The parish belongs to the Anglo-Catholic or High Church tradition; it was the location of the ordination of the first woman to be a deaconess in Australia in 1884.
The tower and spire were built later: the foundation stone was laid in 1881 by Sir Henry Brougham Loch, the Governor of the colony.
[1] Although the original proposal had been to engage the architect Charles Vickers with a design with a central tower and freestone facings, this plan fell through due to lack of funds.
[7]: 10–11 Nothing came of this poorly-received proposal, and in late 1855 the parish building committee chose a design by Charles Webb and James Taylor.
[9]: 8, 12–13 Other features include an alabaster bust by William Wetmore Story depicting Lt Alexander Gordon Anderson, [9]: 16–17 and General Sir Harry Chauvel's sword.
[11] Three windows in the north transept depicting the Life of Joseph are the work of Clayton and Bell; they were installed in 1868[9]: 9 and were given in memory of the first Premier of Victoria, William Haines.
[9]: 11 A slightly earlier rose window in the west of the nave (1889), by Charles Rogers & Co, depicts the Agnus Dei.
[9]: 20 In 1869, shortly before it was replaced, it was described in the Weekly Times as a "large old harmonium, … the tone of [which] is extremely suggestive of a weary old man whose lungs are nearly gone, and who is afflicted with chronic asthma.
[7]: 70 There is a strong musical tradition at Christ Church, and it has been the venue for a number of premiere performances, including John Carmichael's Piano Concerto No.
2 in 2011,[18] a carol-motet Bethlehem without a sound by Daniel Riley with words by Katherine Firth in 2018,[19] and Lest We Forget, an arrangement by Matthew Orlovich in 2018.
[20] Christ Church describes its mission as sharing God's love for the world, aiming to be a community of hospitality, education, and outreach that invites everyone to experience God's generosity, nurtures and matures Christian faith and ministry, and brings the Gospel to our neighbourhood and beyond.