61. TIME FOR REFLECTION

Cathedrals are always good places for reflection. There are some special reflections in St Mary’s!    PLAN

62. ROSE WINDOW AND ORGAN

The beautiful rose window has 8-fold symmetry and the abstract design appears to show flames radiating from the central cross. It was designed by Sydney stained glass artist Stephen Moor and installed in 1981. The pipes of the splendid organ are also beautifully decorated. This completes our tour of St Mary’s Cathedral.

63. OLD ST MARY’S

The Cathedral’s origins can be traced back to 1822 when the first permanent Tasmanian priest Fr Philip Conolly constructed a temporary wooden chapel near the present Cathedral site. It took three attempts before the first section of the Cathedral was finally built between 1860 and 1866. A donation of £10,000 from philanthropist Roderick O’Connor finally secured the project. Structural problems caused by faulty building resulted in the Cathedral being largely dismantled and re-constructed to a modified design between 1876 and 1881. [Photo Credit: http://eprints.utas.edu.au/2337/]

64. AN OLD POSTCARD

The East window, containing the Hardman stained glass window was recovered from the original Cathedral and reinstalled. The first stained glass window installed in the Cathedral, the Hardman window is a memorial to Bishop Willson and his Vicar General, William Hall. These pioneers, in spite of their hard work, did not live to see the completed Cathedral. [Photo Credit: http://catalogue.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/item/?id=708064 ]

65. THE NEW CATHEDRAL

St Mary’s Cathedral was the vision of the first Bishop of Hobart Town, Robert William Willson. Bishop Willson chose the design and spent years raising the funds. He was particularly inspired by his friend Augustus Welby Pugin, father of the modern English Gothic Revival movement. St Mary’s Cathedral was opened in 1866. Designed by William Wardell, one of Australia’s greatest nineteenth-century architects, it was completed except for its steeple between 1876 and 1898 to a modified design by Henry Hunter.