Eugene Stockton

Eugene Stockton (30 November 1934 – 5 August 2026) was an Australian priest, archaeologist, scholar, Aboriginal chaplain, teacher and educator, who for many years lived in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. He was fondly known as the “Indiana Jones” of the Catholic priesthood. He survived war zones, uncovered archaeological breakthroughs, tackled 14 languages, started the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry and found time to complete two doctorates for his work as a seminary lecturer.

Early life and education Eugene Stockton grew up at Lawson in the Blue Mountains where an interest in the natural environment was nurtured. His mother Elsie, converted to the Catholic faith while working with religious sisters in the laundry of St Columba’s Seminary, Springwood. His father died tragically a few months after his birth. At only six years old the young Eugene Stockton announced that he was going to become a priest. He was accepted into the seminary when he was 13.

He lectured at St Columba's and St Patrick's Seminary before travelling overseas to Rome where he completed a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. He then spent four years in Jerusalem and studied at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, a Franciscan academic society and the Ecole Biblique et Archeologique Francaise, a French academic establishment in Jerusalem specializing in archaeology and biblical exegesis.

In Jordan he was once arrested and imprisoned on suspicion of being a Palestinian spy because of his Arabic dialect, but released after more thorough interrogation by an English-speaking officer.

Blue Mountain Educational and Research Trust In 2008 Stockton established the Blue Mountain Educational and Research Trust to promote local Blue Mountains research and writing, especially in Aboriginal, religious and spiritual studies.

Stockton's book The Deep Within: Towards An Archetypal Theology explores his conviction that Aboriginal spirituality must eventually find its place in the mainstream and that the mutual engagement of European and Aboriginal thinking can only be possible at the deepest level of consciousness.

Death Stockton died on 5 August 2026, at the age of 91.

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) 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) 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. 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. Stockton, Eugene. (Editor), 2013. Sydney Rock – On the Ways to the West. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. Stockton, Eugene. (Editor), 2014. This Tortuous Ridge – Linden to Lawson. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. Stockton, Eugene, 2018. Martha and Mary of my Mind: Studies into Deep Consciousness. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. . Knox, Kelvin and Stockton, Eugene (Eds.) 2019. Aboriginal Heritage of the Blue Mountains : Recent Research and Reflections. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. Emilsen, William W. and Stockton, Eugene (Eds.) 2021. Sacred Ways and Places in the Blue Mountains. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson. -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 Stockton, Eugene, 2025. An Archeological Tour of the Blue Mountains. Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson.