St Peters Anglican Cathedral

It's unusual for an Anglican church to open its doors to tourists. However, one doesn't even need to step into the grounds of St Peter's Anglican Cathedral, Armidale to see why parishoners are keen to show off their place of worship. Open every day, this High Victorian Gothic building towers over nearby streets, showcasing local granite and bricks made from clay dug from Saumarez Station, home to the district's blue-bloods.

Well-known colonial architect John Horbury Hunt designed the cathedral, with considerable input from Reverend James Francis Turner, who was the Bishop of Grafton and Armidale at the time. Turner's touches include the luminous stained-glass windows, some of which he personally designed, and the mosaic floor, for which he sourced the tiles and created the design in which they are laid.

While most who visit St Peter's are impressed by its grandeur, Turner thought the building rather humble. In fact, he declared, "There is nothing in it fairly chargeable with extravagance". Of course, brick was considered a second-rate ecclesiastical building material at the time ... and Turner was comparing the church with the great cathedrals of England!