Wagga Wagga, NSW - St Michael's Catholic Cathedral
Year Built: 1885
Denomination: Roman Catholic
Saint: Michael
Address: Church Street, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, 2650
Architect: Tappin, Gilbert & Dennehy
Last Updated: 13/04/2023
History and Architecture:
The Cathedral was built as St Michael's Parish Church in 1885-87. The Foundation stone was laid on 26 April 1885. The architects were Tappin, Gilbert & Dennehy, of Melbourne, and it was opened in 1887. The second stage followed in 1922-25, to the designs of architect W.J. Monks, at a cost of 34,894.
When the Diocese of Wagga was formed in 1917 the church became a cathedral and was extended in 1922-25 to its present size and configuration. The building consists of nave, side aisles, porch, chancel, sacristy, chapel, gallery and tower. External walling is rock faced ashlar sandstone, while internally the walls have been plastered. Mullions and surrounds to openings are smooth dressed stone.
St Michael's is designed in Victorian Academic Gothic style in local sandstone. The slate roof is steeply pitched and gables are parapetted; there are several small gabled vents in the roof. Walls are buttressed. The corner tower (a landmark feature of the building) has round windows with quatrefoil tracery and in the upper level there is further tracery work above paired openings. Standing on each of the four corners of the tower's top are spires. Windows are of the pointed arch type, and in the gable ends there are triple, stained glass windows with label moulds; there is further tracery in the upper part of the central window of these groups.
Entrances to the cathedral are pointed arch, and the main entrance together with the tower entrance are gabled as well. Clerestory windows are in the form of triple, pointed arch windows and these are supported internally by well proportioned Gothic arches. Internal roof timbers are exposed, and the altars display some finely crafted marble.
Clergy:
This list may not contain every serving cleric, past or present, for this church.
Further submissions welcomed.
Years | Name | Annotation | D.o.B | D.o.D |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 - | Most Rev Gerard Hanna |
Organ:
George Fincham and Sons built a two-manual organ of 10 speaking stops for St Michael's Church in 1887. This was removed in 1892 and installed in the Chapel of St Peter at the Church of England Grammar School, South Yarra, Melbourne. It is now at St Bartholomew's Anglican Church, Burnley, Victoria, where it survives in a substantially intact state and was restored in 2002 by Australian Pipe Organs Pty Ltd.
An S Lewis rebuilt the Organ in 1939 and C.W. Andrewartha, rebuilt it again in 1975.
A full decription can be seen here.
Source:
1. Organ Historical Trust of Australia with permission.