The St Mary's Star of the Sea Cathedral is the main place of Catholic worship in the city of Darwin,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Darwin. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the first church of St Mary was the seat of the garrison of the military chaplaincy for Australian troops in the city. After the war it became necessary to build a larger structure. The architect was Ian Ferrier, from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, who was employed by Donoghue Cusick & Edwards at the time, and this firm completed construction after his departure in 1957. The first stone taken from Rum Jungle, the site of the first uranium mine in the territory, was blessed by Bishop O'Loughlin on 13 July 1958. Construction operations were entrusted to Carl Johansson until 1962 when he was replaced by John D'Arcy. The cathedral was blessed and opened for worship by Bishop O'Loughlin on 19 August 1962 and consecrated on 20 August 1972.

References

Roman Catholic cathedrals in Australia Buildings and structures in Darwin, Northern Territory Roman Catholic churches completed in 1962 1962 establishments in Australia 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Australia {{Australia-church-stub

See also

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