townsville

Cyclone Leonta hit Townsville on 9 March 1903. Very destructive winds caused significant damage to a number of buildings. The grammar school was largely destroyed and one of the General Hospital's main wards collapsed. The cyclone caused 14 deaths. Nine people died in the hospital. Two people were found dead in destroyed houses, and another at Stanton Hill. There were two deaths in Charters Towers when Leonta moved further inland. The damage in 1903 was estimated at approximately £250,000. Tropical cyclone Leonta during March 1903 recurved over Townsville where the barometer dropped to 965 hectopascals. The winds reached hurricane force (average speed 64 knots or more) when the winds were mostly from the south-west of south-south-west. The most damage came from the severe wind gusts with flying roofing iron, buildings blown over and verandas wrenched away. It was almost midday on Monday, when the wind attained hurricane force, and it caused tremendous destruction and serious loss of life. The storm centre must have passed very close to North Ward, for it was this section of the city which suffered most. The greatest disaster of all was the collapse of one of the main wards of the General Hospital. Source: knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/cyclone-cyclone-leonta-qu...

St James Anglican Cathedral, constructed in English Bond red brick with dressed sandstone trim, is located on a terraced site on Melton Hill between the Townsville central business district and Cleveland Bay.[1] The Gothic Revival building was built in two stages, both of which are quite obvious, both in materials and design. The main roof is clad with slate and has a small spire over the nave and transept junction. The lower roof to the side aisles and ambulatory has ribbed metal cladding. The chancel is surrounded by an ambulatory which contains the vestry and a Seaman's Chapel. The north transept has a large organ loft inserted and the roof features exposed trusses with a diagonally boarded ceiling. Cast iron columns with clerestory above separate the side aisles from the nave. The clerestory of the original section of the building contains stained glass windows. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27_Cathedral,_Townsville

St Joseph's Church was designed by Townsville architectural firm Charles Dalton Lynch and Walter Hunt, and was constructed by Townsville building firm Rooney Ltd in 1920-1921. The new settlement of Cleveland Bay, established in 1864 at the mouth of Ross Creek, was part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brisbane. The first church in the new parish, St Joseph's, was opened by Fr Connolly in 1872. The new timber building was located on The Strand close to the site of the present church. This church, which was the first constructed in the town, was destroyed by flood waters which swept the building out to sea during torrential rain in 1892. Because of the focus on the expansion of the Catholic Church across North Queensland during the later part of the nineteenth century, planning for a new St Joseph's Church did not begin until 1918. The new building was designed by Townsville architectural firm CD Lynch and Walter Hunt. The foundation stone was laid by Bishop of Rockhampton Joseph Shiel in January 1919. The building was constructed by Joseph Rooney of the well known north Queensland building firm of Rooneys Ltd. The new church was opened on Sunday 10 July 1921 . Since the construction of the first church on the site in 1872, St Joseph's Church and parish has been a focus for Catholic community worship and activity. Key church organisations have been located close by, including the parish presbytery, a Catholic orphanage, St Joseph's Primary School (established in 1875) and St Patrick's Secondary Day/Boarding School. St Joseph's Church, a reinforced concrete structure with a corrugated iron gable roof to the nave and lower skillion roofs to the side aisles, is located on a level site fronting Fryer Street to the southeast. The church consists of the original central section which has had arcades added to both sides with vestries at the rear. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Joseph%27s_Church,_North_Ward