Destruction of St. Marys Roman Catholic Cathedral at Sydney, New South Wales, 1865. Engraving of a drawing by Mr. J. Smedley, showing ...the conflagration in its most terrific aspect...The flames burst forth almost simultaneously...The roof was composed of shingles, which were quickly burnt through...as the outlines of the stately structure were vividly defined and skirted with flame, the sight was one of unsurpassed grandeur. Myriads of sparks ascended high into the air and fell in showers in the direction of Woolloomooloo Bay...From the top of the cathedral clouds of yellow flame and smoke issued, which shed a lurid lustre on all around...The reflection of the fire in the sky was visible for a distance of twenty miles at sea...the flames, like innumerable serpents of fire, hissed and crackled...The interior...was a vast furnace of fire, which glowed with intense heat; and the wind and flame roaring through the sacred pile, and the timbers crashing from above, made a noise which resembled the waves beating along the seashore as heard from afar...The cathedral, which had cost not much less, with its furniture and decorations, than ?50,000, was not insured. It contained several pictures by the old masters, none of which have been saved. From "Illustrated London News", 1865.