History of St James

Anglican Cathedral, Townsville

Opening 28th October 1892

1860s 

Townsville was established in the 1860's and prior to building a church, the  Church of England (Anglican) parishioners met at the court house and were part of the Diocese of Sydney.

1871 - St James' Church

The first Church of England building was built in Townsville on land on a hill at that time called Constitution, Prospect, or Black Hill or Ca-boor ( the Aboriginal name recorded by Charles Price in 1885) The land was purchased at a sale of crown lands, with the aid of parishioners and the hill was later gazetted as Melton Hill . Work began on 24th  May 1871 by builders Meldrum and Driscoll. It was a very plain gable-roofed structure set on low blocks, with a side entrance porch, topped with a small tower in the front. It was surrounded by a ‘goat-proof’ fence and cost £400. It was opened, free of debt, on October 1st, 1871 for Divine Service.

1880 - St James' Church enlargement (Pro-Cathedral)

Having become the Cathedral of the new diocese, St James’ Church was enlarged. The chancel was lengthened to accommodate the choir, and north and south aisles were added over the next few years. 

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.

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

1887

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.  

The diocese called tenders for the construction of the Cathedral.  The first sod was turned on the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria on June 22nd.

1892

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

North Queensland Register 02 Nov 1892 - OPENING OF ST. JAMES' CATHEDRAL, TOWNSVILLE. - Trove (nla.gov.au)

1896

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

1903

On March 9th, 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. 

In 1922, when electricity became available, the gas lights seen here were replaced.

until 1959

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 between 1959-1960.  

1959-60

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 1960s. The nave and the Western façade with the bell tower and statue of St James were all added
Evidence of the extension can be seen as 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.  Evidence can also be seen in the ceiling where the original rough sawn, lapped timber was replaced with machine sawn, tongue-in-groove timber.

1959

 On August 20th the Foundation Stone was blessed by the Bishop of Coventry. 

1959

August 29^th HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent visited the Cathedral during construction and presented a Cross of Nails to be set into the stone. The Cross is made of medieval nails collected from the bombed ruins of St Michael’s Cathedral in Coventry. Similar nails have been sent to a number of churches around the world.

1960

June 12th The final foundation stone was set by the Primate of Australia marking the completion of the Cathedral 

1966

 On the 23rd of October, the Prime Minister of Australia, the Rt Hon Harold Holt and                                                                                               the US President Lyndon B. Johnson attended a service at St James 

1978

The Cathedral could not be consecrated until June 24th because the Bishop advised that "the difference between the funds received and the contact price for the building is £22,000”