Archbishop Sir James Duhig was the instigator of many building projects when he was Archbishop of Brisbane from 1917 to 1965; now he’s the subject of a special “building” project in his honour as Jubilee Parish commissions a statue of him. PAUL DOBBYN reports
THE fact Archbishop Sir James Duhig injured his hand in a car door, had ears of a different size and shape to each other, and usually wore well-scuffed shoes are facts not commonly known about one of Brisbane archdiocese’s most influential leaders.
But, for Paddington sculptor Kathy McLay, who’s creating a life-sized bronze effigy of the archbishop – which will sit on a bench surveying the city from a grassy knoll behind Red Hill’s St Brigid’s Church – this information is vital.
When I arrive with Jubilee parish priest Fr Peter Brannelly at her studio, Kathy is painstakingly working on a clay button on the archbishop’s soutane.
Nearby she has an actual bishop’s soutane to ensure verisimilitude.
She is working with the fastidious attention to detail first learnt as a jeweller whose work is held in private collections around the world. Most notable of these pieces is an exquisite Tasmanian Wattle Locket held by Crown Prince Fredrik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark at Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen.
A well-worn photograph of the archbishop, in a similar pose to her studio clay model, sits on a nearby table.
On the way over from Jubilee parish office to the studio, Fr Brannelly explains the genesis of the Duhig work.
“It started off as a dream really,” he said.
“This year marks the centenary of Duhig’s laying of the foundations of St Brigid’s Church, Red Hill.
“He did so shortly after his arrival in Brisbane in 1912 as coadjutor archbishop.
“And the laying of the foundation stone was his first public ceremony in what became the habit of a lifetime.
“It was the beginning of a great building boom for Brisbane’s Catholic Church that went on for 55 years – churches, schools, hospitals – all initiated by James the builder.”
Yet “remarkably”, despite the archbishop’s influence Fr Brannelly said, “there were no life-size memorials to James Duhig”.
Inspired by the history behind the centenary year, he started to think about changing this.
“I don’t remember how, but I came across Kathy shortly after this,” he said as we entered the studio.
“I was very excited when I heard about Father Peter’s idea and hoped and prayed it would happen,” the talented sculptor said.
“It made a lot of sense that if football fans could have a bronze statue of Wally Lewis erected at Suncorp Stadium, then certainly a figure as important as the archbishop should be similarly honoured.”
There was another more personal and artistic reason for her enthusiasm.
Just before Kathy met Fr Brannelly, she had completed a bronze work for Churchie (Anglican Church Grammar School, Brisbane) featuring young school boys.
“But I love doing older people – the wrinkles and creases in their faces tell the story of their lives,” she said.
“So the work on Archbishop Duhig is allowing me to work on one of my favourite subjects – the face of an older person.”
Kathy admits before starting the commission she had no idea who Archbishop Duhig was, so she has had “to get to know him” by research including talking to people who knew him.
So what has she learnt about this towering figure in Brisbane’s Church history?
“Certainly that he had a dominant personality,” she said.
“Yet with this strength was great humility, shown by his ability to talk to people from all walks of life.
“It was important to show this in his posture.
“In a sense then he needed to be shown as comfortable in his own skin but also quite regal.
“So he is sitting up very straight and, when the sculpture is in place, will be looking towards the city.”
She gave a quick outline of the process which should see the work completed before the end of the year.
“I aim to have the clay piece finished in the next month-and-a-half to two months.
“There’s still quite a lot involved – for example the face … sometimes I have had to do a face up to 15 times before being happy with it, although other times it can be much quicker.
“After the clay model is completed, a ‘mother mould’ of fibreglass or plaster of paris needs to be done.
“The cast is taken in pieces to a foundry for casting to create the final bronze sculpture.”
Fr Brannelly said that, because of the complexity of the work and the time involved, the final cost was expected to be about $100,000.
“These things are not cheap because there’s so much involved,” he said.
“So much time needs to be spent getting even the tiniest details right – the pectoral cross, the episcopal ring, even the way the soutane falls, the folds and other details.
“Also the engineering needs to be correct – an engineering certificate is needed as the piece will be in a public place.”
As for Kathy, her goal is clear.
“When people encounter the sculpture, I just want to create a sense that if they were to have met Archbishop James Duhig in real life, this is what he might have looked like.”
