SACRED HEART CATHOLIC COMPLEX

The next building constructed was the Church, in 1886, designed by architects Tappin and Gilbert. The original church is still evident, as it comprised the nave and a small square porch located to the west side of the southern end (originally designed to become a spire or tower). In 1918, further works were completed, including the addition of the polygonal apse at the northern end, with a vestry and side chapel housed in east and west transcepts. The Sacred Heart Church as it stands today is a red brick building laid in stretcher-bond pattern with moulded and rendered detailing, now painted white. It is raised on a projecting bluestone plinth with a corbelled end. The roofs are all slate with iron ridge capping on the original nave. Each of the gable ends have stone cappings with a St. Andrew's cross affixed to the highest point. The gables have stepped buttresses at the corners. The nave has five dormer gabled vents projecting on each side of the roof. Mature Pinus radiata (Monterey Pines), dating from the late nineteenth century stand to the east of the church and there are small gardens on the south side of the church. Bitumen car parking areas flank the east and west sides of the church. The church is a fine example of a brick church in the Gothic Revival style. The Church is generally in excellent condition and retains an excellent degree of integrity to the 1896 and 1918 periods.

The Parish Hall, located immediately to the east of the church is rectangular in plan, built of bricks typical of Branxholme and Portland clays, and has a gabled roof clad in corrugated iron. There is a small gabled porch at the centre of the east wall and a gabled wing at the south end of the west side. The bricks are laid in alternating courses of stretcher and header. The whole hall is raised on a bluestone plinth which is deepest on the north side. The asphalt of the carpark is covering the bottom of the bluestone plinth. The main section of the hall has arched double hung sash windows, subdivided into four panes. The timber-framed windows have a stone sill and a stretcher brick arch above them. The hall was designed by architect W.T.Killeen. A large two storey brick Convent in the Gothic style once stood on the edge of the hill overlooking the Glenelg River valley and the town of Casterton. The Convent, constructed in 1906 by architectural firm Clegg and Miller, was built to house the Sisters of Mercy, who arrived in the town in the early years of the twentieth century, and began to educate at the primary and secondary levels. The schools proved so popular that within a two year period their premises expanded from one rented house to four. The Convent of the Sisters of Mercy was demolished in the mid 1980s after being declared to be structurally unsound. The site may have archaeological potential.

How is it Significant?
The Catholic Complex is of historical, social and architectural significance to the Glenelg Shire (and the State of Victoria??).

Why is it Significant?
The Sacred Heart Catholic Complex is of architectural significance, as the church is an example of the work of the important architectural firm, Tappin and Gilbert, who designed, amongst others, St. Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, The Abbotsford Convent and the Melbourne Gas Company's offices. The Hall was designed by local architect W.T.Killeen, and the contrast in style and sophistication between the two is an interesting juxtaposition. The church demonstrates architectural significance for its use of the Gothic revival style to express religious values, for the range and quality of its interiors, including the altar, font, many memorials, other memorial donated fittings, and as a comparison with the churches of other denominations in Casterton. The Presbytery is of architectural significance as a typical representative example of a later nineteenth century Presbytery, using local materials (hand made bricks from the banks of the Glenelg River). The Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, now demolished, strongly demonstrated religious values expressed architecturally through the use of gothic arches, materials and for the range of materials and fixtures internally and externally. The architectural firm of Clegg and Miller is also of some interest, they being the same firm who were employed to undertake works on Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne around the same time the convent was built, in 1906.

Sacred Heart Catholic Complex is of historical significance as the most substantial complex, and certainly the only one with its own convent, built in the district. The complex reflects the rise of Casterton, the township from the 1880s onwards, succeeding Sandford as the centre of the district, as the whole mission changed focus from Sandford to Casterton, and the much earlier St. John's Catholic Church at Sandford went into some demise. It also reflects the rise of the Catholic Church in the area, much later than some other churches, starting in 1880 when the Presbytery was built, and continuing to invest large amounts of money in property and infrastructure, evidenced by the additions to the church, the construction of the convent and hall, and the planting out of gardens around the complex. It is clear that the arrival of the four Sisters of Mercy in the very early 1900s was a turning point in the fortunes of the church, as the education they provided was vastly popular and co-incided with beginnings of consolidation. The arrival of Fr. Lowham in 1909 continued this development and consolidation. From a historical perspective, it is interesting to note that the donation of land, materials, memorials and furnishings did not come from the most important and affluent members of society, representing large pastoralists, but rather, represents the mainly Irish Catholic selectors who came to the area in the 1860s, 1870s, 1880s. This draws a strong comparison with other early churches whose main benefactors were the important major pastoralists. The complex as a whole is historically significant as the expression of the role and position of the Catholic Church and its congregation in the community for over one hundred and fifty years.

Group

Religion

Category

Church