St James Old Cathedral
Encyclopedia
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and one of only three buildings in the central city which predate the Gold Rush
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
of 1851. The church's foundation stone was laid on 9 November 1839 by Charles La Trobe
Charles La Trobe
Charles Joseph La Trobe was the first lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria .-Early life:La Trobe was born in London, the son of Christian Ignatius Latrobe, a family of Huguenot origin...
, the Superintendent of the Port Phillip District (now Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
), in what was then still part of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Melbourne was then only four years old, and the church was one of the first substantial brick buildings to be built in the town. The church was designed by the town surveyor Robert Russell
Robert Russell (architect)
Robert Russell was an architect and surveyor, active in Australia.-Early life:Russell was born near Kennington Common, London, England, the son of Robert Russell, a merchant, and his wife Margaret, née Leslie...
and built by George Beaver. One of the founders of Melbourne, John Batman
John Batman
John Batman was an Australian grazier, businessman and explorer who is best known for his role in the founding of a settlement which became Melbourne and the colony of Victoria.-Life:...
, was among the subscribers who paid for the church's construction. It was opened in 1842 and completed in 1847.
Collins Street, Melbourne
Collins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district and runs approximately east to west.It is notable as Melbourne's traditional main street and best known street, is often regarded as Australia's premier street, with some of the country's finest Victorian era buildings.The...
and William St
William Street, Melbourne
William Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south from Flinders Street to Victoria Street, and is located in the western half of the Hoddle Grid....
in the centre of the town (where there is still a small street called St James Lane). In 1848 Melbourne became an Anglican diocese
Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is the metropolitan diocese of the Province of Victoria in the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese includes the urban cities of Melbourne and Geelong and also some more rural areas. The cathedral church is St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne...
, and St James became the cathedral church of the first Bishop of Melbourne, Charles Perry
Charles Perry (bishop)
Charles Perry was the first Anglican bishop of Melbourne, Australia.-Early life:Perry was born in Hackney, Middlesex, the third son of John Perry, sheriff of Essex and shipbuilder, and his second wife, Mary, daughter of George Green...
. It served as Melbourne's Anglican Cathedral until St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, is the metropolitical and cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia. It is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne and Metropolitan of the Province of Victoria...
was consecrated in 1891. In 1913-14 it was moved to a new site on the corner of King St
King Street, Melbourne
King Street is a main street in the Melbourne central business district. King Street is part of the Pacific Highway, and used to be part of National Route 1 until the city by-pass road linking the Monash Freeway with the Westgate Freeway was completed...
and Batman St, opposite the Flagstaff Gardens. The move was overseen by John Stevens Gawler, a Melbourne architect who was largely responsible for establishing the School of Architecture at 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...
.
The church's current vicar is the Rev. John Sugars. The church is a parish partner of St Jude's Anglican Church
St Jude's Anglican Church
St Jude's Anglican Church is a church in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton and is one of the first complete polychromatic brick churches built in Australia. It was opened in 1866 as a temporary wooden building, but was rebuilt as a Gothic-polychrome building between 1866 and 1874...
, Carlton.
The building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register
Victorian Heritage Register
The Victorian Heritage Register lists places of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 1995 which establishes Heritage Victoria as the permit authority...
.