St Joseph's Church, Bell & Belltower

Author

City of Albany

Place Number

00002

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Location

120-140 Aberdeen St Albany

Location Details

Registered as part of P16297 St Joseph's Catholic Church Group.

Local Government

Albany

Region

Great Southern

Construction Date

Constructed from 1877, Constructed from 1937

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type	Status	Date	Documents	More information
(no listings)

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type	Status	Date	Documents
	Current	20 Aug 2021

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type	Status	Date	Grading/Management		More information
Type	Status	Date	Category	Description	More information
Municipal Inventory	Adopted	30 Jun 2001	Category A	Category A • Worthy of the highest level of protection. Recommended for entry into the State Register of Heritage Places which gives legal protection. • Provide maximum encouragement to the owner under the City of Albany Town Planning Scheme to conserve the significance of the place. • Development requires consultation with the City of Albany and the Albany Heritage Advisor. • A more detailed Heritage Assessment/Impact Statement to be undertaken before approval given for any additional or redevelopment • Incentives to promote heritage conservation should be considered.
Register of the National Estate	Indicative Place				Heritage Council
Classified by the National Trust	Recorded	04 Jul 1977			Heritage Council

Statement of Significance

Since it's construction in 1877, St Joseph's Church has played an important role int he development of the Catholic parish of Albany. The bell was cast in France and presented as a gift in 1883 from France. The Church and Bell Tower have aesthetic, historic, social, representative and social heritage significance.

Physical Description

Steeply pitched roof
Shingle type tiles
Gothic arched windows
Large entry porch and additional wing, retaining the arched windows
Rendered and painted walls
Buttresses along length of building
Free standing timber bell tower

History

Together with the former St Joseph's convent building and the nearby St Joseph's Lodge, the St Joseph's Catholic
Church forms a significant historical complex dating back to the 1870s. (Refer to separate forms for the Former St
Joseph's Convent and St Joseph's Lodge).
This was not the first Catholic Church in Albany. In 1859 (one source cites 1855), the Chapel of Stella Maris (Star of
the Sea), was built on a site on the western side of Aberdeen St. Between 1878 􀂱 1881 a school building and a two storey school/convent building were completed on that site. The Chapel was demolished in 1917 and the two storey
stone building was demolished in 1993.
The foundation stone for the St Joseph's Catholic Church was laid in 1877 on the present site on the eastern side of
Aberdeen St. The cost of the building was £1,700. Over the years there have been a number of modifications and
additions. In 1890 a fourth window, confessional boxes and choir loft were added. Prior to WW1 a new sanctuary
and sacristy were built. The porch was added in 1937 and in 1995 covered entries to the big porch were added.
The bell, cast in France in 1883 (one source cites 1833) was a gift to mark the nursing of French sailors during a
typhoid epidemic. It was named "Marie de Bourbon" after the old French Royal House of Bourbon) and was
embossed with religious images, inscribed with a passage from Ezekiel in the Latin "Manus Domini eduxis me in Viam
Australem", which can be roughly translated as, "The handof the Lord guided me to this southern way".

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High
Modifications: Additional window, choir loft, sanctuary and sacristy
Porch and extensions added

Condition

Good

References

Ref Name	Ref Source	Ref Date
Heritage TODAY Site visit and Assessment		1999
"A Journey in F aith to Jubilee 2000,".	Parish of Albany, Bunbury R S Diocese,	1999-2000
L Johnson; "Town of Albany Heritage Survey".	City of Albany	1994

State Heritage Office library entries

Library Id	Title	Medium	Year Of Publication
328	Albany, Western Australia : the first hundred years, 1791-1891.	Book	1992

Place Type

Individual Building or Group

Uses

Epoch	General	Specific
Original Use	RELIGIOUS	Church, Cathedral or Chapel
Present Use	RELIGIOUS	Church, Cathedral or Chapel

Architectural Styles

Style
Victorian Free Gothic

Construction Materials

Type	General	Specific
Wall	BRICK	Common Brick
Roof	METAL	Corrugated Iron

Historic Themes

General	Specific
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES	Religion

Creation Date

12 Sep 1988

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

01 Jan 2017

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.