into a collegiate church, on the model of Westminster Abbey. Little real progress occurred, and a successor bishop, Cecil Warren sought approval from General Synod in 1981 for a national ‘Great Church’ to be completed in time for the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. This proposal was badly received, and reduced to just ‘a national project’. The site was finally developed following a change of direction, led by the then bishop, George Browning, the Governor-General, William Deane and the Indigenous leader Lowitja O'Donoghue. The Centre The Centre is located on a small knoll overlooking Lake Burley Griffin on Kings Avenue and immediately south of the Parliamentary Triangle in the heart of Canberra. The administration building George Browning House is adjacent to St Mark's National Theological Centre. Atop the site is a tall, stylised, steel cross, on the centreline of the major axis of the Centre's building plan. Down this axis is a ceremonial fire pit, then a grassed amphitheatre area that will eventually be enclosed, then the main building of the Centre's auditorium and chapel. Beside the chapel is the Great Bell (John Taylor & Co, 1986). The Pilgrim's Walk leads away from the centre's building to the Pilgrim Poles, the labyrinth and the Bible Garden. The Bible Garden features plants described in the texts of the bible. It was established with a benevolent grant from The Bible Garden Trust and opened in 2008. Structure Board The Centre has a Board with a wide representation of Australian Christian denominations and communities. Members include: Lawrie Willett AO (Chair) Roger Beale AO Mr Paul Bongiorno AM Ms Cheryl Cartwright The Honourable Dr Ken Crispin QC Mr Paul Dowler Father Peter L'Estrange SJ AO Rt Rev'd Professor Stephen Pickard (Executive Director) Most Rev Dr Christopher Prowse Justice Richard Refshauge Mr Clive Rodger Lieutenant General (Retd) John Sanderson AC, former Governor of Western Australia Mr Brendan Smyth Former Board members have included: Margaret Reid, former Senator and President of the Australian Senate, (inaugural President of the Board) Mark Coleridge Lin Hatfield Dodds, Director of UnitingCare Australia; Presiding Officer: Professor Ross Chambers, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Charles Sturt University. Executive Director Rt Rev'd Professor Stephen Pickard (2015–present) Rev Prof Dr James Haire, Professor of Theology at Charles Sturt University, immediate past President of the National Council of Churches in Australia, formerly President of the Uniting Church in Australia 2000-2003. The first ED, from 1999, was Rev Dr