Description of the attraction
The Basilica of St Mary of the Angels, also known as St Mary's Church, is located on Yarra Street in Geelong. This strikingly beautiful neo-Gothic building of blue sandstone was completed in 1937. Today, the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels has the tallest spire in Australia - it rises 150 feet above the ground. The basilica itself ranks 4th in the list of the tallest churches in the country. It is also the tallest building in Geelong at 210 feet from the base. The church received the title of basilica in 2004 after the approval of the Vatican, becoming the fifth basilica in Australia.
The first St. Mary's Church was a small wooden chapel built on Yarra Street in November 1842. However, the number of parishioners quickly outgrew the capacity of the chapel, and already in 1846 a new stone church was built in its place. Geelong's gold rush soon required the construction of a much larger cathedral-like church. The architect was Messr Dowden, who began construction in 1854. But the rapid development of the city had already begun to come to naught, and two years later the construction work stopped. For a decade and a half, the church stood unfinished. Only in 1871 the construction of the temple was resumed. And work on the famous spire began in the 20th century - in 1931, and was completed in 1937. The bronze cross at the top of the spire is 12 feet high. In 1995, large-scale restoration work was carried out in the church, which cost $ 300 thousand. Today the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels is listed as a National Property in Victoria.
