-0-994-1555-6-6.
• Knox, Kelvin and Stockton, Eugene (Eds.) 2019. Aboriginal Heritage of the Blue Mountains : Recent Research and Reflections. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. ISBN: 978-0-9941555-8-0
• Emilsen, William W. and Stockton, Eugene (Eds.) 2021. Sacred Ways and Places in the Blue Mountains. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. ISBN: 978-0-645098-0-3
• Emilsen, William W. and Stockton, Eugene (Eds.) 2022. The Wisdom of Age - Reflections on Growing Old in the Blue Mountains. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. ISBN 978-0-6450983-1-0