Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle NSW

Header


Index Forum HV Families Webmistress
A short history of Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle Christ Church Cathedral Headstone Transcriptions
This is the Mother Church of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle. A Cathedral is the Church Building which contains the "throne" or official "seat" of the Bishop of the Diocese. It is believed that Christian Worship was first celebrated on this site as early as 1812; first in a small slab hut with a chimney at one end and bell cote at the other. This building was demolished in 1816 to make way for a more permanent building. In 1817, the foundation stone was laid for a church that was to serve as the Cathedral for nearly seventy years. This foundation stone can now be seen in the floor of the Cathedral at the end of the Nave. It is believed that this is near the place it occupied in the original church. By 1881 the first Cathedral was in poor repair - "a crumbling building" is one description and a Cathedral Building Committee set up and an appeal launched to build a worthy Cathedral to Mr. Horbury Hunt's design.	The foundation stone was laid in 1892. It was to be forty-three years before the Nave of the Cathedral was to be complete, with the exception of tower and transepts. Problems of maintenance plagued the Cathedral and a crisis was reached in 1974 when much of the roof was lost in a severe storm. The decision was made to complete the building at a cost of some $700,000. By May 1979 the finished building was dedicated and on the 25th November, 1983, the Cathedral Church of Christ the King was Consecrated. On Thursday, 28th December, 1989, Newcastle was struck by a serious earthquake. The Cathedral was badly damaged. Restoration work began in 1995 and was completed in 1997. The Cathedral building was Re-Hallowed on 31st January, 1997.
From 'The Guide Yourself Tour of Christ Church Cathedral Newcastle', one of the pamphlets available at the church.
Footer © Patricia May [All Rights Reserved]