The current Christ Church Cathedral at 2 Smith Street was designed by Darwin architect John Wilkins of Wilkins, Klemm & Morrison, and was the first major civic building completed in Darwin after Cyclone Tracy. The original cathedral on the site was completely destroyed in the cyclone, leaving only its small entry porch. Bishop Ken Mason raised the funds to rebuild, and the commission went to Wilkins.
Construction ran from 1975 to 1976, and the cathedral was consecrated on Sunday 13 March 1977 in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited a few weeks later, signing a commemorative visitors' book, a moment that Wilkins later described as reflecting the broader significance of the building as a statement that Darwin would survive and rebuild.
The design is built around a lozenge-shaped plan, chosen specifically to bring the congregation closer to the altar and allow clear acoustics without amplification. Wilkins incorporated stone salvaged from the original cathedral into the entry wall of the narthex, including the original foundation stone set to the left of the doorway. The large reinforced concrete walls and earth mound at the entry give the building a deliberate feeling of weight and permanence.
The west window was designed by Darwin artist George Chaloupka (1932-2011), working with Wilkins on the great concrete wall that frames it. In Dalle de Verre glass imported from Belgium, Chaloupka's design depicts fishing nets and the upsurge of waves during a cyclone, commemorating the fishermen who lost their lives when Tracy struck.
The window was funded by the Gollin Kyokuyo Trust, a joint fishing venture operating out of Darwin at the time of the cyclone that lost seven men. Chaloupka also designed the tabernacle doorway. The ancillary vestry, administration offices and meeting hall are treated as separate buildings connected by corridors, deliberately kept subordinate to the main cathedral.
Wilkins described it as the most satisfying commission of his career, and as a statement of faith that Darwin would survive and rebuild.
Heritage Status: NT Heritage Listed.
Construction ran from 1975 to 1976, and the cathedral was consecrated on Sunday 13 March 1977 in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited a few weeks later, signing a commemorative visitors' book, a moment that Wilkins later described as reflecting the broader significance of the building as a statement that Darwin would survive and rebuild.
The design is built around a lozenge-shaped plan, chosen specifically to bring the congregation closer to the altar and allow clear acoustics without amplification. Wilkins incorporated stone salvaged from the original cathedral into the entry wall of the narthex, including the original foundation stone set to the left of the doorway. The large reinforced concrete walls and earth mound at the entry give the building a deliberate feeling of weight and permanence.
The west window was designed by Darwin artist George Chaloupka (1932-2011), working with Wilkins on the great concrete wall that frames it. In Dalle de Verre glass imported from Belgium, Chaloupka's design depicts fishing nets and the upsurge of waves during a cyclone, commemorating the fishermen who lost their lives when Tracy struck.
The window was funded by the Gollin Kyokuyo Trust, a joint fishing venture operating out of Darwin at the time of the cyclone that lost seven men. Chaloupka also designed the tabernacle doorway. The ancillary vestry, administration offices and meeting hall are treated as separate buildings connected by corridors, deliberately kept subordinate to the main cathedral.
Wilkins described it as the most satisfying commission of his career, and as a statement of faith that Darwin would survive and rebuild.
Heritage Status: NT Heritage Listed.