Australian cathedral saved by government grant: The Church of England Newspaper, June 18, 2010 p 6. June 24, 2010
Posted by geoconger in Anglican Church of Australia, Church of England Newspaper.trackback
St Paul's Cathedral, Bendigo
First published in The Church of England Newspaper.
The Australian state of Victoria has agreed to contribute approximately £450,000 towards the costs of repairs to help re-open St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Bendigo.
In January 2008 the Diocese of Bendigo’s cathedral was closed as a public safety hazard. A fence was erected around its perimeter after a slab of concrete sheeting fell from the roof during a windstorm. A survey of the 140-year-old building found it needed almost £2.6 million in repairs, and over £500,000 to be made safe for services.
“The inside of the bell tower is unsafe and even if we were back in the building, we can’t ring the bells again,” Dean Peta Sherlock said after the building was closed, as “every piece of adornment on the roof needs to be removed, that includes all cement crosses, towers and pinnacles.”
The cathedral’s website reported that in addition to the roof repairs “all our stained glass windows will need restorative work and the pinnacles on the tower need to be removed because their mortar has almost entirely eroded.”
Requests for assistance from the Australian Federal government were turned down, but last week Victoria Premier John Brumby said his government would invest in the future of the cathedral given its significance to the Bendigo community.
“St Paul’s is an important part of Bendigo’s history and we want to see it able to be used by the community once again,” Mr Brumby said.
“This funding will help kick-start the repair works needed to get the cathedral open again so that everyone in the Bendigo community will benefit from it.”
“We wanted to contribute to this important initiative because St Paul’s Cathedral is such an important part of Bendigo’s history. We want it to be an important part of its future.”
“Our government worked closely with St Paul’s to identify how we can assist and I believe our contribution is a significant one that will mean the community will see tangible progress on the project to re-open the cathedral doors once again,” Mr Brumby said.
