The History and Heritage of St Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn

The original St Saviour’s Church was built in 1839, establishing a place of worship in Goulburn, long before the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn was formed.

Bishop Mesac Thomas, alongside his wife Mary, the first Dean William Sowerby, and dedicated parishioners, championed the vision for a grander structure that would reflect Goulburn’s prominence in colonial New South Wales. In 1874, the foundation stone for a new cathedral was laid, designed by renowned architect Edmund T. Blackett. Built around the original church, the construction was completed in 1884 using local materials, including repurposed bricks from the old church for the new floor.

Comte Francis Robert Louis Rossi, a notable figure in Goulburn, made headlines with his disputes over a memorial tablet he had erected in the original church for his parents. When Bishop Mesac Thomas denied its placement in the new cathedral, Rossi took possession of the Cathedral and re-erected the tablet by force. Subsequently, the Bishop removed it. History repeated itself; Rossi re-erected the tablet for a second time, remaining there to protect it. Eventually Rossi was dispossessed by force, and photographs are still in existence of him lying in the gutter. One account that captured the popular imagination was of Rossi being fed by a tube through the keyhole and the squeezing of bread under the main door of the Cathedral. He was eventually removed by force, an episode remembered as one of the most colourful chapters in the cathedral’s history.

Since 1988, various restoration projects have been funded by private, community, and government efforts to preserve the Cathedral. 

St Saviour’s Cathedral is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register, the National Trust of Australia Register, and the Register of the National Estate, recognizing its national significance.