ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL
90 SMITH ST
DARWIN NT 0800

PHOTOS: E FUSCALDO & J MARLOW

St Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic Cathedral at 90 Smith Street was designed by Ian Ferrier of the Brisbane firm J.P. Donoghue, Cusick and Edwards.

The foundation stone was laid by Bishop O'Loughlin on 13 July 1958, with building operations overseen by Carl Johansson until 1962, when John D'Arcy took over.

The cathedral was officially opened and blessed by Bishop O'Loughlin on 19 August 1962, and consecrated on 20 August 1972. The builder was The Darwin Progressive Builders of Darwin.

The design is characterised by a series of parabolic arches rising 16 metres (steel framed and clad in concrete), a 26-metre entry tower topped by a cross, and the extensive use of local sawn white porcellanite stone, quarried from the cliffs of Darwin Harbour at the church's own quarry at Larrakeyah. The same stone was used for the Baptismal font and pulpit.

Construction began in 1955 and took seven years, relying heavily on volunteers, donations of time and materials, and sustained community fundraising. The nave walls can be fully opened along their length by glass panel doors, responding to Darwin's tropical climate.

One of the original design requirements was that the priest should be able to see the ocean from the altar. The church was accordingly built on a road that ran straight through to the esplanade, so that standing at the altar and turning west, the harbour was visible in the distance. When the entertainment centre was later built across two blocks and the road, its designers left an arch and opening where the road had been, preserving that sightline. The ocean is no longer visible due to esplanade tree growth, but the tunnel-like opening through the entertainment centre remains.

The cathedral also functions as a Northern Territory War Memorial Shrine, a role reflected in the stained glass panels of the west window, donated by Australian and United States armed forces and depicting their respective emblems.

The striking Star of the Sea window combines strong Catholic iconography with images of Northern Territory animals depicted in X-ray style, drawing on traditional Aboriginal artistic expression.

The Aboriginal Madonna painting near the front of the church was specifically commissioned for the building by Czech artist Karol Kupka, and depicts the Virgin Mary as an Aboriginal woman carrying the Christ child on her shoulder in the traditional Tiwi way.

The building survived Cyclone Tracy with relatively little structural damage, though its open form, allowing breezes to pass through, likely helped it withstand the cyclone's force.

The architect, Ian Ferrier, also designed cathedrals in Cairns and Port Moresby, each adapting similar ideas about cross ventilation and climate-responsive design to their respective tropical contexts.


Heritage Status: Not Listed.