St Peter's Cathedral - Adelaide - SA - Australia - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

ST, PETER'S CATHEDRAL,
V ADELAIDE. ^
St.-Peter's' Day, June 29,1869, will be me
•.•morable'in-the! Church history of South Aus
tralia as the: day on which the Cathedral bear
ing (hat Apostle's'.'name was formally inaugu
rated. ACathedral Church— where the Worship
of God should be. entirely free—free to all who
might choose to, enter the. House and,worship
• God—and free'from all those—let'ub not say
obstacles—but.,hindrances or, difficulties'which
deter so many "of the poorer - classes-and others
from entering the sanctuary—we-rsay a Cathe
dral in connection with the Anglican Church
has been, a desideratum which has long been
felt to exist. ' The Eight Kev. Dr. Short,
Bishop, of "Adelaide, has for .many years ex
perienced ihis as one of! the great'wants in his
diocese, and has lost no.opportunity of.hastening
the .time for' the, erection,. of such' a building."
The Society for Promoting Christian knowledge
has subscribed £1,000, and between 1849, when
• the-Bishop was appointed, and the present year,'
there has been subscribed in England towards
this Cathedral Church a sum ot upwards of £600.
The objected has enlisted sympathy also in the
colony. r A,bequest of £1,000 .was made -by the
1-ie Captain1 Allen; and' has been received by
iiie Treasurers; and among other donations we
£nd the name of the Bishop for £300; His Ex
cellency the Governor, Sir James. FergusHon,
£50 annually during the term' of his ad
ministration ; Messrs. G. Glen,;' £150 *, , G. W.'
Hawkes, £105; H. K. Hughes,',£100; P. D.:
Prankerd, £100 ; E. A. Wright', £100 and
other subscriptions, making 'a total of. £2,326
10s. An admirable site was purchased on Pen- ,
nington-terrace, North Adelaide, at a cost
of upwards of £1,000, and shortly' after
the return of Bishop Short from England
the land was enclosed on three; sides by. an or
namental brick and 'stone wall, costing "£227
10a. The total' amount of " the ^/Cathedral
Fund, exclusive of ' the' sums1'' paid ' away
for the site and wall is £8,647 18s. 5d.
Plans for the Cathedral were prepared in
England, by Mr. Butterfield, but have been
modified by Mr. "Woods, of the firm of Messrs.
Wright, Woods, & Hamilton. The whole
edifice, when completed, is expected to cost about
£25,000, but only about half,of this sum will
¦ be required for that portion of the work which
it is projected to carry out at once.
The twenty-second anniversary of the conse
cration of Augustus, Lord Bishop of Adelaide,
to the Episcopate, and the day of the feast of
St. Peter, was appropriately chosen as the time
to inaugurate this building. The weather was
not all that could have been wishe"d for,
although the forebodings which the morning
presented of a very wet day were not realised,
yet the clouds threatened a down-pour,
which deterred many persons from attending.
As it was, however, a laTge gathering assem
bled, and, fortunately, the rain held off during
the time which the ceremony occupied.
The Bishop invited the Clergy, together with
His Excellency the Governor and Lady Edith
Fergusson, and a number of ladies and gentle
men, to luncheon at Bishop's Court at 1 o'clock.
Luncheon concluded,, the ladies and gentlemen
took their way to the Cathedral grounds, and'
were shortly afterwards followed, by a proces
sion, in which the Clergy and others took part.
Preparations had-been made at the site for
the accommodation of a.considerable gathering.'
Near the stone raised seats, covered with tar
paulins, were erected, which commanded a view
/ of the ceremony, an extensive space was left
open round the stone for the clergy, choirs, &c.
A box had been partitioned off from the general
seats on the platform for the accommodation of
the Vice-Regal party. A detachment of the
34th Regiment was drawn up on the ground
under the command of Major Vivian and
Captain Wilson.
Shortly before 3 o'clock His'Excellency the
Governor the Right Hon. Sir James Fergusson
and Lady Edith'arrived, and were received-with
the usual'salute by- the. military—the - band
playing the National Anthem. Their. Excel
lencies sat in the vice-regal box, Mrs. Short
and the Hon. John Morphett being there also.
A few minutes afterwards the procession from
Bishop'B Court reached the ground. The proces
sion consisted of the Cathedral'Committee, the
choirs of Christchurch, Trinity, and St. Paul's;.
the Bishop's Verger, the Right Rev. -Dr. Short
(Bishop of Adelaide), and 22 of the clergy.-The.
Bishop stood near the-, stone, - the clergy being
ranged round it, and the, choirs on the-south
aide of the enclosure. \\
The proceedings began by the Bishcp address
ing the people thus:—"Dearly beloved7in the"
Lord—For as much as devout and holy men, as
well under the law as under the Gospel,' moved
either by the secret inspiratioh'of the Blessed
Spirit, or by the express command of God, or
their own reason and sense of the natural
- decency of thingr, -have- desired to erect houses
for the public worship of Almighty God, and
separate them from all profane and' common
uses; in order to fill- men's minds with greater
reverence for His Glorious Majesty, and affect
: their hearts with more devotion and humility
/ In His service; which pious, works have been
¦approved of and graciously-accepted by our
. Heavenly Father : let; us earnestly believe
that He will also. favorably approve ;this our
godly purpose in laying the foundation-stone of
, this Cathedral Church to be. set i. apart for
all the offices of divine worship and,-the
¦ daily sacrifice of prayer, and let us "faith
fully and - devoutly - pray Him to bless
. and prosper .this . our; undertaking. " Then
followed. prayers and responses, after which:
were chanted : the . 84th, 96th, and 122nd
- Psalms; The Ven. "Archdeacon Twopeny/read
Iessons from the Book of Fzra bearing iipon'the;
building of "the Temple bfjerusalem. j After a.
collect by the Bishop, His Lordship, as founder
of the Cathedral, proceeded to lay the stone,
assisted by Mr. Woods, the architect, and;Mr.
Brown, the builder. Mr. Woods requested His
Lordship's acceptance of a handsome' silver
trowel with which to do this. The trowel vyas
obtained from Mr. Davis's establishment, was
' made of silver with ivory handle, and on" the
blade there .was the following, inscription
" This trowel was used in laying the first stone
of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter by the
Right Rev. Augustus Short, D.D., the first
Lord Bishop of Adelaide, South Australia, and
presented to him by the Committee on that,
¦ occasion. St. Peter's Day,. June 29, A.D/,j
1869." The_ stone, having been lowered, the"
Bishop applied the plumb-line to it, and after
giving the. orthodox tap3 with the. mallet, said
*' In the faith of Jesus Christ we place this
foundation-stone in the name of G,od the
. Father, God the-Son, and God the Holy Ghost."
Mr. F. Wicksteed, the Secretary of Synod,
then read, the following copy of the document
which, with newspapers, coins, &c., was placed!
tinder the stone :— 1 i
. " In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy;
Ghost, the first stone of.the Cathedral Church of.
St, Peter was laid in the year of our Lord, 1869,
on , St. Peter's Day, -the -29th of June, by
Augustus Lord Bishop of Adelaide, formerly, a,
scholar of St. Peter's College,' Westminster;
student, tutor,- and censor of Christchurch,
Oxford; and Vicar of ' Bavensthorpe, Nor
thamptonshire,, on the 22nd anniversary of his
consecration, A.D. 1847." ¦
.; .:KHujusce EcclesiaeCathedralisDeo Creatori
;-'Sospit*tori Satictificatori' in honorem Sancti
. Petri, dicatoe, lapidem auspicalein posuit festo
Sancti Petri, die Junii XXIX, anno Episco
pates sui XXIII ineunte/salutis MDCCCLXIX
Augustus Episcopus Adelaidensis, S.T.P., Cpl
legiiy.olim Sancti Petri Westmonasteriensis
acholaris regius; Oxoniae Deinde (Edis Christi.
, alumnus, tutor, censor, in academia exami
nator, prsedicator; Ravensthorpim postea in
comitate Northamptoniensi, Parochus."
Hymn 164, commencing-^
- " We love the place, 0; God,
Wherein Thine honor dwells,"
was sung, after which the Collects for Trinity
Sunday, Good Friday, Whit-Sunday,St. Peter's
Day, St. Simon .and St. Jude, and .All Saints
Day, were read by the Kev. Canon Fair. The
142nd humnV "-Jerusalem' the Golden!" wa3
then sung,, after, which the Bishop pronounced
! the Benediction,; and the religious part of the
ceremony concluded.
The BrsHOP addressed the assembly.. He
•aid there, were occasions, when their feelings
were too deep and too strong for expression;
•and when the words, instead of flowing
freely, seemed to come ' drop' by drop as it
were from the* heart's fountain. Such an
occasion he'"deemed that to he. It was one not
of social joy or of political or civil rejoicing, but
it was a day in which the deepest thoughts
crowded in upon the heart, "whilst they were en
gaged in laying the foundation-stone of" a tem
ple dedicated to the honor and glory of Him
who fills the universe, "Who was before all time,
and Who fills all space—Who in the beginning
created all things by Jesus Christ, and in the
fulness of time sent Him to declare His loving
kindness and mercy to fallen man, and tore
deem him by His own most precious blood, and
Who, after shedding His own most precious
blood on the painful and ignominious Cross of
Calvary, ascended on high to take possession of
His Mediatorial Throne, which shall last until
the day when the spirits of the just made
perfect and the number of His elect
shall be made complete, and when all who have
loved the Lord out of a pure heart fervently,
shall partake of the blessings of the beatific
presence :of the; Ancient of Days. 1 Whilst en
gaged, in a solemn work like this, they should
be engaged "in solemn heart-searching also
saying "Who are we, that we should raise a
house for the glory of God ?" When he
thought that that day 22 years ago he was set.
apart as; ;a Bishop of -Christ, to order things
wanting, and to strengthen things that remain,.
to oversee the flock of Christ, and to take heed •
lest any of that flock should perish, by being
•left without a shepherd or a shepherd's care—
they might easily see what thoughts came upon'
. him of the deep responsibility he then under
took,; and understand that the recollec
tions he had of how frequently he had
come short of the duties of his- high'
office;. made him feel humbled to the very
dust whilst he asked himself "Who art thou,
that you should lay the foundation-stone of a
building connected with the Church of our
country and forefathers ?" Then he thought of
Jhat- Stone, cut out of the mountain without
hands—the Sure Foundation of which that was
but; a poor emblem—and when he remembered
that whosoever's feet were planted by the Holy
Spirit on the Rock of Ages—that whosoever
knew nothing but Christ, and Him crucifiedV
as the foundation of his hopes, and-joys, and
aspirations for time and eternity—and when he
remembered also that he was plucked as a brand
from the burning and placed on this Sure Foun-'
dation-Stone—all these fears gave place to a
holier confidence, and he was enabled to com
mence the work in simple faith on Jesus Christ,
True it was that the beginning of the work was
hut a small part of that which they had under
taken, and which, if God permitted, they hoped
Jo.see fulfilled.. ..Having waited 22. years to see
that day—having received on trust gifts, dona
tions, and subscriptions to a large amount—he
felt that the time had come when he should
give an account of that stewardship, and show
to the people of this province in connection with
their ancient and beloved Church that he; had
not unfaithfully stored the treasures of silver
and gold which were committed to his un
worthy keeping. Besides this there was reason,
he thought, at the present epoch of the world,
why they should give some manifestation, be it
great or small, that they would serve the Lord.
This was a time when they were called
upon as Joshua, called upon the Israelites
of old — "Choose ye this day whom
ye will serve ; as for me and ray house,
we will serve the Lord." In these latter days
"an outburst of Rationalistic unbelief had
attempted to throw discredit on the Sacred
"Word of the Living God—on that Word which
was the foundation of all their hopes, their
only guide to eternal life—and there was great
reason why at this epoch those who were on
the Lord's side should come forth and show
outwardly to the heathen and unbelieving
world that as for them they would serve God
the-Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Ghost, ever one God Who was before all time
and beyond all space. . Therefore with this
view they were there determined by the Grace of
God to hand to their children the blessed inheri
. tance of a true Scriptural faith- received from
Apostolic times by perpetual succession—and re
covered by martyrs who by their blood vindicated
the truth of the living God. They were deter-'
mined to show by that stone that they -were
mindful of the blessings received in their
Fatherland, and in that Church in which they
were brought up, and that they wished to .do
something to show their faith in her principles,
blight God give them grace never to dishonor
the great privileges handed down to them by
the blood of martyrs and confession. A great
responsibility was cast upon them that they
^should not come short of the privileges which
God had entrusted to them—but that they
should teach the Truth to an unbelieving and
evil world, believing that the grace of Christ
alone could penetrate the stony heart of man,
and bring it in humble penitence and believing
desire to the foot of the Cross, to receive from
Him,' who' there stretched " wide His arms
of love, grace to help in time • of need.
Whilst they gladly, acknowledged that. the,
grace of-God was not confined within the pale
of their own Church, still they were stewards
of that great gift of God which was imparted to
them in the Church of England,' and they de
sired, with all friendly Christian fellowship, as
far as they could without sacrifice of principle
: or improper compromise, to endeavor by a holy
devotion to show that primitive order was not
devoid of life, and that they did not depend for
the grace of God simply on this,, but on the
living faith of the heart, which led them up to
the Saviour, and' from the Saviour to the
Throne of the Eternal. It - was in no
spirit, of. unfriendliness or unholy; rivaliy
that they placed' that stone, but Jhat it
'might be the means of creating a spirit of
unity in the Cathedral Church of ."the j Diocese,
'so that the unity there might be an emblem of
the unity which they longed to see among those
who differed- only on.'non-essential points. -If
this-should .bjthe humble means of promoting
this great Jnd .of unity—not only in the pale of
that Church, but within the pale of the whole
Reformed Church—then he. said.,they would
| have reason to bless God that He. had permitted
them to lay that stone in "peace, and to hope
that He would bestow His favor on the under
taking. He would take that opportunity of
thanking His Excellency for his presence that
day.

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 06/30/1869 Publication: The Express and Telegraph Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: regional News Category: Arts/Culture

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