St George's Cathedral, Perth
Encyclopedia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and the mother-church of the Anglican Diocese of Perth. It is located in St Georges Terrace
St Georges Terrace, Perth
St Georges Terrace is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial road through the central business district....
in the centre of the city.
History
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
limestone. It was designed by Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Edmund Blacket
Edmund Blacket
Edmund Thomas Blacket was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St...
. The site is near the "Rush Church" - the first church built in Perth, by Frederick Irwin
Frederick Irwin
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Chidley Irwin was acting Governor of Western Australia from 1847 to 1848.Born in 1788 in Enniskillen, Ireland, Frederick Chidley Irwin was the son of Reverend James Irwin. In 1808, he was commissioned into the 83rd Regiment of Foot...
, in December 1829, a few months after the city was founded.
Its castellated bell tower was damaged in the 1968 Meckering
Meckering, Western Australia
Meckering is a town 130 km east of Perth, Western Australia along the Great Eastern Highway. Meckering is located within the Shire of Cunderdin.A railway line was completed in the area in 1895 and Meckering was selected as a station site...
earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
. In 2005-2008 the cathedral was extensively restored with the tile roof replaced by slates as originally built. Earthquake protection was added to two walls to provide bracing and much other work was undertaken. Plans are currently underway to restore and develop other buildings in the complex, including the Burt Hall
Francis Burt
Sir Francis Theodore Page Burt, AC, KCMG, QC , commonly known as "Red", Australian jurist, served as Chief Justice of Western Australia from 1977 until 1988 and as Governor of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993. He was also Lieutenant Governor of the State from 1977 to 1990...
and the 1859 deanery
The Deanery, Perth
The Deanery is located on St Georges Terrace, at the intersection of St Georges Terrace and Pier Street, Perth, Western Australia.It was built in the late 1850s as a residence and office for the first Dean of Perth, Reverend George Pownall...
building, which adjoins the cathedral, on the corner of Pier Street.
St George's Cathedral has become noted for its innovative and controversial theological teaching, popular preaching, commitment to inter-faith worship and music. Its Cathedral Education Centre is unique to Australia.
Dean
The Very Reverend John Shepherd has been the Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of the cathedral since 1990. Shepherd holds degrees in arts (history and philosophy) and theology from the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, where he studied at Trinity College
Trinity College (University of Melbourne)
Trinity College is the oldest college of the University of Melbourne. Founded in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England, Trinity is unique among Australian university colleges in its diverse education programs...
, and a Master of Sacred Music degree from Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
in New York City.
At St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, where he was the John Stewart of Rannoch Scholar, he completed a PhD on the relationship between the theology and music of the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
and, as Chaplain of Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
from 1980 to 1988, taught Reformation theology and Renaissance music history.
From 1988 to 1990, Shepherd was a chaplain at the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
, where he also taught in the faculty of music.
Shepherd is married to Joy Shepherd, Principal of St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls
St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls
Established in Claremont in 1896, the school currently caters for approximately 1,052 students from the Early Learning Centre to Year 12, including 150 boarders in Years 7 to 12...
. They have three children.
Further reading
- Evenson, Lilian M. (1977) A short history and guide to Saint George's cathedral Perth: Cathedral Chapter. (Based on a guide book prepared in 1950).
- A History and Detailed Guide to St George's Cathedral, Revised 2007. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.
- Tonkin, John. Cathedral and Community: A History of St George's Cathedral, Perth.