Roman Catholic Cathedral and Convent, Hobart, Tasmania ca. 1868

St Mary’s Cathedral was the vision of the first Bishop of Hobart Town, Robert William Willson. Bishop Willson chose the design and spent years raising the funds. He was particularly inspired by his friend Augustus Welby Pugin, designer of the entire interiors of the British Houses of Parliament and father of the modern English Gothic Revival movement.

Opened in 1866, St Mary’s Cathedral is located in Harrington Street, Hobart, between Patrick and Brisbane Streets. Designed by William Wardell, one of Australia’s greatest nineteenth-century architects, it was completed except for its steeple between 1876 and 1898 to a modified design by Henry Hunter.

Henry Hunter, Tasmania’s best known and most prolific architect, designed a great many landmarks across the State. His buildings included over forty Catholic, Anglican and other churches, from Devonport to Southport and Swansea to Waratah, Hobart Town Hall, the Tasmanian Museum, many schools, convents and commercial buildings, and a large number of houses. [History of St Mary’s Cathedral. Archdiocese of Hobart.]