| Name of institution |
St Francis Xavier Cathedral |
| Type of institution |
Catholic Church |
| Street Address |
Cathedral Avenue |
| City |
Geraldton |
| State |
Western Australia |
| Postcode |
6530
|
| Country |
Australia |
| Name of building |
St Francis Xavier Cathedral |
| Name of room |
|
| Dates of the building |
1916-1938 |
| Architect’s and builder’s names |
Priest architect John Cyril Hawes arrived in Geraldton in 1915 to
take up the parish priest position. He started work on the cathedral straight
away. The cathedral’s foundation stone was laid in 1916 and the building was
completed in 1938.
|
| Special architectural features |
The Cathedral is of the Inter War Romanesque period and style of
architecture, although the HCWA Register Entry and assessment by Ian
Molyneux, attributes it principally as Arts & Crafts whilst
acknowledging Romanesque influences and elements. "St
Francis Xavier Cathedral, through manipulation of the site in the Arts
& Crafts manner, generates a cultural environment in its own
right. The aesthetic qualities include a deliberate synthesis of
aesthetic experiences, Hawes, himself, attributed a Roman style to St
Francis Xavier Cathedral, with features from the Norman-Romanesque
(11th Century) and Renaissance (17th Century) and admitted to borrowing
the towers from the Californian Franciscan missions of San Luis Rey and
Santa Barbara (18th & 119th Centuries)."
The Cathedral is built of local Geraldton stone, and confidently employs
wide-span arches and skillfully laid rubble and ashlar. Rendered mouldings
emphasise openings and decoration, providing contrast against the textured
stonework. The main form of the building follows the east-west axis which is
accentuated, at the western end, by twin, stepped towers either side of the
Romanesque arched entry and recessed baroque styled, elevated gable end which
terminates the nave. The stepped, or tiered, dome capped towers are octagonal in
plan at the upper levels over square, ground floor bases. At the lower level,
the northern tower has louvered circular openings originally intended for clocks
whilst the southern tower has vertical arched openings. Together with a large
octagonal dome at the crossing with the minor north-south axis, the towers
dominate the Cathedral.
To the east a smaller, circular, 15th century chateaux
style tower, identifies the sacristy externally and provides a visual contrast
or incongruity to the overall Romanesque character of the Cathedral. Thought to
be a later addition, this tower is more reminiscent of Hawes’ Northampton, St
Mary’s in Ara Coeli Church (1936). The higher central nave is given expression
externally by the lower roofed aisles with their rendered arched windows and
decoration.
|
| Special fittings |
The interior features
Romanesque columns, huge arches beneath an octagonal dome and zebra striping of
the walls. Needless to say the architecture is a blend of styles. In as far as the design it may be said it
follows the round arched classical style of ancient Rome. The
twin towers of the west from are very much like the Californian
Mission Church
in Santa Barbara and the large central dome over
the crossing has a fleeting resemblance to Brunellesci's famous Cupola in Florence.
The first thing that strikes most people about the
interior of the building is its colouring - arranged in stripes of grey with orange
markings. It resembles the fashion of many churches and cathedrals of Italy, such as
Sienna and Orvieto. Visitors who have
visited the Great Mosque at El Cordoba,
Spain also
remark on the similarity of interior design, albeit on a much smaller scale,
and the colour scheme. |
| Other location information |
St Francis Xavier Cathedral is a spectacular church in the centre of
Geraldton that you will find as magnificent on the inside as it looks from the
outside. Designed by the parish priest John Hawkes, it took 22 years to build.
|
| Name of contact |
|
| Mailing Address |
|
| Telephone |
08 9483 1111 |
| Email |
|
| Other contact information |
|
| . |
|
| Date of previous organs |
None
|
| Detail of previous organs |
|
| Dates when key work has been undertaken |
|
| Dates of any moves that have taken place |
|
| Variations from original design of organ |
|
| Information on previous organs |
|
| Information about comparable instruments to previous
organs |
|
| . |
|
| Present organ |
|
| Type of installation |
Freestanding |
| Case description |
Distinguished polished Jarrah casework, Great above Swell with two flanking Pedal towers |
| Placement in room |
Left chancel |
| Builder's name |
F.J. Larner & Co |
| Opus number |
|
| Date of completion/installation |
1980-81 |
| Construction materials |
|
| Number of manuals |
Two (2) |
| Key compasses |
CC-g |
| Number of keys |
56 |
| Key material |
|
| Pedal compass |
CCC-F |
| Number of pedals |
30 |
| Pedalboard type |
|
| Pedalboard material |
|
| Type of chests |
|
| Type of key action |
Mechanical |
| Type of stop action |
Electro-pneumatic |
| Couplers |
Swell - Great, Swell - Pedal, Great - Pedal |
| Tremulants |
Swell |
| Accessories |
|
| Console type |
Reversed attached drawstop console |
| Stop label material |
|
| Placement |
Integral |
| General design |
|
| Playing aids |
Six adjustable general combination pistons, balanced Swell pedal |
| Divisions |
Great, Swell, Pedal |
| Wind pressures |
|
| Stop list |
| GREAT |
|
|
|
| Principal |
8' |
Display
|
|
| Chimney Flute |
8' |
|
|
| Octave |
4' |
|
|
| Twelfth |
2-2/3' |
|
|
| Flagelot |
2' |
|
|
| Tierce TG |
1-3/5' |
|
|
| Mixture 19.22 |
II |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| SWELL |
|
|
|
| Hohl Flute |
8' |
Wood |
|
| Gemshorn |
8' |
|
|
| Spitz Flute |
4' |
|
|
| Principal |
2' |
|
|
| Quint |
1-1/3' |
|
|
| Cymbal 26.29 |
II |
|
|
| Tremulant |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| PEDAL |
|
|
|
| Subbass |
16' |
Wood |
|
| Gedecktbass |
8' |
Wood |
|
| Choral Bass |
4' |
|
|
| Bassoon |
16' |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total number of stops |
17 |
| Total number of ranks |
19 |
| Total number of pipes |
929 |
| Dates when key work has been undertaken on current
organ |
Organ was completed by F.J. Larner & Co in 1993-94. Addition of Swell Gemshorn and Pedal Bassoon. |
| Dates of any moves that have taken place to current
organ |
None |
| Information on current organ |
An outstanding instrument |
| Comparable instruments to current
organ |
|
| Current status |
In good condition and regular use |
| Assessment of organ |
This
organ was the first mechanical action instrument to be built with a
reversed console in Western Australia. Trackers run in three tiers under
the console platform into the organ body.
The tracker action incorporates floating backfall beams to adjust to
temperature extremes found in Geraldton so that the depth of touch at
the keys remains constant throughout the year. |
| Other organs by this builder |
|
| Photographs |
Photograph of church exterior from Britannica
Photographs of church interior and organ by Bruce Duncan
|
| Technical documents |
Detail of the organ taken from the opening booklet (1981) and from observation of the instrument by Bruce Duncan.
|
| General documents |
Architectual information from City of Geraldton-Greenough
Information about the cathedral from the Geraldton Diocese
|
| . |
|
| Supporting information |
|
| . |
|
| Document control |
Original entries J R Elms, OAM, Gazetteer of Western Australian Pipe Organs, 1971, 1999,2003 and 2004.
This entry D B Duncan 08 January 2009.
|
