No. 95 - St Patrick's College Chapel - A Holy Complementary Angle

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The origins of St Patrick’s College can be dated back to 1873 when the Presentation Sisters established the first Catholic school in Launceston. A Christian Brothers’ College opened in 1919 at a site near the original school before relocating to the Prospect campus in 1958. In 1984 St Patrick’s became a co-educational school merging with Marion College (which itself had formed in 1978 out of an amalgamation of Sacred Heart College and St. Thomas More’s School).

The College’s chapel serves not only the school but also the Catholic community in the Prospect Vale and Summerdale area. The chapel was completed in 1959, in the College’s second year at the new campus. The striking triangular shaped roof, suggestive of the Trinity, quickly became a public curiosity:

“Tourist buses began to make the [Prospect] hilltop a regular stop, and eventually the college community became accustomed to the almost daily presence of ‘camera hounds’ in holiday attire ambling across the front lawns angling for the best position”.

The chapel was designed by Roderick Cooper and is representative of innovative post-war architecture of the 1950's. It still has a fresh contemporary appearance having been recently revitalised with copper sheeting replacing the old shingle roof. The chapel will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2019, which will coincide with the centenary of the founding of St Patrick's College in 1919. It still strikes a very shapely angle considering its age.

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant  2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018
Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018
Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Saint Patrick with the old College building in the background. Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

The crucified Christ behind the altar. Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

The chapel in about 1959. Source LINC Tasmania Item number AA193-1-01352

Source LINC Tasmania. Item number AA193-1-01353 undated

The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip at St Patrick's in 1973 with the Chapel in the background. Source: James Brophy St Patrick's College 1919-1991

Sources:

Brophy, James and St. Patrick's College (Launceston, Tas.) St. Patrick's College, Launceston, 1919-1991. The College, Launceston, [Tas.], 1992.

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