Examining the cultural legacy of Melbourne’s first Archbishop

Research carried out at The University of Melbourne has explored an historically important collection of books and artworks that is helping to better understand the cultural and architectural development of the city of Melbourne.

James Goold, the first Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, was a passionate collector and missionary bishop appointed to Melbourne in 1848 when it was still a small provincial town. With the discovery of gold, Goold’s architectural patronage helped to shape the rapidly booming metropolis, culminating in the commissioning and construction of the iconic landmark, St Patrick’s Cathedral, and some 86 churches. Goold’s contribution to the built environment is distinguished and conspicuous.

Professor Jaynie Anderson, who is leading an ARC Discovery Project that examines Goold’s collection and patronage, says that Goold imported books and late Italian Baroque paintings as a way to convey the intensity of European religious experience, which he experienced himself as a novice in Italy.

Goold’s library contained extensive texts in Theology, Philosophy, Liturgy, Scripture, and the Papacy, as well as works on art and architecture, medicine and poetry, but it was largely forgotten after his death and dispersed in the early 1970s. The research team has rediscovered a large portion of the original collection held in libraries around Melbourne. Examining the remnants has shown that this library ranked amongst the most important private collections in the Colony. A rare book room has been created at the Mannix Library, University of Divinity, to showcase the collection.

The research team also analysed the relationship between Goold and his architect William Wardell, which ultimately led to some of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the world, including St Patrick’s—the largest Neo-Gothic Cathedral completed in the 19^th century and some fifteen churches to Wardell’s design.

The project resulted in a 2020 exhibition at Melbourne’s Old Treasury Building, The Invention of Melbourne. A Baroque Archbishop and a Gothic Architect, showing major works of art and architectural drawings from the collections of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne for the first time.

	AMONG THE MANY TREASURES IN GOOLD’S LIBRARY, THE RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED A COMPLETE EDITION OF PIRANESI, ALSO RARITIES SUCH AS THREE PREVIOUSLY UNCATALOGUED HAND PRESSED ITEMS, PUBLISHED IN PARIS, RANGING FROM THE MID-16TH TO THE LATE 17TH CENTURY, WHICH WERE MADE BY EARLY WOMEN PRINTERS IN THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY.

 

(Left): Jacques Stella. Jesus in the Temple ground by his Parents. 1642. Canvas 302 x 219 cm. Baptistery of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne. Considered by Professor Anderson to be the most important work by the French artist, and one of hundreds of significant acquisitions of Baroque art for Australia. Credit: Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.