Blue glass, a propellor and a Madonna

I like exploring churches during my lunch-time walks. Doesn't everyone? I'm interested in religious iconography and the art of stained glass windows. (I sense with the word 'religious' I'm losing some of you. Stay with me!) Apart from being places of worship, three of Darwin's CBD churches that I've explored are memorials to events in Darwin's history as well.

Church #1. You'll remember that Darwin was bombed by the Japanese in 1942. It's a lovely fact that, after the war, a Japanese salvage company was awarded the contract to clean up all the shipwrecks in Darwin Harbour. This caused considerable anger amongst the locals, but in time the Japanese salvage workers became part of the community and contributed to reconciliation. The Darwin Memorial Uniting Church is built on the site of the bombed American Forces HQ. A peace garden, 77 crosses made from one of the wrecks, and the propellor from USAT Meigs, one of the sunken US transport ships, are now all part of this memorial — all funded still by the Japanese family who owned the salvage company.

Church #2 is actually a cathedral. The original (Anglican) Christ Church Cathedral near the Waterfront was almost completely destroyed in the bombing. It was rebuilt after the war, only to be destroyed for a second time by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. The only part of the original cathedral that survived both catastrophes is the stone porch, which has been incorporated into the new cathedral.

The stained glass window in this cathedral was commissioned by a Japanese fishing company operating out of Darwin; during Cyclone Tracy, the company lost seven fishermen and three trawlers that were in the harbour that night. The stained glass represents fishing nets and the upsurge of waves during a cyclone. We haven't seen cyclonic waves in Darwin, but the blues in the stained glass remind me of the glitter on the water around East Point on our weekly cycle.

Cathedral #3. St Mary's Star of the Sea, the Catholic cathedral, has two stained glass windows above the altars. Lots of lovely blues again, as you'd expect from a cathedral of the sea.

There's a third set of stained glass windows, above the entrance, that are even more lovely. These were done by Aboriginal artists from Darwin, Tiwi and remote communities. The artworks were created as large watercolour paintings, which were then printed with ink onto glass. The effect is almost like silk painting, quite unlike traditional stained glass. Each panel was done by a different group of artists from a different region, and each tells its own story and has its own cultural references.

St Mary's is also a war memorial to Australian, American, British and Dutch service people and civilian residents who died in the war. The cathedral has a series of stained glass panels donated by the Australian and United States armed forces. (I've popped a few of them into a single set below but they are individually placed in a single row along each of the walls.)

Another painting in the cathedral, the Aboriginal Madonna, is quite well known. Painted by a Czech artist who lived in Arnhem Land and Tiwi, it shows the Madonna carrying her son on her shoulder (as Aboriginal women do), rather than in her lap (as European Madonnas generally do). It really is an extraordinary painting. One doesn't have to be traditionally 'religious' to sit in a pew and admire the peace, serenity and timelessness of the woman and her child.

I'm going to end this post with a bit of a gripe. In my naivety, I thought that churches were always open to the public. (As in — Welcome, everyone!) They're not. Only St Mary's is open all day. This is very annoying when I am trying to explore. For example, I have been unsuccessful in finding a time when the Greek Orthodox Church is open, to see its beautiful gilded icons. If I was going to choose a religious affiliation based on building accessibility, I'd be Catholic ...