Sacred Heart Cathedral - 6 April
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Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo, Australia's largest provincial church, is dramatically sited and impressive in scale. Built in the Gothic Revival style, It was designed by Reed, Smart & Tappin in the Decorated Gothic style and built of sandstone and granite. The nave was built in 1896-1901. After a long interval, work recommenced on the cathedral in 1954 and was completed in 1977. The later works were designed by Bates, Smart and McCutcheon, the successor of Reed, Barnes and Tappin. 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.
The main body of the building, making the longer arm of the cross, where worshippers congregate, is called the nave. The term is from the Latin word for ship. A cathedral is symbolically a ship bearing the people of God through the storms of life. In addition, the high wooden roof of a large church is similarly constructed to the hull of a ship
To be honest, this version is the same shot as the first in this gallery after post-processing to produce this version.
Part of the church constructed between 1954 - 77. Again, the lack of ornate icons and imagery is not what one expects in a Roman Catholic Cathedral.
Unlike so many Roman Catholic church buildings, the Bendigo Cathedral is surprisingly devoid of garish decorations and statues.
Sacred Heart Cathedral - stylised image
This version of the previous image has been stylised to introduce texture, random light and sun rays. I hope it conveys a touch of medieval imagery.
The transept forms the arms of the church building. There are often two transepts. The intersection where the nave and transept meet is called the crossing and is often surmounted by a small spire called a flèche, a dome or a large tower with or without a spire.
It was built in the Gothic Revival style from sandstone quarried from the Geelong area.
The large pipe organ, built by Bishop & Son of London, was installed late in 1905.