Michael Francis Cavanagh (August 1860 – 29 May 1941) was an Australian architect, primarily known for his work in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

from 1895 to the late 1930s.

Early life and education

Cavanagh was born in August 1860 near

Beechworth, Victoria Beechworth is a town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,290. Beechworth's many historical buildings are well pr ...

, the second son of an Irish born builder and contractor, John Cavanagh ( – 18 March 1895). In 1881 his family moved to

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, where his father took on a position as supervisor of public buildings in the Government Architect's Department. Cavanagh in his early teens first studied at the

South Australian School of Art The South Australian School of Art, originally the South Australian School of Design, is now part school the University of South Australia. it is part of UniSA Creative, which includes the disciplines of architecture and planning; art and desig ...

before entering the Government Architecture's Department, where he received architectural training (c.1882-1886). In 1887 he left to study architecture in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in the studio-offices of John Slater, and then with Frank Baggallay and Walter Millard, before entering the

National Art Training School The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

. In 1888 Cavanagh passed examinations obtaining an associateship with the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

. He was also elected a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

for his studies in ancient and modern architecture and art. He returned to South Australia and rejoined the Government Architect's Department, eventually reaching the position of Chief Draughtsman. In 1891 he established his own private practice, where he designed a number of buildings in Adelaide,

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

and

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Pirie is the largest city and the main retail centre of the Mid North region of South Australia. The city has an ex ...

, including the Barrier Hotel in Port Pirie. Cavanagh served on the board of the Art Gallery, Museum and Library and was a member of the Adelaide Art Circle and

South Australian Society of Arts The South Australian Society of Arts was a society for artists in South Australia, later with a royal warrant renamed The Royal South Australian Society of Arts in 1935. History A meeting of persons interested in the formation of a society for th ...

. He was also a councillor at the

Adelaide City Council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council, is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

, the president of the South Australia Institute of Architects and a founding member of the South Australian branch of the

Australian Natives' Association The Australian Natives' Association (ANA) was a mutual society founded in Melbourne, Australia in April 1871. It was founded by and for the benefit of White native-born Australians, and membership was restricted to that group. The Association's ...

and the

Wattle Day League Wattle Day is a day of celebration in Australia on the first day of September each year, which is the start of the Australian spring. This is the time when many ''Acacia'' species (commonly called wattles in Australia), are in flower. So, people w ...

Western Australia works

In 1895 he moved to

, with the objective of establishing a branch of his firm in Perth. In 1896 he designed the Great Western Hotel, a three-storey brick, stucco and iron roof hotel, on the corner of James and William Streets, Northbridge. Cavanagh designed the hotel in the

Federation Filigree Filigree architecture is a modern term given to a phase in the history of Australian architecture. The phase was an embellishment of the "Australian verandah tradition", where the verandah evolved from its functional usages in the Old Colonial pe ...

architectural style and it was one of the most lavish hotels constructed in Perth during the Western Australian gold boom. On 11 May 1897 he married Dorothy Le Poer Trench, the third daughter of Hon. Judge Robert Le Poer Trench, QC, a County Court Judge of Ballarat, at

St Mary's Cathedral, Perth St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, officially the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Australian cathedral. It is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth and seat of its archbishop, currentl ...

. In 1898 the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation wa ...

commissioned Cavanagh to design a new church on the site of a former

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

church in Fremantle. The church is an imposing limestone building in the Federation Gothic style with decorated Gothic detailing. St. Patrick's Basilica was consecrated in June 1900, with numerous dignitaries, including Sir

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister in ...

, in attendance. It is one of five churches in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

with

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

status. In 1900 he was joined by his younger brother,

James Charles James Charles Dickinson (born May 23, 1999) is an American beauty YouTuber and makeup artist. While working as a local makeup artist in his hometown of Bethlehem, New York, Charles started a YouTube channel, where he began uploading makeup tu ...

, who became a partner in the architectural practice,

Cavanagh and Cavanagh Cavanagh and Cavanagh was an architectural partnership in Australia, active in both Western Australia and Queensland. The partners were brothers Michael Cavanagh and James Cavanagh. History In 1900 Michael Cavanagh was joined by his younger ...

. The firm had a long association with the Catholic Church, designing a number of hospitals, schools and churches. In 1924 the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth,

Patrick Clune Patrick Joseph Clune CSsR (6 January 1864 in Ruan, County Clare, Ireland – 24 May 1935 in Perth), an Australian metropolitan bishop, was the fourth Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth and first Archbishop of Perth. Clune served continuously in t ...

, commenced an appeal to fund the construction of a larger cathedral, to replace the original 1865 building (which was a simple two storey

Norman Gothic Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

style building), in his own words "building a Cathedral worthy of Almighty God, of the Archdiocese and of the City of Perth". Cavanagh was appointed architect for the project and he produced plans for a completely new limestone Academic Gothic Cathedral. Due to financial constraints, associated with the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, it was decided to utilise the existing building, which subsequently became the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, and add only new

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s and a sanctuary. The expanded, but incomplete, St Mary's Cathedral opened on 4 May 1930. Cavanagh died at a private hospital in Subiaco on 29 May 1941, following a two-month illness, and was buried in the Roman Catholic portion of

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

Achievements

Cavanagh was the inaugural vice-president of the Western Australian Institute of Architects in 1896 and president of the Institute between 1903–05 and 1915–17. (The WA Institute merged with other states' institutes in 1930 to form the

Australian Institute of Architects The Australian Institute of Architects, officially the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (abbreviated as RAIA), is Australia's professional body for architects. Its members use the post-nominals FRAIA (Fellow), ARAIA (Associate Member) an ...

.) At the 1897 colonial election Cavanagh unsuccessfully ran as an independent candidate for the seat of North Perth. In November 1900 he was elected as the West Ward Councillor for the

City of Perth The City of Perth is a local government areas of Western Australia, local government area and body, within the Perth metropolitan area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government is commonly known as Perth City Council. T ...

. In the 1901 federal election he ran as the

Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party, also known as the Protectionist Liberal Party or Liberal Protectionist Party, was an Politics of Australia, Australian political party, formally organised from 1887 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. T ...

candidate in the newly created Perth electorate. He obtained 40.9% of the vote, losing to the Labour candidate,

James Fowler James Fowler may refer to: Politics * James Fowler (Massachusetts politician) (1788–1873), American lawyer and politician * James Fowler (Australian politician) (1863–1940), member of the Australian House of Representatives, 1901–1922 * Jam ...

. He was also a member of the Fire Brigade's Board and the Perth Hospital Board.

Notable works

Christian Brothers' College, Perth Christian Brothers College (CBC), informally known as CBC Perth or The Terrace was an Independent school for boys situated on St Georges Terrace in the centre of Perth, Western Australia. The college opened in January 1894, and the college was ...

(1895) *Alterations to the Roman Catholic Archbishop's Palace, Perth (1911) * Redemptorist Monastery, North Perth (1903) *Oblate Fathers' Industrial School for Boys, Glendalough (1897) *St Joseph's Orphanage, Wembley * St John of God Sisters' Hospital and Convent, Subiaco (1898) * St Brigid's Convent and St Brigid's Church, Northbridge (1897 and 1904) *St Anthony's Convent of Mercy, Kalgoorlie (1902) *Sisters of Mercy's

Mercedes College, Perth Mercedes College is an independent Roman Catholic single-sex secondary day school for girls, located in the Perth central business district, Western Australia. The school was founded in 1846 by the Sisters of Mercy, thus making it the oldest ...

(1896) *St Patrick's Church, Katanning (1923) *

St Patrick's Basilica, Fremantle Basilica of St Patrick is a Roman Catholic church located on Adelaide Street, Fremantle, Adelaide Street in Fremantle, Western Australia. It is one of five churches in Australia with minor basilica status. History The parish of St Patrick Frema ...

(1898) *Alterations to

(1924) *Convent of Mercy, Bunbury (1897) * St Joseph's Orphanage (Clontarf) (1901) *St Bernard's Church, Kojonup * Star of the Sea Church, Cottesloe (1904 and 1929) *Edmund Rice Administration Wing at

Aquinas College, Perth Aquinas College, informally known as Aquinas or AC, is an Independent school, independent Roman Catholicism in Australia, Roman Catholic Single-sex education, single-sex Primary school, primary and Secondary school, secondary Day school, day a ...

(1937–38) * Central Fire Station, Perth (1900) *

Fremantle Fire Station Fremantle Fire Station, in Phillimore Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, was the second fire station built for the Fremantle Fire Brigade and was opened in 1909. It was designed by architectural firm Cavanagh and Cavanagh and constructed by ...

, Fremantle (1909) * Victoria Hotel, Toodyay (1937) *Great Western (Brass Monkey) Hotel, Perth (1896) *

Esplanade Hotel, Perth The Esplanade Hotel was a hotel on The Esplanade (Perth), The Esplanade across from Esplanade Reserve in Perth, Western Australia. Its demolition in 1972 was controversial because of the building's beauty and popularity. Its early history app ...

(1898) * Orient Hotel, Fremantle (1902) * P&O Hotel, Fremantle (1896) *Melville Park (Majestic) Hotel, Applecross *Newcastle Club (Newport) Hotel, Fremantle (1897) * Tambellup Hotel, Tambellup *Lexbourne House, West Perth (1911) * Manning Buildings & Chambers, Fremantle (1902) *

Foy & Gibson Foy & Gibson, also known as Foy's and later Cox-Foys, was one of Australia's largest and earliest department store chains. A large range of goods were manufactured and sold by the company including clothing, manchester, leather goods, soft fur ...

's (David Jones) Department Store, Perth (1903)

Early life and education

Western Australia works

Achievements

Notable works

See also

Notes and references

Further reading