1842
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BATHURST
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PARISH OF ST PATRICK AND ST FRANCIS XAVIER LITHGOW |
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FOUNDED 1842 |
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DIOCESE BATHURST |
| PARISH CHURCH | STATION CHURCHES | HISTORIC CHURCHES | OTHER BUILDINGS |
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PARISH CHURCH OF ST PATRICK |
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| PARISH | HISTORY | CHURCH |
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| THE INDUSTRIAL CITY OF LITHGOW OWES ITS IMPORTANCE TO THE COAL FIELDS ON WHICH IT IS BUILT AND THE INDUSTRIES THEY POWERED. IN 1866 THE ZIG ZAG RAILWAY WAS BEGUN INTO THE LITHGOW VALLEY. AT THE TIME THERE WERE ONLY 5 PROPERTIES LOCATED THERE. WHEN THE RAILWAY WAS COMPLETED IN 1869 IT PROVIDED A TREMENDOUS BOOST TO THE AREA AND LITHGOW BOOMED AS MINERS FLOODED IN TO MAN THE COAL MINES OF THE VALLEY. IT WAS DECLARED A CITY IN 1945. AS AN INDUSTRIAL CITY LITHGOW EXPERIENCED MANY VICISSITUDES BUT TODAY IT IS A SUCCESSFUL CITY OF LIGHT INDUSTRIES, POWER STATIONS AND SERVICE FACILITIES. FOUNDED IN 1842 AS HARTLEY THE PARISH CAN LAY CLAIM TO BEING THE SECOND OLDEST WEST OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. WITH THE DECLINE OF HARTLEY, THE PARISH CENTRE SHIFTED TO LITHGOW. TAKING IN THE OLD CENTRE OF HARTLEY, AS WELL AS BOWENFELS, WALLERAWANG AND LOWTHER ON THE ROAD TO JENOLAN CAVES, LITHGOW WAS THE WESTERNMOST PARISH OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY. IN THE 60's THE PARISH WAS TRANSFERRED TO BATHURST AND IN 1963 BOWENFELS AND WALLERAWANG BECAME A SEPARATE PARISH. LATER WALLERAWANG WAS REJOINED TO LITHGOW AND EVENTUALLY WHEN BOWENFELS WAS SUPPRESSED THE TWO PARISHES WERE FORMALLY RE-AMALGAMATED. NEXT |
| FIRST CHURCH OF ST PATRICK, LITHGOW |  | SECOND CHURCH OF ST PATRICK, LITHGOW |
| THE ORIGINAL CHURCH OF ST PATRICK WAS BUILT IN 1878. IT SERVED AS THE PARISH CHURCH FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS BEFORE BEING REPLACED BY A NEW CHURCH. | THE SECOND CHURCH WAS BUILT IN 1915. A LOVELY STONE CHURCH ITS TREASURE WAS ITS GREAT EAST WINDOW WHICH TODAY ADORNS THE PRESENT CHURCH. NEXT |
| THIRD CHURCH OF ST PATRICK, LITHGOW |  |
| THE PRESENT CHURCH DATES FROM 1977 AND IS BUILT ON THE SITE OF THE 1915 CHURCH WHICH WAS DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR IT. A MODERN CHURCH BUILT ACCORDING TO THEN CURRENT LITURGICAL IDEAS, IT INCORPORATES THE LOVELY EAST WINDOW OF THE OLD CHURCH. OUTSIDE AN INTERESTING FREE STANDING BRICK BELLCOTE ANNOUNCES THE CHURCH. NEXT |
 | THE INTERIOR HAS A WARM GLOW LIT BY THE VIBRANT COLOURS OF THE GREAT EAST WINDOW. IN KEEPING WITH MODERN LITURGICAL CONCEPTS THE SEMI-CIRCULAR SEATING SLOPES DOWN TO A FOCAL SANCTUARY. THE SANCTUARY ITSELF IS DELIBERATELY KEPT SHALLOW TO ENCOURAGE ACCESABILITY. THE ALTAR IS A SIMPLE TABLE WITH THE CRUCIFIX AND TABERNACLE PLACED TO EITHER SIDE. THE CELEBRANT'S CHAIR IS ALSO PLACED TO ONE SIDE. NEXT |
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<<<< THE GREAT EAST WINDOW FROM THE 1915 CHURCH NOW INSTALLED IN THE SANCTUARY OF THE PRESENT CHURCH. THE CARVED MODERN CRUCIFIX TO THE LEFT OF THE SANCTUARY. >>>> TOP STATION CHURCHES |
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| STATION CHURCHES | ||
| BOWENFELS | HARTLEY | LOWTHER |
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| CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS XAVIER, BOWENFELS | |
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| BOWENFELS PREDATES LITHGOW BY NEARLY 40 YEARS BEING IN FACT THE FIRST SETTLEMENT IN THE VALLEY. IT GREW AS A STOP ON THE NEW ROAD TO BATHURST BUT DECLINED WHEN THE RAILWAY ARRIVED IN LITHGOW. TODAY IT IS EFFECTIVELY A SUBURB OF ITS LARGER NEIGHBOUR. ORIGINALLY A STATION OF LITHGOW, BOWENFELS BECAME A PARISH IN ITS OWN RIGHT IN 1963 WITH WALLERAWANG AS A STATION AND WAS TRANSFERRED TO BATHURST ALONG WITH LITHGOW IN THE 60's. IT LOST WALLERAWANG IN THE 70's AND IN THE 80's BOWENFELS WAS RE-AMALGAMATED WITH LITHGOW, GIVING ITS NAME, ALONG WITH ST PATRICK, TO THE NEW PARISH. NEXT | |
| CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA, BOWENFELS |  |
| IN 1953 A CHURCH/SCHOOL WAS BUILT AT BOWENFELS AND DEDICATED TO OUR LADY OF FATIMA. IT SERVED AS THE LOCAL MASS STATION FOR 13 YEARS TILL THE NEW CHURCH WAS BUILT.TODAY, AS FATIMA HALL, IT SERVES AS THE PARISH HALL. NEXT | |
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 | CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS XAVIER, BOWENFELS |
| THE PRESENT CHURCH WAS BUILT IN 1966, SHORTLY AFTER BOWENFELS BECAME A PARISH AND DEDICATED TO ST FRANCIS XAVIER. BUILT OF BLONDE BRICK, ITS STYLE IS A KIND OF MODERNISED TRADITIONAL WITH A LONG NAVE BUT WITHOUT THE GOTHIC ORNAMENTATION. A LARGE ROOF CROSS CLEARLY PROCLAIMS THE BUILDING'S PURPOSE. TOP STATION CHURCHES NEXT |
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| CHURCH OF ST BERNARD, HARTLEY | |
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| THE VILLAGE OF HARTLEY WAS SURVEYED IN 1840 AND LIKE CARCOAR WAS INTENDED AS A MAJOR REGIONAL CENTRE. LIKE THE LATTER, HISTORY HAD OTHER IDEAS AND THE BUILDING OF THE RAILROAD WHICH BYPASSED HARTLEY LED TO ITS PRECIPITOUS DECLINE AND ITS TIME-WARPED APPEARANCE. TODAY IT IS LOOKED AFTER BY THE NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AS AN HISTORIC SITE AND IS A POPULAR DAY TRIP FROM SYDNEY. IN 1842 THE CHURCH AT HARTLEY WAS BUILT AND IT BECAME THE SECOND PARISH WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. WHEN THE POLICE AND COURTHOUSE WERE TRANSFERRED TO LITHGOW THE PARISH CENTRE MOVED AS WELL AND HARTLEY BECAME A MASS STATION OF LITHGOW. FOR OVER 150 YEARS THE CHURCH SERVED THE LOCAL COMMUNITY BUT WITH THE NEW MILLENIUM THE CHURCH WAS CLOSED ALTHOUGH IT IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR OCCASIONAL SERVICES. NEXT |
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| CHURCH |  |
| ST BERNARD'S WAS BEGUN IN 1842 ( THE SAME YEAR AS ITS CLOSE TWIN - HOLY CROSS AT KINCUMBER ) AND COMPLETED IN 1848 FROM STONE QUARRIED AT BOWENFELS AND TIMBER HANDSAWN IN NEARBY PITS. NEXT TO THE CHURCH IS THE 1850 PRESBYTERY, NOW A PRIVATE RESIDENCE. THE CHURCH HAS A DISTINCTIVE FRENCH INFLUENCE, THE RESULT OF AN ENTHUSIASM OF ONE OF THE EARLY PRIESTS, AND CONSISTS OF A SIMPLE NAVE WITH A MATCHING WEST AND EAST ENDS. THREE DUAL LIGHT LANCETS ADORN THE ENDS ALTHOUGH THAT AT THE WEST END IS DECORATED WITH AN INCISED INSET. THE WEST END BEARS A STONE CROSS WHILE THE EAST END HAS A SMALL BELLCOTE. THE CORNERS ARE DECORATED WITH FILIALS, UNUSUAL IN CATHOLIC CHURCHES. CAREFUL INSPECTION REVEALS THAT THE STONES HAVE BEEN CUT BY DIFFERENT STONEMASONS. THE SANDSTONE ALTAR WAS HAND-TOOLED TO LOOK LIKE MARBLE. TOP STATION CHURCHES NEXT |
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| CHURCH OF ST MATTHEW, LOWTHER | |
 | THE TINY SETTLEMENT OF LOWTHER WAS THE CENTRE OF A SMALL FARMING COMMUNITY WHICH WAS STRONGLY CATHOLIC. IN THE LATE 1800's THEY PURCHASED SOME LAND FOR A CEMETERY AND LATER BUILT A GALVANISED IRON CHURCH ON A PORTION OF THE LAND. THIS WAS SUBSEQUENTLY REPLACED BY THE CURRENT CHURCH. A STATION OF LITHGOW FOR MANY YEARS, IT WAS CLOSED IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD BUT IS STILL OWNED BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. TOP STATION CHURCHES HISTORIC CHURCHES |
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| HISTORIC CHURCHES | |
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| OTHER BUILDINGS | |
| LITHGOW JOSEPHITE CONVENT | LITHGOW LA SALLE ACADEMY |
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| CONVENT OF ST JOSEPH, LITHGOW | |
 | THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH (THE "BROWN JOEYS") ARRIVED FROM SYDNEY IN 1880 TO ESTABLISH A SCHOOL AND CONVENT. THE CONVENT WAS BUILT IN THE LATE 1800's AND IS A LOVELY EXAMPLE OF AUSTRALIAN COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE. IN THE LATE 1900's THE SISTERS LEFT THE CONVENT AND IT WAS CLOSED. IT WAS LATER SOLD. TOP OTHER BUILDINGS NEXT |
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| LA SALLE ACADEMY, LITHGOW | |
 | THE DE LA SALLE BOTHERS ARRIVED IN LITHGOW SHORTLY AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR TO ESTABLISH A BOYS SECONDARY SCHOOL. THEY PURCHASED COOERWULL BUILT IN THE 1880's BY THE FOUNDER OF ST ANDREW'S COLLEGE SYDNEY AND CONVERTED IT TO A CATHOLIC BOYS COLLEGE. TODAY, MUCH EXPANDED LA SALLE ACADEMY IS A CO-EDUCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL UNDER LAY ADMINISTRATION SINCE 1995. TOP STATION CHURCHES HISTORIC CHURCHES OTHER BUILDINGS |
