The St Mary’s Star of the Sea Cathedral is the main place of Catholic worship in the city of Darwin, and the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Darwin. It is situated at the corner of Smith Street and McLachlan Street. The Cathedral is oriented in line with the city grid, meaning that geographical northeast coincides with liturgical East (capital letter). We use liturgical directions on this site: this gives a uniformity in discussing the various cathedrals. This Cathedral is roughly cruciform in shape with a broad transept, chapels at the Eastern end, and a tower in the Southwest corner. INDEX
2. SOUTHWESTERN BELL TOWER
The tower of the Cathedral holds a peal of four bells. They were cast in Germany. The first bell is called ‘Mary’ and was donated by the Italian Community in Darwin and is inscribed with the Coat of Arms of Pope John XXIII, who was reigning when the Cathedral opened, and of Bishop O’Loughlin. The other three bells are: ‘Larrakeyah’ in memory of the people who originally inhabited this part of Australia; ‘Jesus’ for the Jesuit Fathers who were the first missionaries here from 1882 to 1902; ‘Isabella’, the first baby baptised by the Jesuit Fathers on October 1st, 1882.
3. SOUTH TRANSEPT
Looking Eastwards we see the South transept extending out at the end of the nave. Notice the low wall at the right of this view. • The diocese of Darwin is immense, covering an area about three times the size of France. It stretches from the Tiwi islands in the north all the way to the Santa Teresa parish which is about 80 kilometres south of Alice Springs. Then from Gove and Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria all the way to the Western Australian border.
4. CRUCIFIX SHRINE
Just South of the nave stands a short wall bearing a crucifix. In front is an attractive rectangular lily pond.
5. SHRINE DETAIL
Closer inspection of the Crucifix reveals that it has been vandalized. A plaque tells us that the image was disfigured only recently, during Holy Week 2015, leaving only the head and torso of the Christ figure remaining. I was touched by the text: ‘Christ has no hands or feet but yours’. This is a wonderful example of creating an inspirational truth from an evil act.
6. TOWARDS THE LADY CHAPEL
Our plan of circumnavigating the Cathedral is foiled at this point! • As the Cathedral is a Northern Territory War Memorial shrine, it was thought appropriate to include in the foundations various relics of the early days in various parts of the Territory. These include a brick from Port Essington, a musket ball from Fort Dondas, a relic of The Gap police station from Alice Springs, native relics such as microliths (small spear heads), a stone axe and a stone knife. They were excavated from beneath the earth floor of a natural shelter on a hill known as Yarrar within the territory of the Murinbata people. The stone knife is fashioned from a tough pink quartzite. It was discovered on an island off the north coast of Arnhem Land.
7. EAST WINDOW
We walk right back around the Cathedral to the East side. The dominant feature from this angle is the parabolic East window. This window has an interesting history. After many years of violent tropical weather, by 1990 considerable repairs were needed. Most of the 70 window panes were badly distorted and many individual pieces of glass were broken or missing. The lead framework had decayed and could no longer maintain the structural integrity of the window. ...
8. BELOW THE EAST WINDOW
... Darwin-based glass artist Jon Firth of Unicorn Glass Studio undertook the restoration project of the East window, which took two years to complete. As each panel was reset in place it was covered with safety glass – protection against Darwin’s extreme weather conditions. • Below the window is a small cross, and perhaps entry to a crypt?
9. NORTHEAST VIEW
This is a view from the Northeast. • When the foundations of the Cathedral were laid, coins of the realm were placed with the other relics to represent the time of the building. The idea of the War Memorial Cathedral in Darwin was actually first mooted by war troops stationed there after St. Mary's Church had been severely damaged in an air-raid in 1942. The troops had a close affinity with St. Mary’s while they were in Darwin. Some of the Chaplains were MSCs (Missionaries of the Sacred Heart) and the troops worshipped at St. Mary's which was, and still is, the garrison Church.
10. NORTH TRANSEPT
As Darwin grew after the war, the need for a new St. Mary's became more evident. Mr Ian Ferrier, of the firm J.P. Donoghue, Cusick and Edwards of Brisbane, designed the new building. • The name? Stella Maris (sea-star) is a name of α Ursae Minoris or Polaris, the ‘guiding star’ because it has been used for celestial navigation at sea since antiquity. The name is applied to the Virgin Mary in Saint Jerome's Latin translation of the Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea. Many Catholic churches in coastal towns have the name ‘St Mary Star of the Sea’.
11. NORTH WALL
Designed to meet local tropical needs, the entire length of both nave walls can be opened up by a series of glass panel doors. Windows in the walls above provide further ventilation and are protected by the broad roofing overhang and concrete grille.
12. WEST WALL FROM THE NORTH
The first sod was turned on 16th December, 1957, and the foundation stone was blessed by Bishop O'Loughlin on 13th July, 1958. This stone was cut from a piece of crystalline metamorphosed rock from Rum Jungle, the site of the first uranium mine in the Territory. The stone shows extensive silification. It is rich in symbolism, uniting as it does what was a powerful centre of Territory development with the vital centre of spiritual inspiration.
13. FRONT VIEW
The Cathedral is dominated at the main entrance by a 26 metre tower, topped by a cross 6 metres high. The graceful tower sets off the building contours. A spiral staircase gives access to a gallery at the top, commanding a panoramic view of the city of Darwin. The roof of the Cathedral is copper.
14. WEST WINDOW
This window features eight lively, full colour artworks, created by artists from the remote communities of Arrente, Tiwi and Melville islands, Larrakia (Darwin) and Daly River. The artworks were created as large watercolour paintings, combining inspiration from traditional culture with Christian references. Facilitator and art consultant Cait Wait spent two weeks working with the Cooling Brothers team in Perth on behalf of the artists, translating the paintings into the ceramic inks featured in the company’s ImagInk printing process. Notice the wall plaque at lower right.
15. FOUNDATION STONE
The text on the foundation stone is in Latin and almost illegible. The first stone taken from Rum Jungle, the site of the first uranium mine in the territory, was blessed by Bishop O'Loughlin on 13 July 1958. Construction operations were entrusted to Carl Johansson until 1962 when he was replaced by John D'Arcy. The cathedral was blessed and opened for worship by Bishop O'Loughlin on 19 August 1962 and consecrated on 20 August 1972.
16. NAVE
The nave is impressive. The lines of the Cathedral’s contemporary neo-gothic design are majestic. Special features are a series of parabolic arches, 16 metres high, and the extensive use of local sawn stone. The white porcellanite stone was cut from the cliffs of Darwin Harbour in the Church’s own quarry at Larrakeyah. The parabola is a graceful curve, but also has good load-bearing characteristics. Notice the colourful chapel windows on either side at the front.
17. YEAR OF MERCY
As part of a world-wide celebration of ‘a Holy Year of Mercy’, a temporary doorway has been erected here. An explanatory notice is close by, and a decorative stand with cards reading ‘Holy Year of Mercy’, ‘Forgiveness’ and ‘Hope’.
18. NORTH NAVE
We begin our investigation of the nave by turning towards the North wall. As expected, we find glass doors opening out to the garden bed beyond. There are also four coloured panels in the glass strip above the doors, and higher up, a set of Stations of the Cross. Just to the right of the doors is a brass plaque.
19. NORTH MEMORIAL PANELS
The Cathedral is a war memorial to those servicemen – Australian, American, British and Dutch – who lost their lives in the area during the war, and to the civilian residents who died in the war. The memorial character is reflected in a series of stained glass panels donated by the Australian and American Armed forces, and depicting their respective emblems.
20. FATHER HENSCHKE PLAQUE
Just to the right of the glass doors, this brass plaque tells us that the Stations of the Cross were erected in honour of Father William Michael Henschke. Father Henschke was a Missionary of the Sacred Heart, and the Stations were erected in 1964 on the 50th Anniversary of his priesthood.