All Saints Parish of Brisbane

Step inside Brisbane’s oldest Anglican Church to study the oldest stained glass windows in Queensland and follow the 14 stations of the cross created by Daphne Mayo. The present All Saints’ Church was designed by Richard George Suter and dedicated by Bishop Tufnell in 1869.

All Saints’ Church is a very early example of the Gothic Revival style in ecclesiastic architecture in Brisbane. Distinctive design features include the simple lancet windows, buttressed walls and a hammer beam roof. There is an important collection of stained-glass windows throughout the church, most of which depict saints.

The east end windows are believed to be the oldest stained-glass windows in Queensland to be made in Australia. The bas-relief Stations of the Cross were made by Daphne Mayo and installed in 1935.

In the St Francis and Clare outdoor altar at the east end of the building is a bronze and wood sculpture entitled ‘Christ Accepting the Cross’, by Andre Meszaros, erected to celebrate the centenary of All Saints in 1962.

An earlier version of the church was designed by noted architect Benjamin Backhouse and built in 1862.

A decision was made to enlarge the church as the small Anglican community grew. Due to structural problems the original rubble walls had to be demolished and only the original floor plan, flooring and roof were retained. A chancel and vestry were added and Brisbane tuff (porphyry) was used for the walls. The church was constructed by Mr George Ely, stonemason of Spring Hill.

Later additions to the church included an adjacent rectory in 1880, a hall/school building in 1884, the pulpit crucifix in 1926, the organ loft in 1957 and the crypt in 2016. The organ was made in London by TC Lewis and was originally installed in St John’s Pro-Cathedral in Queen’s Park in 1873. It was then transferred to St Luke’s Church, Charlotte Street, before it was refurbished and moved to All Saints in 1957.

The church is an important element in a precinct closely associated with the establishment of the Anglican Church in Queensland, especially its proximity to St John’s Cathedral complex located near to All Saints.