One honfred and fisty years ago, the first Marists stepped ashore in Sydney Town. The huge task of these dedicated Frenchmen : to carry their universal religion to the peoples of the vast South Pacific.The marist fathers chose this distant colonial outpost to be a supply base on the western rim of the Pacific. Their vision was outward, to the challenge of the endless ocean and its far-flung islands. But the fathers were to have a profound influence on life in this colony of the British Empire. Although all the pioneering marists were french, one was to be "elected an honorary irishman, "father O'Rennetel". This whimsical elevation aptly symbolises the contribution they made, serving the Irish-Australian citizenry of Sydney and its hinterland...In telling this story, Challenge is more than a record of the Marist Fathers achievements in the Pacific and in eastern Australia. It becomes an intriguing addition to the general history of colonial Ausralia.