Fr T.J. Linane, From Abel to Zundolovich, Vol. 2: Biographies of Priests on the Australian Scene up to 1900, 1980, pp 118-119:

Curtis, John Henry Anselm, OSB, Australian
Left Priesthood, But Retained Affection for the Old Master, Dr. Polding
The weakness of John Henry (religious name, Anselm) in leaving his Order and the priesthood in 1864 must be deplored, but his abiding Faith and the attachment to the Church, especially to the 'Old Master' (Polding) cannot be questioned. He was born in inner Sydney in 1829 (circa), the son of James Curtis and his wife, Mary Parsons, both native Australians, and was educated at St. Mary's Seminary. Professed as a choir monk on 11 July 1848 he found himself in the midst of monastic troubles that blighted the Order for many a year. That story has been dwelt on too much already. 'Tjurunga 1974-8', an Australian Benedictine Review, in Appendix 1, lists further useful dates in the ascent to responsibility and priesthood: Minor Orders, 3 March 1849. Monastery infirmarian 1848-50. Appointed cantor 22 May 1849. Ordained sub-deacon, 14 June 1850. Master of Postulants, November 1850. Deacon, 6 March 1852. Professor at St. Mary's Seminary, 1854. Continued studies in Subiaco, Italy in 1854-5. Returned to Sydney on the 'Phoenix', January 1856. Dean of the Monastery, 26 May 1856. Ordained priest, 29 June 1857. Appointed Master of Novices, 9 July 1857; and President of Lyndhurst College, August 1857. The latter as11ignment was combined with teaching responsibilities. If at this stage he was writing as prolifically as he wrote in later years, the information has not come through. What went wrong in the seven year sojourn? Again, the exact details are unclear. Anyhow in 1864 he departed with the Lyndhurst housekeeper, Elizabeth. His abode as a prominent layman in Melbourne was 6 Canning Street, Carlton, and in due course he found employment as Secretary of the Melbourne Athenaeum, a position he held for 30 years. There is in his death notice (if I'm not mistaken) mention of his prominence in the Druid's Lodge; also mention of his bereaved wife, but not of his family, and reputably there were several children. By 1903 at least there was some form of regret in the conscience of the 70 year old, and through the agency of Archbishop Carr an application was made to Rome for a dispensation. The document in reply, is in the safe keeping of the M.D.H.C. The writer didn't venture to examine its content. Anyhow, it involves some form of reconciliation. At the same time the pen of the reconciled became very active. No words of recrimination emanate therefrom. On the contrary all is sweetness and light. Any researcher, especially of the early Polding era, could be well advised to examine the results in the pages of the 'Austral Light', long since subdued and whose files are a priceless treasure in the James Alipius Goold Museum. In the pages thereof are found reliable articles on Dr. Polding (1902) file, on Archdeacon McEncroe, Dr. Goold, Dr. William Ullathorne, Father Faber. The contributions seem to continue until the death of the writer on 5 July 1909 at his Carlton home. 'Tjurunga' gives his age as 83, but more likely it was a plain four score. It was 52 years since his ordination, and should we say he attained his Golden Jubilee? Anyhow there was a reconciliation with the other 'Master' before the bones were laid to rest in the Boroondara Cemetery, Kew.
(Footprints, Vol. 3, No. 5)
Information: As quoted and supplied through the courtesy of Sr. Gregory OSB, Pennant Hills.