Aquifer

By Aquifer

ST STEPHEN'S CHAPEL & MARY MCKILLOP STATUE

This little stone church was built  1848-1850 long before  Queensland  became a separate State. It was designed by the English Gothic Revival architect  Pugin. It became a school for some years when the adjacent Cathedral was built. 
The apse space is now the diocesan shrine of St Mary McKillop, a 19th century pioneering nun who opened many rural schools, founded an order of  sisters, and had a severe falling out with an obdurate bishop!  She was declared the first Australian saint several just a few years ago. 
The statue is of local wood, deliberately rough hewn, I think  to reflect  the  arduous circumstances in which she worked. 
The light in the chapel is very, very dim and a tripod was out of the question, so there is a lot of noise in this shot.  
The stone is  local sandstone, which, being soft, has not weathered well .

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