The principal buildings on the site are:[1] Thursday Island (indigenous name: Waiben) is located within the Prince of Wales (Muralag) group, just off the northwest tip of Cape York Peninsula.

The original inhabitants of the Muralag islands, the Kaurareg people, shared some cultural characteristics with Cape York Aborigines and spoke the same basic language, Kala Lagaw Ya.

[1] During the first half of the 19th century, British shipping began to make regular use of Torres Strait, entering into a passing trade with the Islanders.

Colonial occupation commenced in the 1860s and 1870s with the arrival of beche-de-mer crews, pearl-shellers, Protestant missionaries from the southwestern Pacific, and government officials.

[1] In 1877, the official Queensland Government settlement at Somerset on Cape York Peninsula (established 1864) was moved to the newly surveyed town of Port Kennedy on the southern side of Thursday Island.

The new diocese constituted a vast area of about 300,000 square miles, bounded on the west by the Queensland–South Australian border, on the south by latitude 22°S, on the east by the ocean, and encompassing the islands of the Torres Strait.

[1] Anglican services on Thursday Island were held initially at the Court House, conducted by lay preachers and occasional visiting clergy.

[1] On the night of 28 February 1890, the British mail and passenger ship RMS Quetta struck an uncharted rock in the Adolphus Channel, off Albany Island, and sank with the loss of 133 lives.

William Maitland Woods was installed as the first incumbent clergyman of the parish of Thursday Island, and canvassing began for funds for construction of a Memorial Church – a durable edifice, of artistic proportions, worthy of its commemorative intentions.

Like many Queensland architects, he was declared bankrupt in 1892, following the collapse of the building industry during the depression of the early 1890s, and moved from Brisbane to Sydney.

The original design was for a Gothic Revival style building with chancel, nave of 5 bays in length, aisles, bell tower spire, vestries, and side entrances.

At this time the church was promoted as a focus for missionary work in the Diocese of North Queensland, and already attracted numbers of Japanese and South Sea Islanders – groups prominent in the Torres Strait pearl-shell industry.

At the same time the Bishop of North Queensland, Dr Barlow, was working toward the establishment of a new far northern diocese, the centre of which was likely to be at Thursday Island – in which case the Quetta Memorial Church would become a cathedral.

Access was principally by sea, and so Thursday Island, centrally located on a major shipping route, was chosen as the seat of the Bishop.

This was made possible following an undertaking by Lord Beauchamp, Governor of New South Wales, to support three students at the Theological Training College for three years, from 1 January 1901.

The Bishop deliberated over this, but having studied early minutes, it was clear that the original intention had been to erect an Anglican church, and in December 1903 he refused the petition.

Special prayer is offered daily for "those engaged in fishing, travelling, or doing their business in the great waters," and few strangers visit Thursday Island without a pilgrimage to the cathedral and its relics of the dangers of the deep.Following the death of the Hon.

The new aisles deviated from Buckeridge's 1892 design, in that they now had rows of paired, lancet-shaped arched doors along the sides, which when opened, made the cathedral extremely light and cool.

A strong spirituality and sense of self-determination are considered by many Torres Strait Islanders to be the two pillars of local society: if one is missing, the community is "unbalanced".

On either side, the bay closest to the original nave has a square headed timber door with a fixed stained glass panel (rectangular) above.

[1] The early section of the nave is separated from the aisles by lancet-shaped concrete arches with plain mouldings, which support the roof structure.

There is a framed early photograph of the Quetta, and a 1911 plaque with the inscription:[1]This Cathedral was erected TO THE GLORY OF GOD and in memory of those lost in the wreck of the BI SS QUETTA 3484 tons which about 9.14pm on FRIDAY 28TH FEB. 1890, struck an unchartered rock in the ADOLPHUS CHANNEL whilst outbound from Brisbane to London, and although in calm waters and bright moonlight, sank within three minutes with the loss of 133 lives out of a total of 293 on board.

Anthony, Bishop of CarpentariaOther relics/memorials not associated with the Quetta include: Just inside the front entrance is a marble and timber font, installed in 1902, which is a memorial to two Congregational missionaries, Rev.

In the front grounds of the church, just south of the main entrance, is a concrete memorial erected in 1961 to commemorate of the arrival of the Christian missionaries in 1871.

[1] On the southwest side of the building one perimeter stump has been removed and a steel beam inserted, to provide car accommodation beneath the house.

[1] The first of the attached gable-roofed structures at the rear of the building is located off the dining room, and contains one large kitchen space and a toilet and external door at the southwest end.

However, the ceilings of what were formerly the northeast side and rear verandahs retain their original early timber lining in the form of wide, tongue-and-groove boards with a central double beading.

The cathedral is an excellent illustration of the imposition in an exotic location of the late 19th-century colonial fashion for erecting Gothic Revival style church buildings, but adapted to local conditions (including climate, lack of local raw resources, the cost of importing materials, and the fledgling nature of the local parish) – as illustrated by the use of concrete rather than stone or brick, the provision of timber ventilation friezes along the top of the side walls of both nave and sanctuary/chancel, the modification of the architect's original design to include doors along the length of the aisles, and the construction in stages.

The Quetta Memorial Precinct is an integral historical and aesthetic element of the Thursday Island townscape, and makes a significant contribution to the streetscape of Douglas Street.

The cathedral, church hall and Bishop's House are of social, cultural and spiritual importance to the people of the Torres Strait, and particularly to the Anglican community, for its association with the expansion of Christianity in the region.