Stylisticly, a bit of a dogs' breakfast

The design of the outside of the church, and the maintenance of its outlyer buildings and vehicular access, as well as gardens, are just terrific. But walk inside ...

I am afraid i was a bit under-whelmed. There are too many stylistic influences. The roof line has lovely wood panelling, but not in keeping with a church. Not MY sort of a church. This is neither modern, nor traditional. The alter was minimalist. The organ and choir stalls were a bit tacked on, and the amplification stuck out a bit like the proverbial. And the 1896 relics were off in one area and simply did not 'fit'. To me, the knick-knacks were tacky and inferior. It was so good to go outside again. Sorry parishioners, I understand you do not attend to provide a critique of interior decor.

Digging the dirt on the church

Once again, St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, corner of Ridge and Miller Streets, North Sydney. From the rear. From the front. And the northern elevation. Yesterday's shot was the southern elevation, meaning I had to open the aperture to shoo away the shade on the south side, meaning that the brilliance of the sky was blown out. Today the sky in all its grandeur.

For a history geek such as moi, the grounds of this church are a godsend [oops], with all its signs and photographs. The grounds are in an immaculate condition, the gardens to die for. This plot of land, the signs tell me, was first granted by the powers that was in 1867, and a church established in a tent. Then a slab timber structure was erected, before a 'freestone church with gothic detailing' was commenced in 1867. This church was enlarged, with more adoration in 1896 enabling a congregation of 600 to be seated. In 1937, a total rebuild was commenced enabling the congregation to swell to 900 parked bodies. The good thing about this new building [ hah ... 'new' ... ], which I very much like the shape and feel of, is that it reused some of the stone, slate, marble, and glass from both the 1896 AND the 1868 churches. And nick-nacks ... I will take you inside tomorrow.

Sight is physical, vision is mental

Whereas sight might indeed be physical, and yes, vision be mental, they are both controlled by the brain. This blog started life as 'Sydney Eye', indeed its URL is still that. But I moved from the inner-city out to the suburbs, and my life circumstances changed accordingly. So I changed the title of this blog to 'Nestling into the Castlecrag landscape', which is what I was doing, and no longer need to do. I am nestled. But being merely human, I wanted the best of both worlds, cakes and eating. I had crossed the Rubicon, gone from one side of the city, across the harbour, to the other side of the city, even though I only journeyed seven kilometres, it may as well have been to the moon and back. Quickly, I knew that the nestling was occurring in fertile soil, but loam that was all of the same consistency. What I needed, and wanted to share with you, was a soil that was full of organic waste, that had colour, and texture, and diversity. Hence, the title of this blog changed, again, to 'Sydney's North Shore'. Let's see how long this one lasts. Let's start with St Mary's Catholic Church on the corner of Miller Street and Ridge Street, North Sydney. A church was first constructed on this site in 1868, with the current church having been constructed in 1937.

Old Man Banksia [banksia serrata]

Looking like a repository of the wisdom of the ages, this Banksia serrata overlooks The Haven Amphitheatre, the Scarp, Castlecrag. The entire gully is populated with fine examples of Australian bush plantings, like the tree ferns I showed yesterday, and the Angophora costata I showed the day before that.

And so the cycle that started with the Griffins in the late '20s and early '30s persists until this day. People choose to nestle their homes on the sides of gullies surrounded by the sights and sounds of the Australian bush. There are some things that would horrify the Griffins, but others that would delight them.

Muffled drum roll stage right

Hugging the sides of a steep gully as it does, the site of The Haven Amphitheatre in The Scarp, Castlecrag, must be a really heart-breaker.

Following the contour down from The Bastion, The Scarp is not particularly steep, and one happens upon this delightful relic totally unheralded. The tree-ferns whisper in the wind, the last remaining run-off trickles over the rocks, and this Griffin creation nestles into the landscape, awaiting its leading lady.

Quiet, please. There's a lady on stage.

Spirited performances in her honour

Designed in 1930 by both Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, the Haven Scenic Theatre is built around and across one of the many gullies that cut through the peninsuls and take heavy rains down to Middle Harbour. MMG was the more theatrical of the two, it was she who was into producing, into interior design, into community involvement. MMG was involved in production, set and costume design for more than 12 plays at the theatre, but I am unable to locate a list. Both the Griffins were active in music, play reading and discussion groups, tree planting and bushland conservation activities. They lived their ethics and their passions. MMG has been called a 'square bohemian'. She was volatile, yet strict. Walter died in India in 1937 [from peritonitis], and MMG returned to Sydney briefly, before returning permanently to Chicago. She 'donated' the Haven Scenic Theatre to Willoughby Council, and it went into decline. It stayed that way from about 1950 until 1976, when a dynamic committee was formed to renovate the site, and breathe lifeblood back into theatre in the suburb. The list of 'shows' since then [6commencing with Wilde's 'Salome', and including one concise version of 'Midsummer Night's Dream'], is long and varied, with maybe three shows per year. The committee runs the theatre side of the venue, whereas Willoughby Council provides the landscape maintenance. It was one of these landscapers to whom I spoke about the spirit of MMG as I sat in reverie on the bleachers.

A spirit that haunts

Having been influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and his 'Prairie school' ethos of architecture and interior design, where life and living is an extension of the natural environment, Marion Mahoney Griffin enthusiastically soaked up the gullies, and rocky outcrops of the Castlecrag Estate that she was developing with Walter Burly Griffin and their Greater Sydney Development Association [GSDA]. The second part of the GDSA development was 'The Haven Estate', centred upon outcrops and gullies immediately to the east of the first estate. The Haven Theatre was more Marion's baby than Walter's. The acoustics of the gully were perfect, and the couple were artistically minded, with an emphasis upon community participation. What better than an open-air theatre for amateur dramatics and soirees.

The Haven - Searching for the spirit of Marion

As I eased myself down onto the natural sandstone block, I heard his hobnailed books crunch the leaf-litter, above, but to the right of me. 'Looking for the ghost of Marion', he enquired, a slight wry smile playing at the corners of his mouth. 'Perhaps, were I a romantic', I riposted. This may be clutching at straws, but I am looking for Marion's spirit, not her ghost. Judging that to be cutting, I instead threw out a hook about Americans from the mid-west and the quirkiness of their identification with the landscape of Sydney Harbour. And, there ensued a nice snippet of conversation about Frank Lloyd Wright and landscape as the 'other room'. Marion's spirit is alive and well.