Sacred Heart Church

 

The foundation stone of Sacred Heart Church in New Town was laid in 1878. The Church was officially opened in 1880, although the sanctuary was not completed until 1882. At the time work started, it was a green-field site, purchased by the Church for £120, and served a semi-rural community. The Church was designed by local architect Henry Hunter, and some of the builders had experience working on St Mary’s Cathedral. The main sanctuary window, donated by Mrs John Young and her son Mr John Clay Young, was sourced from a Sydney firm with experience working on Westminster Abbey in England. Some of the internal fittings were sourced from the Catholic Chapel of the old Queen’s Asylum from earlier colonial times.

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Sacred Heart Church has long been connected with the School that now surrounds it. The foundation stone for the first dedicated building of Sacred Heart School was laid in 1887. From 1908 the Sacred Heart Convent School at New Town was run by the Sisters of St Joseph.