Church makes presence known in Invercargill

A landmark many Southlanders will recognise, St Mary's Basilica is pictured from the Otepuni Gardens in Invercargill.

The Heritage New Zealand website states construction was completed in 1905.

It was designed by Francis William Petre, who was born in Lower Hutt.

‘‘Less grand in scale and ornament than some of his churches, it is nevertheless a striking building with the splendid dome more than 37m above the floor.

‘‘The design consists of a Greek cross forming a very compact structure dominated by the large copper sheathed dome,’’ Heritage New Zealand says.

The organisation states Petre set up office in Dunedin in 1875 as an architect and civil engineer. He designed a house for Judge

Chapman (1875), followed by

Cargill's Castle (1876) and then St Dominic's Priory (1877).

His church buildings included St Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin, and the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch. Petre died in 1918 aged 71.