Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo
Encyclopedia
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
located in the provincial city of Bendigo
Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
, Victoria, 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...
. It is the seat of the Diocese of Sandhurst
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst is a suffragan Latin rite diocese of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, erected in 1874, covering the central and north-east regions of Victoria, Australia, including Bendigo.-History:...
, Sandhurst being an earlier name for Bendigo. The diocese covers much of north-central Victoria.
Sacred Heart Cathedral is one of Australia's largest churches and the second tallest after St Patrick's Cathedral
St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Patrick's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Denis J. Hart. The building is known internationally as a leading example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture.In 1974 Pope Paul VI...
in Melbourne
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...
. It is an exceptionally large church for a country cathedral in Australia and its construction was made possible chiefly through the estate of Henry Backhaus
George Henry Backhaus
George Henry Backhaus , was a Catholic priest and one of nine children of a boot merchant. He studied with distinction in Paderborn, going from there to Rome to study for the priesthood at the College of the Propagation of the Faith, graduating D.D. in 1836 and being ordained on 24 August 1836...
(1811-1882), a German from Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
and the first Catholic priest on the Bendigo goldfields. Backhaus was very skilled in financial matters and accumulated considerable property - not least through encouraging his gold-mining parishioners to contribute some of their findings to the work of the church. Backhaus left his wealth for the benefit of the church and enabled the cathedral, among other things, to be built.
In 1895, Martin Crane, an Augustinian and the first bishop of the diocese, called for competitive designs for a cathedral from several architects. The winning architect was William Tappin of the firm Reed, Barnes and Tappin, a firm established by Joseph Reed
Joseph Reed (architect)
Joseph Reed , a Cornishman by birth, was probably the most influential Victorian era architect in Melbourne, Australia. He established a practice, Reed and Barnes in Melbourne in 1852. The practice now known as Bates Smart is one of the oldest continually operating in the world.Reed's buildings...
, one of Melbourne's
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...
most significant architects. It was built in the Gothic Revival style from sandstone quarried from the Geelong area.
The large pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, built by Bishop & Son of London, was installed late in 1905.
After a long interval, work recommenced on the cathedral in 1954. The later works were designed by Bates, Smart and McCutcheon, the successor of Reed, Barnes and Tappin. They were completed in 1977. The spire was of lighter construction than that originally designed, being steel framed and clad with a masonry veneer.
Sacred Heart Cathedral is 75 metres long and has a ceiling height of 24 metres. The main spire is 87 metres high.