Holy Name Cathedral, Brisbane

Design for the Holy Name Cathedral, Brisbane

Holy Name Cathedral was a planned, then partially built, then discontinued project to build a Catholic cathedral in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia. It was to have been the seat of the Archbishopric of Queensland and was intended to have been the largest church building of any Christian denomination in the Southern Hemisphere. The formidable Archbishop James Duhig was the chief proponent of the project. Building began in 1927 and in the 1930s services were held in a crypt chapel on the site. After Duhig's death in 1965 the project lost its impetus. The archdiocese sold the site to property developers in 1985. Today the perimeter walls and some balustrades in Ann Street and part of Gotha Street have been preserved in an apartment complex called "Cathedral Place"; these remnants of the cathedral were heritage-listed in 1992.

"Duhig the Builder"

In the early years of Duhig's ecclesiastical provinciate, his archdiocese took on an extensive building program, including churches, hospitals and schools.^[1]

Site

The intended site for the cathedral was on the rise at the southern end of the inner city suburb of Fortitude Valley, between Ann and Wickham Streets.

The site of the Holy Name Cathedral had previously been the site of "Dara", the 1850 built residence of the first Catholic Bishop of Brisbane, James Quinn (1859–1881).^[2] The 1850 house was demolished and replaced by a more substantial dwelling of the same name that housed the second bishop, Robert Dunne, who was later the first Archbishop of Brisbane (1830–1917) and then Archbishop Duhig from 1917 until 1928 when "Dara" was demolished to make way for the Holy Name Cathedral project.^[2]

The site also comprised land that had been purchased by the Brisbane Town Council as a possible site for their new town hall. However, Charles Moffatt Jenkinson, the mayor of Brisbane in 1914, decided to construct the city hall at Albert Square (now known as King George Square) and committed the council to that decision by selling the alternative site in Fortitude Valley to the Catholic Church for the construction of the Holy Name Cathedral.^[3][4] Some of the site in Kemp Place, Fortitude Valley (where the crypt was later built) was sold in the early 1920s for a nominal rate to the Council (who later sold it to the Catholic Church at a very high price) by Simon Kreutzer (1865-1926) "who was famous as a blacksmith". (Photo of Simon outside his shop in about 1906 is available.) (Simon was of 8 children born to Christian Kreutzer,(1824-1896) a vinedresser, and Marianne (née Moledar)(born 1827) from Kaferthal, Baden, Germany who had sailed in 1852-3 on the 'Johan Cosar' to Sydney and later farmed land on the banks of Kedron Brook and had a house where the 'Toombultown' shopping centre is now . They were literate Roman Catholics and had 30 grandchildren in Australia.)^[5]

Design

Brisbane RC Cathedral courtyard

Holy Name Cathedral was designed by the Sydney firm of architects "Hennessy, Hennessy & Co."^[2]

It was intended to be "the largest sacred building in the Commonwealth" being 330 feet long, 220 feet wide and 270 feet high. It was to be capable of seating 4000 people.^[6]

Construction commences

Concrete foundations for the building were laid in the 1920s. The foundation stone was laid on 14 Sept 1928 by the papal legate, Cardinal Cerretti, with a crowd of 35,000 people in attendance.^[7] Due to the Great Depression fund-raising efforts stalled. Because of lack of funds caused by unwise investment in oil shares of the Roma oil wells the dream did not come true.^[8] Nevertheless, Duhig managed to raise enough funds to build a crypt on the site which was completed in 1934.^[2] However, fundraising efforts stalled shortly thereafter and construction never recommenced. In August 1935, the principal altar in the crypt was consecrated by Duhig.^[9]

Construction halts

The Holy Name Cathedral project was subject to further ongoing setbacks. In 1949 the Holy Name architect Jack Hennessy, junior sued for unpaid fees and in 1930 the court awarded him over £25,000.^[1][10] There was also a formal church protest against Duhig, claiming imprudence, irresponsibility, malevolence and subservience to the wealthy, which put an end to the dream of a new cathedral. Following this it is believed that Duhig never mentioned the cathedral in public again and took his dream with him when he died in 1965. Stone remaining at the former site of Holy Name Cathedral was sold to the Anglican St John's Cathedral.

Sale of the site

This retaining wall and balustrade is the last remnant of Brisbane's Holy Name Cathedral

Balcony overlooking the street

The archdiocese sold the site to property developers in 1985. Today the perimeter walls and some balustrades in Ann Street and part of Gotha Street have been preserved in an apartment complex called "Cathedral Place"; these remnants of the cathedral were heritage-listed in 1992.^[11]

Footnote: St Stephens

St Stephen's Cathedral, Brisbane in the central business district has remained the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane.

References

External links

• History of Cathedral Place information from the Cathedral Place commercial development website.

Coordinates: 27°27′48.36″S 153°1′44.55″E / 27.4634333°S 153.0290417°E / -27.4634333; 153.0290417