St George's Cathedral is the principal

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in the city of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, and the mother-church of the

Anglican Diocese of Perth The Anglican Diocese of Perth is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The constitution of the Diocese of Perth was passed and adopted in 1872 at the first synod held in Western Australia. In 1914, the Province of Western ...

. It is located on

St Georges Terrace St Georges Terrace (colloquially known as "The Terrace") is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial thoroughfare through the central business district. Its ...

in the centre of the city. On 26 June 2001 the cathedral was listed on the Western Australia Heritage Register with the following statement of significance:

History

Built between 1879 and 1888 the cathedral was situated at the corner of St Georges Terrace and Cathedral Avenue at the heart of Perth's heritage precinct, which includes the nearby Treasury Buildings and the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. It replaced an earlier building immediately to the north-east of the present one. The cathedral is described in the Western Australian State Heritage Register as being a church in the Victorian Academic style, built of locally made brick, limestone from

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island (), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a Islands of Perth, Western Australia, island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, ...

and Western Australian

jarrah ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with rough, fibro ...

. The pitched roof was originally covered with slates; these were replaced by tiles in the 1950s because the original roof leaked, and returned to slate in the restoration works in the early 2000s as the tiles were too heavy causing the roof to bow. A central

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, with a timber vaulted roof supported by

hammerbeam A hammerbeam roof is a decorative, open timber roof truss typical of English Gothic architecture and has been called "the most spectacular endeavour of the English Medieval carpenter". They are traditionally timber framed, using short beams proj ...

s, has an aisle on each side and a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

dominating its western end. The rose-coloured brick interior of the cathedral is simple but elegant. The State Heritage Register assessment describes the intersecting beams over the crossing as "impressive in their lightness and grace" and providing a "subdued but elegant decoration to the building". The present cathedral was designed by

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

architect

Edmund Blacket Edmund Thomas Blacket (25 August 1817 – 9 February 1883) was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and Goulburn Cathedral (St. Saviour), St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulbu ...

, the pre-eminent architect of his age in New South Wales. The site is near the "Rush Church", the first church built in Perth by

Frederick Irwin Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Chidley Irwin, KH (22 March 1794 – 31 March 1860) was acting Governor of Western Australia from 1847 to 1848. Born in 1794 in Drogheda, Ireland, Frederick Chidley Irwin was the son of Reverend James Irwin. Som ...

, in December 1829, a few months after the city was founded. From 2005 to 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. St George's Cathedral has become noted for its innovative and controversial theological teaching, popular preaching, commitment to inter-faith worship and music. The cathedral is listed on the permanent register of the Western Australia Heritage Register, is classified by the National Trust WA and is entered into the (now defunct)

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

. In 2018, Kay Goldsworthy became the world's first female Anglican archbishop in Perth. Her installation service was held at St George's Cathedral. She had become a bishop in St George's Cathedral in 2008.

Bells

The cathedral has a

peal In campanology (bell ringing), a peal is the special name given to a specific type of performance of change ringing which meets certain exacting conditions for duration, complexity and quality. The definition of a peal has changed considerably ...

of eight bells set for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...

and rung by the St George's Cathedral Bellringers' Association, affiliated with

the Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

. Upon hearing of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's death in 1901 the Perth community created an appeal to fund the creation of the Queen Victoria Memorial Bell Tower at the cathedral. The square castellated

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

was designed by the Western Australian architect

Talbot Hobbs Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs, (24 August 1864 – 21 April 1938) was an Australian architect and First World War general. Early life Hobbs was born in London, the son of Joseph and his wife Frances Ann Hobbs (née Wilson). E ...

. The red-and-white flag of Saint George is flown daily from the top of the bell tower. The bells were cast by

John Warner & Sons John Warner and Sons was a metalworks and bellfoundry based in various locations in the UK, established in 1739 and dissolved in 1949. Previous businesses A company was founded by Jacob Warner, a Quaker, in 1739 and originally produced water p ...

of London and installed on the second anniversary of Victoria's death. However, the bells were only rung infrequently for the subsequent decades due to a combination of the lack of proficient ringers and for structural concerns in the tower itself. The bells were regularly rung every Sunday (but not tolled) up until the 1970s. The castellated bell tower was damaged in the

1968 Meckering earthquake The Western Australian town of Meckering was struck by an earthquake on 14 October 1968. The earthquake occurred at , with a moment magnitude of 6.5 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). Total damage amounted to $2.2 million wit ...

. All ringing in the tower was ceased after tower bricks were dislodged due to service ringing in July 1973. Following a restoration appeal the cathedral had its original peal recast by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell (instrument), bell foundry. It is locat ...

in 1975 and hung a year later in a cast-iron and steel frame with the new tenor at . The original tenor of was kept as a service bell. The bellringing band became active again and achieved 25

s by the end of the 20th century.

Organs

West organ

The west organ was installed in 1993 and dedicated on

Advent Sunday Advent Sunday, also called the First Sunday of Advent or First Advent Sunday, is the first day of the liturgical year in the Western Christian Churches and the start of the Christian season of Advent; a time of preparation for the celebration of ...

. It is placed on a specially constructed gallery at the west end of the cathedral. The organ and gallery together form a feature complementing the architecture of the nave and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

. The organ is the largest mechanical-action instrument to be installed in Western Australia since the similarly sized Ronald Sharp organ in the Perth Concert Hall was completed in 1974. The casework is made of

Tasmanian oak Tasmanian oak is a native Australian hardwood produced by any of three trees, ''Eucalyptus regnans'', ''Eucalyptus obliqua'' or ''Eucalyptus delegatensis'', when it is sourced from the Australian state of Tasmania. Despite the common name "oak", non ...

and the front pipes are of burnished tin. The organ has 4 divisions, 48 speaking stops and 3516 pipes. Tonal revisions and refinements were carried out in 2008/09 by the

South Island Organ Company The South Island Organ Company is a manufacturer of pipe organs in Timaru, New Zealand. The company, in business since 1968, has manufactured and restored over 300 pipe organs throughout New Zealand, Australia and Oceania. Founders South Island ...

(SIOC) of

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

, New Zealand. This included lengthening the resonators of the chorus reeds to provide a more fundamental tone quality and a thorough cleaning and regulation of the flue pipes to improve the overall quality and cohesion of the sound. In 2010, SIOC installed the 32’ bombarde stop. This enhancement is dedicated to the memory of twelve former cathedral choristers who died on active service during the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. A notable feature of the west organ was the addition, also by SIOC, of a solo and horizontal fanfare trumpet, voiced in the French symphonic school. Named in honour of Geoffrey Gates AM, the fanfare trumpet was blessed at

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...

on 1 May 2011.

Chancel organ

In 1994 a new chancel organ was installed in the chamber under the bell tower. Consisting of 18 stops in 3 divisions, with mechanical key and electric stop action, this small organ is designed to accompany choirs singing in the chancel. Electric over-ride enables both the chancel organ and the west organ to be played simultaneously from a third and free-standing console.

Chamber organ

This instrument was built in 1987 and can be placed anywhere in the cathedral to serve as a continuo instrument. Its five ranks of pipes are enclosed in a swell box and played from a single manual. The organ has four speaking stops, no pedals and a transposer allowing it to be pitched at either standard pitch of

A440 A440 or A-440 may refer to: * A440 (pitch standard) * A440 highway (Australia), a road in Victoria, Australia * Quebec Autoroute 440 (Laval) * Quebec Autoroute 440 (Quebec City) See also * Apollo 440, an English band * Airbus A400M The Air ...

or at A415 for authentic performance of early music.

Ascalon

On 15 June 2009, after a 12-month submission and selection process, the chapter of St George's Cathedral commissioned Marcus Canning and

Christian de Vietri Christian de Vietri (born 14 July 1981) is an Australian artist known for his large-scale public sculptures and traditional artwork based in Śilpaśāstra. In 2024, he published ''Trika Maṇḍala Prakāśa'', the first comprehensive exposit ...

to create a contemporary sculpture on the theme of

St George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianity—defeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a huma ...

for the cathedral grounds. Named "Ascalon" after the lance used by St George to slay the dragon, the artwork aims “to evoke a sense of righteous power and victory over a force of darkness and oppression”. The blessing of Ascalon took place on 3 April 2011.

Precinct

The Cadogan Song School was built between February 2016 and August 2017 and is located between the cathedral and the hall, and to the west of the deanery. The building serves as a home to the St George's Cathedral Choir and Consort. The 1917

Burt Memorial Hall Burt Memorial Hall is a hall located on the southern side of Cathedral Square on St Georges Terrace, in Perth, Western Australia. Septimus and Louisa Burt gifted it to the Anglican Church in Perth, in memory of their sons who had lost their ...

was refurbished with upgraded facilities and a new roof between 2012 and 2014. The hall was reopened and rededicated at Evensong on 20 July 2014. The 1859

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

, which adjoins the cathedral on the corner of Pier Street, had external restoration work in 2010 and 2011 and a much needed upgrade on the internal fabric in 2017. The deanery gardens were completed in October 2017 and is the final link to the Cathedral Precinct.

Deans

The following individuals have served as deans of Perth:

Gallery

File:St George's Cathdral, view form the north west.jpg, View from the north west File:St George's Cathdral, the west front.jpg, West front File:St George's Cathedral, rose window over west front.jpg, Rose window File:St George's Cathedral, April 2021 09.jpg, Interior facing west File:St George's Cathedral, April 2021 02.jpg, Interior facing east File:St George's Cathedral, April 2021 04.jpg, Chancel

References

External links

St George's Cathedral websiteThe Organ Society of Western Australia website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Georges, Saint Cathedral, Perth Churches completed in 1888 19th-century Anglican church buildings in Australia

Anglican church buildings in Perth, Western Australia Gothic Revival architecture in Perth, Western Australia Gothic Revival church buildings in Australia Cathedral Square, Perth Cathedrals in Western Australia Edmund Blacket church buildings State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Perth