LESS than a year now to Goulburn’s 150th birthday (as a city) celebrations . . . but the official guest list won’t be finalised for another six months.
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However, we’re looking good at this stage to welcome a huge Who’s Who line-up for the commemoration of Queen Victoria’s formal granting of Royal Letters Patent on March 14, 1863, that led to Goulburn gaining city status.
These Letters Patent – the last ever given by a British monarch – set up a Goulburn Anglican diocese, with St Saviour’s original (1839) church as its Cathedral, and Mesac Thomas its first Bishop.
Thomas, who was consecrated a Bishop at Canterbury Cathedral, arrived here with his wife Mary almost a year later to head a diocese that in those days took in a quarter of NSW.
As the seat of a Bishop, the thriving well-established town of Goulburn then took on city status from the date the enabling Letters Patent were issued by Queen Victoria.
This makes Goulburn Australia’s oldest inland city. But the validity of Royal Letters Patent in the Colonies were challenged several times over the next 20 years, until their legal standing was abolished.
This resulted in Goulburn being proclaimed a city for the second time, on March 20, 1885 – the only Australian city to be given such formal status twice. A year earlier, after taking 10 years to build, the current St Saviour’s Cathedral (minus the bell-tower) had replaced the original smaller building.
Civic and religious ceremonies and re-enactments commemorating the granting of Goulburn’s Letters Patent, and Bishop and Mrs Thomas’s arrival, will be the major events on a crowded 150th birthday celebration calendar. One thing missing at this stage is the official guest list.
Goulburn Mulwaree Mayor Geoff Kettle says preliminary letters have already been sent to big-wigs, including the Royal Family, Archbishop of Canterbury, Governor-General and State governors, Prime Minister, Premiers and Opposition Leaders, Chief Justices, Federal and NSW pollies and various civic dignitaries.
“We’ve had a terrific response,” Cr Kettle says.
“The official invitations will go out in September, when many of our hoped-for guests will know how their forward official diaries are looking.
“But we’re sure Goulburn will never have seen such a gathering of VIPs.”
One important figure on the mailing list hasn’t got back to the Mayor, though: NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell.
“He’s been invited, he knows when and where the event takes place...”
What about a Royal or two to mark Queen Victoria’s role in all of this?
“We wrote to Buckingham Palace, but they said there would be no Australian visit by a member of the Royal Family next year,” Cr Kettle said.
“But Prince Charles is coming to Canberra later this year to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
“Maybe we can send a taxi to bring him over to Goulburn for a sort of preview of next year...”
The Mayor was joking. Or was he?