1^st September: Geraldton

A quiet day today. I did the washing and hoped it would get dry. It has been very overcast, leaden in fact, with a cold sharp breeze. However, I did take a photo of the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross. It is built in the shape of a star and is very tall, giving it a sense of space and the heavens. There are a lot of beautiful, modern stained glass windows through which the sun streams.Quite spectacular inside and very quiet and austere outside. 

 

We went for a quick shop and then I met up with Gail and April to visit the Catholic Cathedral, St Francis Xavier. Designed by Monsignor Hawes,it borrows heavily from gothic buildings of times gone by. But, to my mind, it seems to exhibit a number of very different styles and becomes a rather grand mish-mash! It seeems to lack a consistency in overall theme in the features and to my mind, is rather over indulgent. However, it is a show piece in Geraldton and the locals love it.It isvery imposing from the street! We had a tour guide who was obviously a member of the congregation but really she didn't know very much. She was very enthusiastic but couldn't answer any questions about the symbolism in the church. It was rather ornate inside, painted with broad bands of two different greys with an ochre colour in patterns on the many arches. There were patterns in the decorations in each of the tops of the arches but the quide didn't know what they represented. (She also told us there were 14 Stations of the Cross, and that she didn't the significance of the Maltese crosses throughout the church.) Very chaotic! She showed us the Bishop's robing room and there was a very pink cope. Whatever would a bishop wear pink for?? (She couldn't tell us!)

The nave could seat a couple of hundred worshippers in wooden pews and there plaques on many of the columns.There were lots of round windows up high with beautiful stained glasss of an older style and above the choir loft, 2 lovely windows dedicated to the Presentation sisters who came to the North West in 1840 ffrom Ireland. How brave they must have been! What amazing work they did!It was good to see the building but I much preferred, as a building, the Anglican Cathedral. (Maybe I'mbiased but I loved the plainness!) Interesting enough, both bishops are travelling the North West visiting far-flung communities.

After lunch we went for a tour of the Northern beaches. Huge damaged sand dunes in the process of being restored and the biggest aged care facility I have ever seen!!

We are off to Cervantes tomorrow.