SITES OF RITUAL - EXCURSION WEEK 4

So far, we have thought about three main themes: Dwelling, Settlement and this week’s theme, Ritual.
In this excursion, we will focus on Ritual.

1. Meet your tutor at St. Patrick’s Cathedral at your usual class time. Your tutor may have asked
you to meet at the Shrine of Remembrance, so please be sure that you check any messages and
or announcements from your tutor.

INTRODUCTION: DWELLING AND SETTLEMENT

We begin on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people. In 1835, John Batman led a party of land
speculators from Tasmania in search of new pastures for sheep. He signed a treaty with the Wurundjeri
people and exchanged blankets, mirrors, knives and other items for about 2000 km2 of land around
what is now Melbourne. Neither side of this trade understood the language of the other. As more
colonists arrived and brought more sheep, the relationship became fraught, with the newcomers taking
over the land and pushing the indigenous inhabitants out, violently at times.

The Colonial Government of NSW declared Batman’s treaty illegal but, given a town was already
growing, sent a surveyor, Robert Hoddle, to bring some order to it. In 1837, Hoddle designed the grid of
streets that make up the CBD of Melbourne today. Hoddle’s grid defined not only how the new colony
was settled but also helped define the character of the city and its legacy is still with us today.

TASK: RITUAL SPACES OF MELBOURNE

Our two-hour session will comprise a quick introduction to the whole group at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Then you are to partner with another student and record the information below. Take notes, take
photos and draw details.

SITE LIST for you to FIND in the CBD

 St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church

 East Melbourne Synagogue
 Collins Street Baptist Church
 Chinese Methodist Mission Church
 St Michael’s Uniting Church
 St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral

Information to record at each site:

Architect: Date completed:

Site notes: Façade notes (forms, shapes, symmetry,

balance?):

Decorations and symbolism notes: Materials:

Colours: Style:

Questions for debrief:

What are the similarities between all of these buildings?

What are some of the differences?

Why design neo-Gothic, neo-Classical, neo-Renaissance etc in a land without the “original” Gothic,
Classical, Renaissance?

Shrine of Remembrance

The other ritual sites we have analysed today are all for religious purposes and are singular buildings.
This site is different. How has this site been designed for ritual purposes? How is it used on ANZAC day?