St Mary's Roman Catholic Church was constructed in several stages and incorporates the first permanent Roman Catholic church in Maryborough started in 1869 to a design of
Charles Tiffin. The building was enlarged in two major stages of construction, the first in 1884–5 to the design of
FDG Stanley and then in 1936 to the design of local architect,
POE Hawkes. The
original township of Maryborough was situated, not in its current place, but on the north of the
Mary River, after wharves were established in 1847–8 providing transport for wool from sheep stations on the
Burnett River. In 1850 Surveyor,
Hugh Roland Labatt arrived in Maryborough with instructions to "examine the River Mary...to suggest ...the best site or sites for the laying out of the town, having regard to the convenience of shipping on one hand and internal communication on the other...also...point out the spots desirable as reserves for public building, church, quay and for places for public recreation." The site recommended by Labatt was not where settlement was established but further east and from the early 1850s this is where the growing town developed. As part of the survey two acres of land, through which a creek ran, in Section 85 was set aside for the Roman Catholic Church. To service the early Roman Catholic community in Maryborough, Father James Hanley from
Brisbane, visited Maryborough and held baptismal services. The first service was held in August 1852 in the house of the local chief constable. Towards the end of the 1850s the town of Maryborough developed with the erection of several public buildings including churches, and in 1856 a decision was made by the Roman Catholic community to erect a timber building to house 300 people. The tender of Linklater and Thompson was accepted and the church was ready for use in 1858, though not on the reserved site which was subject to flooding. A new site had been donated to the church by James Cleary and this has remained the principal Roman Catholic church site in Maryborough. The timber building was erected principally as a school house, but used as a service centre when Hanley's replacement, Dean Rigby visited Maryborough. After the
separation of the State of Queensland in 1859, the Roman Catholic Church formed the
Brisbane Diocese encompassing the entire state. Bishop
James Quinn was appointed and he arrived in his diocese in 1861 and immediately made plans to visit the populated areas, including Maryborough. He arrived in the town on 25 July 1861 with two fellow priests, one of whom, Father Tissot, remained in Maryborough as the first parish priest. By 1867 Father Tissot and his congregation considered the timber building inadequate as their church and steps were made to construct a new permanent church. It was in this year that gold was found in
Gympie and the development of Maryborough, as the port of the gold fields, was rapid. The services of Brisbane architect, Charles Tiffin were procured to design the new brick church and the foundation stone was laid on 29 July 1869. Tiffin was a well known public architect who was appointed to the position of Clerk of Works of
Moreton Bay in 1857 and in 1859 he became the first
Queensland Colonial Architect and was responsible for the design of many well known Brisbane landmarks, including
Old Government House,
Parliament House and the (now demolished) Public Lands Office. He also designed several buildings in Maryborough including the
Government Bond Store in Wharf Street and the Post Office. St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, as it became known, was completed and opened at a service conducted by Father Tissot on 4 February 1872. The building was constructed by local contractors G Smith and J Thomas under the supervision of WN Davidson. When completed, the church was described as
Early English and of brick with stone
quoining and detailing. The building had a steeply pitched
gabled roof clad with shingles. Side
aisles extended the length of the four-bay
nave and these were lined with double lancets. The plan incorporated a small
porch,
chancel and two
sacristies. Father Tissot landscaped the grounds surrounding the church and provided the a chancel screen and other timber panelling carved by himself. He is thought to have been involved with the design of the high altar and the carved timber canopy, or
baldacchino above the altar. Provision was made in the design for extension of the church at a later date. On 21 November 1882, at a meeting presided over by the new bishop,
Robert Dunne, a decision was made to extend St Mary's. The services of Colonial Architect, FDG Stanley were sought and plans for alterations were prepared and the church was re-opened in May 1884. The contractor for the work was Fritz Kinne at a cost of £1871. The additions included the extension of the nave by three bays and the erection of a large
chancel. The roof was reclad with slate and several ventilation gablets were added near the ridge. Internally the church was painted by Messrs O'Malley and Mill. A new set of
Stations of the Cross from
Lyons, described as oleographs or coloured lithographs printed with oil paints, were framed in gold. During the nineteenth century the Roman Catholic Church in Maryborough continued to grow with several outbranches of the parish established in surrounding areas. A large presbytery, convent and school were constructed. In 1912 a new organ and blower, costing £900, were installed in the gallery of St Mary's. Substantial alterations were made at St Mary's in 1936 to the design of innovative local architect,
P.O.E. Hawkes and carried out by contractor, Herbert Neilson for £7000. Again, the length of the building was extended, north and south chancels were added, as were sacristies,
confessionals and a
baptistry. The organ was moved from the gallery and placed in the Sacred Heart
transept. Externally, the building was rendered and an entrance was formed from
Adelaide Street, where previously access was provided only from Bazaar Street. A marble high altar was made by local craftsman, Mr Prout. A cock was added to the western gable of the church reflecting the French ties of Monsignor MacCarthy, the then parish priest. Cocks were traditionally added to the roofs of French churches to symbolise resentment over Italian dominance of the
papacy. Minor alterations have been made to the church since 1936, including the recladding of the roof with tiles and rib and pan roofing in two stages in 1959 and 1967. A section of the timber floor of the body of the church was replaced with concrete in 1979, followed by work in 1980 to stabilise foundations in the north western corner. A porch was constructed on the northern transept in 1987 and the timber canopy over the high altar was removed in 1989. == Description ==