HISTORY OF ST. JAMES’ CATHEDRAL

ST JAMES’ CATHEDRAL TOWNSVILLE

St James’ Cathedral is a heritage-listed cathedral of the

Anglican Diocese of North Queensland in Townsville,

Queensland. It was added to the Queensland Heritage

Register on 21 October 1992

Built on Melton Hill, the large red-brick structure is a well-

known landmark of the Townsville central business district

It was designed by Arthur Blackett and was partially built in

1887 by MacMahon & Cliffe.

St James’ Cathedral is essentially cruciform in

shape, but with a large semi-circular apse

towards the east. The main axis of the Cathedral

is just 20° off a geographical East–West direction

The nave has covered aisles which extend to the

West side of the transept. There is a small tower

and spire to the East of the transept, and a bell

tower with a cross in the Northwest corner.

The Cathedral sits on the corner of State Road

16, and Cleveland Terrace which rises up on the

North side.

SATELLITE VIEW

1860’s

•Townsville was established and its Anglican parishioners were part of the Diocese of Sydney

Prior to the construction of a church, Anglican services in Townsville were conducted at the court house.

1871

The first Anglican church was established on land on Melton Hill, purchased at a sale of crown lands, with the aid of parishioners. Work began on 24th May.

The structure was constructed of weatherboard with a shingle roof

1878

•The Diocese of North Queensland was created, based at St James’ Church in Townsville.

•The new diocese’s first bishop George Henry Stanton was appointed on 24th June

1879

•Stanton did not immediately go to Townsville but spent several months in England, trying to raise funds and attract clergy for the new diocese.

•He finally arrived in Townsville in May, preaching his first sermon on 21st of May.

1880•Having become the Cathedral of the new diocese, St James’ Church was enlarged, extending the nave and north and south aisles

1883•Plans for a new and larger cathedral began when members of the church formed a committee to raise the funds.

1884

•The proposal to build a cathedral was approved by a church synod and the Cathedral Building Committee was appointed.

An organ, donated by Miss S.E. Holland (an English friend of Bishop Stanton), was added to the church

1885•Arthur Blackett of Sydney, son of Edmund Blackett (the New South Wales colonial architect) was commissioned to design a new cathedral

1887

•The diocese called tenders for the construction of the Cathedral.

•The first sod was turned on the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria on 22nd June

1892•This first stage of the Cathedral was consecrated on October 27th by the second Bishop of North Queensland, Christopher Barlow.

1896On 26 January, Cyclone Sigma struck Townsville; however, the Cathedral was relatively unaffected by this .

Highlights of the 1800’s

ST JAMES’ CHURCH

St James' Church of England in Townsville, c.1875[Photograph: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

The intention initially was to have the

cathedral designed by John Horbury Hunt

but Arthur Blackett of Sydney, son of Edmund

Blackett (the New South Wales colonial

architect) was commissioned to design a

building to be erected on the church land

behind the existing weatherboard structure.

ORIGINAL PLANS

The initial designs called for a cathedral

constructed of sandstone with granite columns

which would hold 1000 parishioners.

The nave would be 37 feet (11 m) wide, transepts

would be 24 feet (7.3 m) wide and the total

interior length from chancel to bell tower would

be 115 feet (35 m).

Many features of these designs were rejected upon review by the diocese and three revisions were necessary before a final plan was approved.

The final design was for a church built in stone, with a low wide central tower which would act as a ventilation shaft, and a single tower at the northern door.

It was to cost £24,000 but was built in sections.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/79318072

1887-1892

The building was erected by Townsville contractors MacMahon & Cliffe. Subsequent

financial constraints forced changes to the design, and the Cathedral was

constructed in brick, with concrete facings, a temporary roof and no towers.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/79318072

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27_Cathedral,_Townsville

PHOTOGRAPH FEATURES SMALLER PRESBYTERIAN STONE CHURCH ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE AT THE BASE OF CASTLE HILL AND SAINT JAMES' CATHEDRAL ON THE RIGHT. THE ROUNDED STRUCTURE IS THE GREAT EASTERN END. ORIGINAL PORTION WAS DEDICATED IN OCTOBER 1892, BUT WAS NOT FULLY COMPLETED UNTIL 1960. THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS PROBABLY TAKEN CA. 1895?

HTTP://BONZLE.COM/PICTURES-OVER-TIME/PICTURES-TAKEN-IN-1890/PICTURE-2AWJRHYC/SIZE-3/-

[Photograph from 'A Portfolio of Drawings Photographs and Notes on the Occasion of the Consecration of the Cathedral, 24 June 1978',

The apse, chancel, transepts and part of

the nave and flanking arcades were built

with a temporary roof constructed

overhead.

The other half of the Cathedral was

completed 1959-1960.

The incomplete cathedral as it existed

between 1892 and the late 1950s

THE ORIGINAL ALTAR

• The original high altar was installed in the Cathedral in

1892 and was moved to the Warrior Chapel during the

completion of the Cathedral in 1959.

• The Reredos (behind the altar) was paid for and

donated to the Cathedral by the Ladies Guild and made

by William Hollins of Townsville.

1900

THE PAINTED CHRIST WAS INSTALLED IN THE CATHEDRAL FOR A SHORT TIME AFTER 1900

On 9 March 1903 Cyclone Leonta struck

Townsville, destroying the 1871 St James’

Church and the temporary roof of the

Cathedral. The Cathedral was promptly

rebuilt with higher walls and a more

permanent roof at a cost of £2,500.

The gas lights, seen here, remained until 1922

St James' Cathedral unroofed following cyclone 'Leonta' in March 1903[Photograph: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland]

Cyclone Leonta

DRAGON’S TEETH ON WOOD WORK FROM AROUND 1906

WEST WALL EXTENSION AND TOWER

The second stage of the Cathedral was

designed in 1955 by Melbourne architect

Louis Williams, with Townsville architects

Black and Paulsen responsible for the building

between1959-1960. Although Blackett’s

design had a strong Byzantine flavour, with its

magnificent pointed arches and the apsidal

east end, at one stage of the design he

envisaged having a dome above the nave.

Williams favoured a Gothic design, which was

popular for churches up to the end of the

1960’s.Queensland State Archives

https://flickr.com/photos/queenslandstatearchives/48261304097/in/album-72157710038391047/

EVIDENCE OF 1959-60 EXTENSIONS

Although the brick makers,

Scott Brothers, reopened the

original clay pit to make new

bricks for the extension, a

slight difference of colour can

be seen due to the aging of the

bricks.

Original lapped, rough sawn timberNewer, tongue-in-groove,

finely sawn timber

Louvres in newer section

WEST WALL EXTENSION AND TOWER

The final foundation stone was laid in

1960 marking the completion of the

Cathedral.

The main Western façade together with

the statue of St James, part of the roof

and a section of the eastern wall were

severely damaged by Cyclone Althea in

1971. It was restored in the same year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27_Cathedral,_Townsville

CATHEDRAL CONSECRATION 1978

The Cathedral could not be consecrated until the building was finished

and the debt paid off

Consecration points around the Cathedral

MAJOR RENOVATIONS 2008-2013

https://premise.com.au/project/st-james-cathedral/

Restorations to the bell tower were required to:

• Investigate damage to the bell tower and provide structural repairs

• Remove and replace all damaged bricks, whilst maintaining heritage nature

• Reappoint entire tower with a more suitable lime-based mortar

• Rehang the existing bell on a new support structure

• Repair manual method of ringing the bell, and provide electronic mechanisms

• Repair existing lightning protection system

• Repaint existing statue of saint

Restorations to the cathedral roof were required to:

• Assess and repair all aspects of the cathedral roof to meet current standards

• Replace the structure with an entirely new roof

• Remove existing slate roof tiles and asbestos products

• Install new synthetic roof tiles, along with rolled lead in the curved dome section

• Waterproof the entire roof and provide re-guttering

• Repair aspects of the cathedral spire

http://slateroofingqueensland.com.au/project/townsville/

THE ORGAN

THE ORIGINAL ORGAN WAS INSTALLED IN ST JAMES’ CHURCH IN 1884 AND MOVED TO THE PRESENT CATHEDRAL IN 1892

The small brass plate remembers the gift of the pipe

organ to the St James’ Church by Miss M.E. Holland, an

English friend of Bishop George Henry Stanton, the first

Bishop of North Queensland.

The organ was originally built by Brindley and Foster of

Sheffield, England. It was a two manual (2 keyboards) and

pedal instrument of ten stops and it was installed by Mr.

T. C. Christmas of Brisbane.

It was originally installed in the north choir ambulatory

under an arch fronting the chancel.

THE ORGAN’S HISTORY

Brindley and Foster (Sheffield) organ installed in St James’ Church

Moved to one bay of the North Transept of the present Cathedral

Mechanical organ coupled to pneumatic organ and enlarged to an extra 13 stops by the original builder. Occupied 2 bays of the North Transept.

Mr. Noel Ferguson, an optometrist from Cairns, rebuilt it with twenty-two speaking stops and the action was changed from mechanical to electro-pneumatic to stop the delay that occurred between the two.

Moved to organ gallery

Reconstructed by Brown and Arkley

Further adjustment of voicing and wind pressures2002

1992

1958

1956

-57

1906

1892

1884

Original location of organ

After enlargement

THE ORGAN RECONSTRUCTION (1991-92)

The organ was reconstructed by Brown and Arkley for the Centenary of St

James’ in 1992 and in its present form represents the vision and dreams of

the late Frank Carroll, who was Director of Music in the Cathedral (1966-

94).

Woodwork used in the earlier rebuilding was never sealed against the

weather, and this caused many unbidden sounds (called ‘ciphers’) that sprang

forth unexpectedly. The metal pipework needed a complete overhaul as well

as cleaning, revoicing and regulating. Quite a few pipes had suffered from

vandalism and ‘souveniring’ and needed to be replaced, and the large wooden

pipes on the East Wall (the huge 16 foot bourdon) were water damaged

during cyclone Althea in 1971.

This major project, which cost in excess of $300,000, saw the instrument

enlarged to four manuals and 53 stops and an extended gallery built above

the North Transept (Lady Chapel) to accommodate it. The organ was then

the largest pipe organ in Queensland, outside metropolitan Brisbane.

It was dedicated by the Bishop of North Queensland on the 4th October

1992 as part of the Cathedral’s Centenary Celebrations.

IMPORTANT CATHEDRAL VISITORS

1966 US President Lyndon B. Johnson

1959 Princess Alexandra

Bishops of North

Queensland

No From Until Incumbent

1 1878 1891 George Stanton

2 1891 1902 Christopher Barlow

3 1902 1913 George Frodsham

4 1913 1947 John Feetham

5 1947 1952 Wilfrid Belcher

6 1953 1970 Ian Shevill

7 1971 1996 John Lewis

8 1996 2002 Clyde Wood

9 2002 2007 John Noble

10 2007 2018 William Ray

11 2019 present Keith Joseph

Sub Deans & Deans of St James’ Cathedral

No From Until Incumbent From Until Incumbent

1 Henry Plume 13 Henry Kendall

2 William Tucher 14 William Hohenhouse

3 Francis Pritt 15 196 1969 Bernard Tringham

4 Boag 16 1969 1972 Wilfred Lancelot Harmer

5 Charles Day 17 1972 1977 Adrian Owen Charles

6 William Williams 18 1977? 1981 David Philp

7 Edward Cozier 19 1985 1989 Donald Barter

8 James Norman 20 1989 1999 Ronald Wood

9 Bryan Robin 21 2001 2004 David Lunniss

10 Robert Moline 22 2013 present Rodney Marshall MacDonald

11 John Cue

12 Montague Collins

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS& THANKS –

PAUL SCOTT

Paul Scott is a keen photographer specialising in photographing

cathedrals from around the world.

• “In 1986 I toured Britain and became fascinated with British Cathedrals.

This fascination has never left me. These days I have come to enjoy

photography and also the creation of websites, so a photographic website

project on Australian Cathedrals was probably inevitable.

• I have tried to capture something of the inspiration and beauty of each

Cathedral. The idea is that on the site you might join me in walking around

the Cathedral, and then going inside to explore, enjoy, wonder, be inspired ...

and even meet with God! Our cathedrals are certainly worth visiting.” Paul

Scott

Paul has published a range of great photos of the St James’ Cathedral on

his website.

• http://paulscottinfo.ipage.com/cathedrals/townsville/stjames/