St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
Encyclopedia
St John's Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral
of Brisbane
and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland
, Australia
. The cathedral is situated on the outskirts of the city centre and is the successor to an earlier pro-cathedral
on William Street in the heart of the central business district which was predated by All Saints
Wickham Terrace (1862), the oldest Anglican church in Brisbane.
The cathedral is the centre for big diocesan events such as the ordinations of priests and deacons which attract large congregations; a parish church catering for a diverse congregation of worshippers from around the city of Brisbane; a major centre for the arts and music with its own orchestra, the Camerata of St John’s, which holds several concerts in the cathedral each year; and an international centre of pilgrimage attracting over 20,000 visitors annually from around the world.
There is a choir of men and boys who sing the traditional Anglican repertoire as well as more adventurous fare. The cathedral also possesses a four manual pipe organ, the largest cathedral organ in Australia, which hosts many recitalists from across the world: Pearson's design (and stone-vaulting) creates a five-second reverberation making organ-music particularly resonant.
St John's Cathedral is unique in Australia as the completion of the building design was achieved through collaboration between clergy, stonemasons and architects over a period of almost 100 years, as with Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals in the Middle Ages and, more recently, 20th century cathedrals such as Liverpool Cathedral
in England, St John the Divine in New York and Washington National Cathedral
in Washington DC. It is also the only Victorian Gothic cathedral under construction in Australia.
Diagonally across Ann Street is the much older All Saints' Wickham Terrace
, the oldest Anglican church in Brisbane, an Anglo-Catholic
church in a diocese not notably liturgical in its orientation.
, one of England's leading church architects of the late 19th century and bears similarities to Truro Cathedral
in Cornwall
, also designed by Pearson, although the architecture of St John's is more decidedly French Gothic in inspiration. The external walls are of randomly arranged brown, pink and mauve porphyry stone from the O’Connelltown Quarry in suburban Brisbane, while the interior is primarily dressed sandstone (Helidon freestone) from Helidon near Toowoomba. The granite and basalt used in the foundations and at the base of the columns came from Harcourt and Footscray in Victoria
and the sandstone
for the window dressings, doorways and arcading came from Pyrmont
, New South Wales
.
The initial architectural impact is achieved via its lofty ceilings, tall, delicately proportioned columns and low level lighting. The architects achieve a layering effect through the masking of external walls via colonnades (a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature which is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above the columns) often free-standing. The interior (by Frank Loughborough Pearson) reflects liturgical arrangements favoured by the Oxford movement from the 1840s. The design of the central nave toward the east end was reworked by Frank Pearson (1898–1904). He lengthened the nave and exchanged the lancet windows in the north transept for a wheel window, simplified the details of the east end and omitted much of the cathedral’s internal decoration to meet financial constraints. The north and south aisles, representing a bird’s folded wings, are separated from the nave, or body, by Pearson’s slender piers. The nave terminates at the crossing. The central tower rests on four large piers and is directly above. The north and south transepts (the transverse part of a cruciform church, crossing the nave at right angles) representing outstretched arms are to the left and right and the most sacred part of the cathedral is ahead.
In many respects, the architecture of St John’s resembles the great Cistercian abbey churches of 12th and 13th century Europe. The Cistercian monks believed that church architecture should be simple and utilitarian and also preferably made of stone, relying for its effects upon simple elegance of design, noble proportions and the natural qualities of the materials. This can be seen in St John’s in the atmosphere of the building created by the mass of stone pillars, ceilings and arches, the quality of the sandstone and the basic simplicity of the design and, apart from the west front, minimal ornamentation.
According to Cleary, Pearson’s elevated choir symbolically marks the passage from the secular nave into the higher and more holy choir. Here the clergy are also accommodated in their “elaborately carved” stalls and the archbishop’s throne cathedra (symbolising his authority and pastoral responsibilities) – designed by Pearson resides. Beyond the choir is the presbytery and then the high altar and its surrounding sanctuary. The high altar is a free standing structure with a great Byzantine style stone baldachino (a permanent ornamental canopy, as above a freestanding altar or throne), rather than a reredos, (a screen or a decorated part of the wall behind an altar in a church) supported on columns rising high above it. Beneath the high altar lie the remains of Bishop Webber.
However, as yet the baldachino has not been constructed. In front of the altar in the sanctuary floor are two pieces of mosaic from the Holy Land, brought back after being uncovered during the First World War by the Australian Light Horse Regiment. One of these is part of the floor of a 6th century synagogue at Jericho. The other is a fragment from the floor of a 6th century Christian church at Gaza and is part of a larger mosaic now housed in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Beyond the high altar the cathedral ends in a semicircular apse and ambulatory (processional aisle), a link to the architecture's French-Norman past.
Many features beyond the crossing including the altar, cross, candle sticks, pulpit, canopy, clergy stalls, pendant lights and litany desk were designed by Frank Pearson. He also designed the carved organ case and the wheel window in the north transept.
Many Brisbane architects were commissioned to design liturgical furniture for the cathedral’s three chapels, the Lady Chapel, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament.
The initial design called for a galvanised iron roof; this was changed to terracotta roof tiles in 1907. The resolution of unfinished design elements continues to pose challenges.
William Webber
– the third Bishop of Brisbane and previously a vicar in London – was instrumental in initiating the Brisbane cathedral project. In 1885-86, he commissioned John Loughborough Pearson
to make sketch plans for Brisbane cathedral. The Brisbane cathedral movement began in earnest in 1887 as a celebration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee – St John’s was to be paid for by public subscription but the construction of the cathedral in one campaign was found to be financially impossible. As a result, the building has been executed in three stages over two centuries between 1906 and 2009.
In April 1889, Pearson’s plans for the cathedral were approved for the original site bounded by George, Elizabeth and William Streets.
John Pearson died in November 1897, two weeks before Webber presented fresh plans to the cathedral chapter. In 1898, Frank Loughborough Pearson (John Pearson's son and partner) was entrusted to carry out his father's design. In 1899, the cathedral chapter approved Pearson’s revised plans only to be forced to reconsider the entire cathedral when the state government bought the original intended site. The present Ann Street site was purchased in late 1899 because it was “…central, commodious and had the natural advantage of being able to make the building erected on it a landmark for miles around.” Frank Loughborough Pearson spent a year reworking his father’s design and, on 22 May 1901, the Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V
) laid the foundation stone of the cathedral. In 1903, Bishop William Webber
died and in 1904 Frank Pearson submitted his final plans to the cathedral chapter.
The first stage of construction began in 1906 and took four years to complete. This included the chancel, sanctuary and ambulatory, the quire and its aisles, the transepts and crossing, the Lady Chapel to the liturgical north of the quire, the double aisles and the first bay of the nave
. This stage was consecrated in October 1910, but consecration of the full building (like construction) has been achieved in stages. After the Second World War money was raised in the hope of completing the cathedral as a war memorial. In 1947, Field-Marshal Viscount Montgomery laid a foundation stone for a further two bays of the nave, but construction ceased after the laying of the foundations until 1965 when the second stage was commenced. Work on the second stage proceeded for a further four years and consisted of the laying of foundations for the extensions, a two bay extension to the nave and demolition and removal of the temporary west wall.
The third stage of construction commenced in 1989 and was completed in 2009 (with the exception of 29 life sized statues on the west front and a set of cloisters on the north side of the cathedral which have yet to be commissioned). The third stage of construction has comprised the erection of the south west porch, the final bay of the nave, the west front, the north and south towers and the central tower. The third stage of construction was overseen by Peter Dare, Master Mason of Exeter Cathedral
in England. To ensure enough supply of sandstone for the project, the cathedral authorities purchased a sandstone
quarry
at Helidon, 100 km from Brisbane where each piece of stone was cut and finished and then trucked to the cathedral site in Ann Street.
The third stage of construction cost A$
40 million which was raised by public donations, bequests and grants from the federal, state and local governments.
.
Webber House and Church House were built in 1904 and 1909 respectively. These buildings were designed by Robin Dods (1868-1920) and were designed to conform to Pearson’s concept of St John's Cathedral and its traditional cathedral setting. (The heart design found in many of Dods’ buildings can be seen on the iron gates.) Both are Gothic in overall form and design, having details mainly in the style of Art Nouveau. They have been placed to conceal a view of the cathedral from a northerly approach. The stone used in the Webber house came from the old St John’s Pro-Cathedral in William Street. Webber House was known as School House and housed St John's Primary School until 1941.
The oldest building in the precinct is the deanery, formerly called Adelaide House, built in 1853. From the verandah of this building the first governor, Sir George Bowen, read the proclamation declaring Queensland a separate colony on 10 December 1859. The building then became Queensland’s first government house.
The other more eclectic building with Gothic touches found in the precinct is St Martin’s House, formerly St Martin’s Hospital. It was built as a war memorial after the First World War and is dedicated to St Martin of Tours as 11 November (Remembrance Day
) is his feast day. Designed by Lang Powell the design was strongly influenced by the Cathedral and adjacent buildings. This is evident through the choice of building materials, roof forms and architectural motifs. St Martin’s is sited to protect St John’s from noise and visual intrusion from the city and forms a quiet courtyard beside the cathedral. St Martin's shows similarities to the “Red Brick House” designed by Philip Webb for William Morris.
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, 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...
. The cathedral is situated on the outskirts of the city centre and is the successor to an earlier pro-cathedral
Pro-cathedral
A pro-cathedral is a parish church that is temporarily serving as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese.-Usage:In Ireland, the term is used to specifically refer to St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin since the Reformation, when Christ Church...
on William Street in the heart of the central business district which was predated by All Saints
All Saints Anglican Church, Brisbane
All Saints Anglican Church, Wickham Terrace, Brisbane is the oldest Anglican Church in the City of Brisbane, first founded in 1862. The existing structure dates from 1869...
Wickham Terrace (1862), the oldest Anglican church in Brisbane.
The cathedral is the centre for big diocesan events such as the ordinations of priests and deacons which attract large congregations; a parish church catering for a diverse congregation of worshippers from around the city of Brisbane; a major centre for the arts and music with its own orchestra, the Camerata of St John’s, which holds several concerts in the cathedral each year; and an international centre of pilgrimage attracting over 20,000 visitors annually from around the world.
There is a choir of men and boys who sing the traditional Anglican repertoire as well as more adventurous fare. The cathedral also possesses a four manual pipe organ, the largest cathedral organ in Australia, which hosts many recitalists from across the world: Pearson's design (and stone-vaulting) creates a five-second reverberation making organ-music particularly resonant.
St John's Cathedral is unique in Australia as the completion of the building design was achieved through collaboration between clergy, stonemasons and architects over a period of almost 100 years, as with Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals in the Middle Ages and, more recently, 20th century cathedrals such as Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool but it is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
in England, St John the Divine in New York and Washington National Cathedral
Washington National Cathedral
The Washington National Cathedral, officially named the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. Of neogothic design, it is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world, the second-largest in...
in Washington DC. It is also the only Victorian Gothic cathedral under construction in Australia.
Diagonally across Ann Street is the much older All Saints' Wickham Terrace
All Saints Anglican Church, Brisbane
All Saints Anglican Church, Wickham Terrace, Brisbane is the oldest Anglican Church in the City of Brisbane, first founded in 1862. The existing structure dates from 1869...
, the oldest Anglican church in Brisbane, an Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
church in a diocese not notably liturgical in its orientation.
Design
The cathedral was designed in the Gothic revival style by John Loughborough PearsonJohn Loughborough Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson was a Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency unrivalled in his generation.-Early life and education:Pearson was born in Brussels, Belgium on 5...
, one of England's leading church architects of the late 19th century and bears similarities to Truro Cathedral
Truro Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro is an Anglican cathedral located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It was built in the Gothic Revival architectural style fashionable during much of the nineteenth century, and is one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom...
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, also designed by Pearson, although the architecture of St John's is more decidedly French Gothic in inspiration. The external walls are of randomly arranged brown, pink and mauve porphyry stone from the O’Connelltown Quarry in suburban Brisbane, while the interior is primarily dressed sandstone (Helidon freestone) from Helidon near Toowoomba. The granite and basalt used in the foundations and at the base of the columns came from Harcourt and Footscray in 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....
and the sandstone
Sydney sandstone
Sydney sandstone is the common name for Sydney Basin Hawkesbury Sandstone, historically known as Yellowblock, is a sedimentary rock named after the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this sandstone is particularly common....
for the window dressings, doorways and arcading came from Pyrmont
Pyrmont
Pyrmont may refer to:* Bad Pyrmont, a spa town in northern Germany* Pyrmont, Indiana, United States* Pyrmont, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia* Pyrmont Bridge is a landmark connecting Pyrmont, NSW to Sydney in Australia...
, 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...
.
In many respects, the architecture of St John’s resembles the great Cistercian abbey churches of 12th and 13th century Europe. The Cistercian monks believed that church architecture should be simple and utilitarian and also preferably made of stone, relying for its effects upon simple elegance of design, noble proportions and the natural qualities of the materials. This can be seen in St John’s in the atmosphere of the building created by the mass of stone pillars, ceilings and arches, the quality of the sandstone and the basic simplicity of the design and, apart from the west front, minimal ornamentation.
According to Cleary, Pearson’s elevated choir symbolically marks the passage from the secular nave into the higher and more holy choir. Here the clergy are also accommodated in their “elaborately carved” stalls and the archbishop’s throne cathedra (symbolising his authority and pastoral responsibilities) – designed by Pearson resides. Beyond the choir is the presbytery and then the high altar and its surrounding sanctuary. The high altar is a free standing structure with a great Byzantine style stone baldachino (a permanent ornamental canopy, as above a freestanding altar or throne), rather than a reredos, (a screen or a decorated part of the wall behind an altar in a church) supported on columns rising high above it. Beneath the high altar lie the remains of Bishop Webber.
Many features beyond the crossing including the altar, cross, candle sticks, pulpit, canopy, clergy stalls, pendant lights and litany desk were designed by Frank Pearson. He also designed the carved organ case and the wheel window in the north transept.
Many Brisbane architects were commissioned to design liturgical furniture for the cathedral’s three chapels, the Lady Chapel, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament.
The initial design called for a galvanised iron roof; this was changed to terracotta roof tiles in 1907. The resolution of unfinished design elements continues to pose challenges.
History of construction
William Thomas Thornhill Webber
William Thomas Thornhill Webber was third Anglican Bishop of Brisbane.Webber was born in London, the son of a surgeon, William Webber. He was educated at Tonbridge School, Kent, at Norwich under Dr John Woolley and Pembroke College, Oxford where he obtained B.A. in 1859 and M.A. in 1862...
– the third Bishop of Brisbane and previously a vicar in London – was instrumental in initiating the Brisbane cathedral project. In 1885-86, he commissioned John Loughborough Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson was a Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency unrivalled in his generation.-Early life and education:Pearson was born in Brussels, Belgium on 5...
to make sketch plans for Brisbane cathedral. The Brisbane cathedral movement began in earnest in 1887 as a celebration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee – St John’s was to be paid for by public subscription but the construction of the cathedral in one campaign was found to be financially impossible. As a result, the building has been executed in three stages over two centuries between 1906 and 2009.
In April 1889, Pearson’s plans for the cathedral were approved for the original site bounded by George, Elizabeth and William Streets.
It was a cruciform church with a wide nave, double aisles, apse and ambulatory, short transepts about halfway along the length of the building and an apsidal side chapel on the north. The west front had towers close to the end of the nave. The upper part of the west wall was supported by a relieving arch, which continued the line of the interior cross arches. The towers had massive buttresses. Their strong vertical lines carried on into corner turrets set before pyramidal spires.
John Pearson died in November 1897, two weeks before Webber presented fresh plans to the cathedral chapter. In 1898, Frank Loughborough Pearson (John Pearson's son and partner) was entrusted to carry out his father's design. In 1899, the cathedral chapter approved Pearson’s revised plans only to be forced to reconsider the entire cathedral when the state government bought the original intended site. The present Ann Street site was purchased in late 1899 because it was “…central, commodious and had the natural advantage of being able to make the building erected on it a landmark for miles around.” Frank Loughborough Pearson spent a year reworking his father’s design and, on 22 May 1901, the Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
) laid the foundation stone of the cathedral. In 1903, Bishop William Webber
William Thomas Thornhill Webber
William Thomas Thornhill Webber was third Anglican Bishop of Brisbane.Webber was born in London, the son of a surgeon, William Webber. He was educated at Tonbridge School, Kent, at Norwich under Dr John Woolley and Pembroke College, Oxford where he obtained B.A. in 1859 and M.A. in 1862...
died and in 1904 Frank Pearson submitted his final plans to the cathedral chapter.
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
. This stage was consecrated in October 1910, but consecration of the full building (like construction) has been achieved in stages. After the Second World War money was raised in the hope of completing the cathedral as a war memorial. In 1947, Field-Marshal Viscount Montgomery laid a foundation stone for a further two bays of the nave, but construction ceased after the laying of the foundations until 1965 when the second stage was commenced. Work on the second stage proceeded for a further four years and consisted of the laying of foundations for the extensions, a two bay extension to the nave and demolition and removal of the temporary west wall.
The third stage of construction commenced in 1989 and was completed in 2009 (with the exception of 29 life sized statues on the west front and a set of cloisters on the north side of the cathedral which have yet to be commissioned). The third stage of construction has comprised the erection of the south west porch, the final bay of the nave, the west front, the north and south towers and the central tower. The third stage of construction was overseen by Peter Dare, Master Mason of Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter at Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon in South West England....
in England. To ensure enough supply of sandstone for the project, the cathedral authorities purchased a sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
at Helidon, 100 km from Brisbane where each piece of stone was cut and finished and then trucked to the cathedral site in Ann Street.
The third stage of construction cost A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
40 million which was raised by public donations, bequests and grants from the federal, state and local governments.
Latest construction
The copper clad western spires were lifted into position on 1 March 2008 and blessed by Bishop John ParkesJohn Parkes
John Parkes is the tenth and current Bishop of Wangaratta in the Anglican Church of Australia. He began training for ordination in 1986 and was previously an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Brisbane...
.
Consecration
The Archbishop of Brisbane, Phillip Aspinall, officially consecrated the completed cathedral on 29 October 2009, attended by about 1500 people, 108 years after the laying of the foundation stone.Other buildings
Buildings associated with St John’s include Webber House, Church House, The Deanery (formerly Adelaide House) and St Martin’s House. These buildings provide the traditional experience of only getting the full view of the cathedral when quite close (after having wound one’s way through narrow medieval city streets) thus adding to the impact and feeling of grandeur.Webber House and Church House were built in 1904 and 1909 respectively. These buildings were designed by Robin Dods (1868-1920) and were designed to conform to Pearson’s concept of St John's Cathedral and its traditional cathedral setting. (The heart design found in many of Dods’ buildings can be seen on the iron gates.) Both are Gothic in overall form and design, having details mainly in the style of Art Nouveau. They have been placed to conceal a view of the cathedral from a northerly approach. The stone used in the Webber house came from the old St John’s Pro-Cathedral in William Street. Webber House was known as School House and housed St John's Primary School until 1941.
The oldest building in the precinct is the deanery, formerly called Adelaide House, built in 1853. From the verandah of this building the first governor, Sir George Bowen, read the proclamation declaring Queensland a separate colony on 10 December 1859. The building then became Queensland’s first government house.
The other more eclectic building with Gothic touches found in the precinct is St Martin’s House, formerly St Martin’s Hospital. It was built as a war memorial after the First World War and is dedicated to St Martin of Tours as 11 November (Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
) is his feast day. Designed by Lang Powell the design was strongly influenced by the Cathedral and adjacent buildings. This is evident through the choice of building materials, roof forms and architectural motifs. St Martin’s is sited to protect St John’s from noise and visual intrusion from the city and forms a quiet courtyard beside the cathedral. St Martin's shows similarities to the “Red Brick House” designed by Philip Webb for William Morris.
Sources
- Cleary, Tania (2001) Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist. Cleary Kennedy Pty Ltd and The Cathedral Chapter; Brisbane Queensland.
- Hogan, Janet (1978) Building Queensland’s Heritage. Richmond Hill Press; Richmond Victoria.
- Sayer, P; Jenner, M and Cory, P (1994) Brisbane City Churches: Heritage Tour. Brisbane History Group Incorporated; Kelvin Grove Australia
External links
- Official website
- St John's Cathedral, 1953 film - made for raising funds for the Cathedral; 4 minutes. Digitised and held by the State Library of Queensland. (Windows Media Player, RealPlayer).