“The Chapel stands and needs no comment; its calm beauty, its repose, its delicate charm, is a fitting emblem of all that is good and noble in human nature.”
From 1913 Canon HH Dixon, the School’s founder, worked hard to build a Chapel, for he believed that it must be the very centre of School life. It was consecrated in 1921 by the Archbishop of Brisbane.
The architects were Messrs. H.W.Atkinson and Conrad.
Standing in the most picturesque and commanding spot in the splendid grounds of The Southport School on the summit of a rise at the side of the Sports Ground the St Alban’s Memorial Chapel is a beautiful and fitting tribute to the Old Southportonians who obeyed the call of their country in its darkest hour of need. It was realised in 1915 that a large number of Old Southportonians had gone to the Front, and it was considered that a Memorial should be erected in their honour.
The building, which is of Gothic design, covers a space of 100ft by 30ft and is 40ft high. The woodwork and colour scheme are harmonious and pleasing. The walls below the window level are paneled with oak, and the stalls, also of oak, are in three tiers on either side and run longitudinally. It is probable that the system of seating is unique in Australia, and the effect is delightful, giving the impression of great length and dignity. At the west end is an organ gallery, below which is a handsome screen of Queensland oak.
High above the altar is an exquisite stained glass window depicting Christ’s Ascension. On the west wall is a beautiful Honour Board, in the central panel of which will be placed the names of those who made the supreme sacrifice, and the other panels will bear the names of all others who enlisted. In the centre of the floor is a marble slab stating the purpose and date of the dedication. Many beautiful fittings in the Chapel have been given by parents in memory of individual members of the School.
“The Chapel will be the permanent memorial of the self-sacrifice of all those 300 Old Boys who gave, some their lives, and all their services, to the Empire and Country in the hour of greatest need.” The Southportonian 1921.
