Page 15 - Bulletin 13 2009

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Town, for the use of Italian stone masons to shape the rough quarry stone from which
the church was to be built.

The actual site of the quarry stone used in the construction of the church is unclear.

Some claim the stone came from Mr J. Clews’s quarry at St. James while others contend

the stone could well have come from the Seaforth quarry used for the Selborne Docks.
Here the stone masons could have hewn the stone to the right shape and size for

delivery to St. James. The stone for the church steps, however, did come from the St.
James mountains because records show the Fr. Duignam, with the help of the Filipino

community, did remove stone from the mountain for the steps after the church had been
completed.

Much of the building work was completed by the Filipino community under the
watchful eye of Fr. Duignam who had two Irish assistants, Messrs McCousker and

Shannon, and it was a day of celebration when the Church opened its doors to the

congregation in May 1901. (Figs. 1.7 & 1.8).

The stained-glass window behind the high altar, which commemorates Fr. Duignam’s
Golden Jubilee, is indeed a beautiful tribute to his efforts in building this church. The

design chosen was Our Lady of the Sea with St. John and St. James on either side. The
church was built in the form of a rectangle with an organ loft at the back of the nave.

From the very beginning the church was too small to take the influx of holidaymakers
over the summer season. To overcome this problem Father Harold Doran (Parish Priest

1943 - 1971) requested the Council in 1947 to approve the plans of architects Norman
Lubynski and Werthmueller for the alteration of the entry to the Church. The proposal

was to move the south (Kalk Bay) entrance to the east face (Main Road). The reasons
for this were threefold: