INTRODUCTION
The Website Project
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 project to photograph and create websites for all the Australian Cathedrals was probably inevitable. So here are 25 Anglican cathedrals, and 28 Roman Catholic cathedrals.
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.
Over the years 2012 – 2020 of the project, there have been many changes, particularly the growth in the use of mobile phones. All these pages have now been reformatted to use a ‘blog’ format: simple to navigate, and able to be used on screens of any size.
I hope this site will encourage many to explore and discover the many secrets of our cathedrals. Most are worthy of several visits – quite apart from worship. What an inspiration they are!
I would be glad to hear from anyone suggesting a correction or wishing to make a comment on this site. I can be reached at mail@paulscott.info
Liturgical Directions
There is a tradition for orientating cathedrals which we shall follow here. I initially rebelled against this (my Baptist upbringing!), but quickly came to realize its usefulness. Apparently early Christians felt it was good to pray towards the rising sun. Therefore they placed the chancel and altar towards the East, and correspondingly the towers and church entry to the West. Correspondingly, there was a North transept and a South transept. This convention for labelling the walls of a cathedral has continued – all quite independently of the actual orientation of the cathedral. It may seem a little strange, but it means that all cathedrals can have a common labelling. We shall use these ‘liturgical directions’, using them with capital initial letters. We shall also try to avoid using the word ‘front’, as front seems to have opposite meanings depending on whether it refers to the exterior or interior of a cathedral.
Use of Photograohs
The layout and most of the photos are mine, but the text is largely the work of others, and acknowledged as such. You are welcome to use any of my photographs, but a link to this site would be appreciated. Photo sets can be found on Flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulscottinfo/albums/
The Cathedrals
So now this project is finished .. or is it?! I discover there are a number of loose ends relating to particular cathedrals. These are:
Broome: Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Cathedral. I regret that this Cathedral is unlikely to appear on my pages.
Goulburn: SS Peter & Paul’s Catholic Old Cathedral. Superseded by St Christopher’s Cathedral in Canberra. Onsite. √
Melbourne: St James Anglican Old Cathedral. This is a lovely old church which I would like to include on the site.
Rockhampton: St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral. At the time of our visit, this cathadral was unsafe to enter. Photos of the exterior are onsite.
St Arnaud: Christ Church Anglican Old Cathedral. This memorable church is onsite. √
Thursday Island: Quetta Former Memorial Cathedral. I suspect I will never get to photograph this beautiful cathedral.
Wollongong: St Michael’s Anglican Cathedral. Somehow I missed this one. I look forward to making its acquaintance and including it in these pages.
Wollongong / Fairy Meadow: St John Vianney Catholic Co-Cathedral. I am unable to find much information about this.
You are now invited to enjoy our many Australian cathedrals!
Paul Scott
12 / 2020
