St Mary Star of the Sea, West Melbourne

St Mary Star of the Sea
St Mary Star of the Sea, from Howard Street
Location	West Melbourne
Country	Australia
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Architecture
Architect(s)	Edgar J. Henderson
Architectural type	Gothic Revival
Completed	1900

St Mary Star of the Sea is one of the most beautiful and historically significant churches in Australia. The foundation stone of St Mary's was laid in 1882 and the building was completed by 1900. Since 2002 restoration has been ongoing to restore the church to its original splendor. Built with seating for over 1,200 people, it has been described as the largest parish church in Melbourne, in Victoria, or even in Australia.

On 30 September 1852, only a few weeks after land allotments in North Melbourne became available, Very Rev Patrick Geoghegan OSF, Melbourne's first Vicar General, secured two acres, on the highest point within the block formed by Victoria, William and Chetwynd streets. A foundation stone was laid two years later, on 14 May 1854, and within six months a modest cruciform stone church was erected. Melbourne's port lay in the church's shadow, and so the church was dedicated to Our Lady, Star of the Sea, patroness of seafarers. Priests from St Francis', Melbourne's proto-cathedral, served the mission.

The Victorian Gold Rush fuelled a population explosion which contributed to a rapidly increasing Catholic congregation. On 28 July 1862, Rev Simon Riordan chaired a public meeting which resolved to erect an entirely new church to serve North and West Melbourne. A scarcity of funds forced an alternative: two additional transepts should be added to the existing building. Construction was delayed, however, by a good nine years. In 1871, a new transept increased the capacity of the church to 500.

Two years later, in 1873, St Mary Star of the Sea became a parish. Rev Henry England, West Melbourne's long-standing locum, was appointed first parish priest. In 1875, Archbishop Goold visited the parish, and informed priest and parishioners that the building was not adequate for divine worship. In response, a second transept was added and the interior renovated.

In 1881, plans for a new and larger church, by prolific architects Tappin, Gilbert and Dennehy, were announced. Archbishop Goold laid the foundation stone on 9 December 1883, but the death of Dean England, and a shortage of funds, halted construction. Rev Patrick Joseph Aylward was appointed parish priest in 1889, and he immediately terminated the project. The proposed building was too small for the rapidly increasing Catholic population.