THE DUNEDIN CATHEDRAL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume V, Issue 265, 31 May 1878, Page 9

THE DUNE DIN CATHEDRAL.

Ox Sunday last, in St. Joseph's Church. Dunedin, his Lordship the Bishop, prior to reading the Episle and Gospel and preaching at the 11 a.m. Mass, said thnt he wished to say a few words to the congregation relating to the building of the new cathedral. He had decided on having it erected on the site between Smith-sfcreet and Rattraystreet, because land sufficient for the purpose, — an acre at least would be needed, was not to be had in any central position, or if it were to be found it would be sold only at a price that would place it far beyond the reach of the Catholic congregation. The cathedral could not be placed upon the site of the present church because there would not be room there for it. The ground required for it must be 260 feet long and 120 feet broad, and it would interfere with. the schools, which of the two were, his Lordship believed, even more necessary than the cathedral itself. In order to build it on this site,, moreover, the earth should be removed to the level of the street, which would require a, great outlay, it would also be necessary to surround the present church with the new building which would occasion endless confusion and inconvenience, and finally they could not afford to pull down the present church which wo\ild bft needed for schools, as it has always been intended. It was found necessary on the chosen site to sink the foundations very deep, but this must be done in any case, so as to prevent the recurrence here of the hardship experienced by a certain Bishop in America, who had erected a cathedral at a cost of £50,000, but was obliged after a little time to pull it down by an order of the Corporation, who had sunk a street below the level of its foundations, and in consequence pronounced it dangerous. The foundations here would be laid upon arches built upon pillars of concrete which would rise from the rock beneath, they would not he much more expensive, his Lordship considered, than foundations laid on the ground itself. The style of the building would be <3 othic, it would be in the form of a cross, of which the navn and aisles would make the stem : the transept the short arms, and the chancel the head. The length of the nave and aisles would he 80 feet, and. their breadth 5» feet ; the length of the transept 100 feer, and the total length of the church 193 feet. The height of the building to the ridge -would be 05 feet, and that of the interior to tho groined ceiling 44 feet. Over the transept would be a central tower which, with its spire, would rise to a height of 193 feet. The main entrance would be from Smith street, where there would be two towers 80 feet in height. Tbe cost might be infinitely increased by ornamentation, but the estimated 'sum was £26,000. For the present, however, it was only contemplated to build the nave and nislefi ; the aisles would be separated from the nave by pillars and arches, and the whole would accommodate 800 persons. The cost of this part of the building, which although not completed, would have a good appearance, would, perhaps, be about £6000 ; of this the congregation had promised £8000, and His Lordship had undertaken himself to be responsible for USOO. He was not afraid to enter upon the enterprise with such a small sum in hand. He knew the congregation, and judging by what they had done in the past, he felfc persuaded they would enable him to accomplish the present undertaking. When the Bishop's house was bought there were no funds in hand, hut the people promised to pay for it and they did so within the specified time, and not only this, but they even gave some hundreds more than were required, so that His Lordship had been able, with the surplus, to begin the Christian Brothers' Schools. He and. his people would begin the work ; they could not tell who might finish it, but they would do their part, and leave those who came after them to do theirs also. Many of the great cathedrals of Europe had been built in this way. There were some which had been commenced centuries ago, and were not yet completed. The Bishop, in conclusion, particularly requested all those who had not already done so, to pay the first instalment of the sum promised by them towards building the Cathedral.