The history of religion as a school subject, as with the history of the school curriculum in general and the history of individual school subjects in particular, tend to be neglected. As a contribution to that corpus of work, a study of religion as a school subject in Western Australian Catholic schools offers some interesting insights. In particular, the contribution made between 1920 and 1950 by a priest of the Archdiocese of Perth, Monsignor McMahon (1893-1989), is worth some examination.