the second stage proceeded for a further four years and consisted of the laying of foundations for the extensions, a two-bay extension to the nave and demolition and removal of the temporary west wall. Third stage The third stage of construction commenced in 1989 and was completed in 2009 (with the exception of 29 life-sized statues on the west front and a set of cloisters on the north side of the cathedral which have yet to be commissioned). The third stage of construction comprised the erection of the south west porch, the final bay of the nave, the west front, the north and south towers and the central tower. This stage of work was overseen by Peter Dare, Master Mason of Exeter Cathedral in England and carried out by stonemasons from Wagners. To ensure enough supply of sandstone for the project, the cathedral authorities purchased a sandstone quarry at Helidon, from Brisbane where each piece of stone was cut and finished and then trucked to the cathedral site in Ann Street. The quarry was sold in 2012 for $250,000. The third stage of construction cost A$40 million which was raised by public donations, bequests and grants from the federal, state and local governments. The copper-clad western spires were lifted into position on 1 March 2008 and subsequently blessed by Bishop John Parkes. In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, St John's Cathedral was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "structure and engineering feat". Consecration The Archbishop of Brisbane, Phillip Aspinall, officially reconsecrated the completed cathedral on 29 October 2009, attended by about 1,500 people, 108 years after the laying of the foundation stone. In 2015, a series of statues, costing $45,000 each, were purchased and blessed by Archbishop Aspinall before being installed on the cathedral's facade. Shortly before this, a storm warped one of the cathedral's walls, causing millions of dollars' worth of damage. On the 20th September 2022, St John's Cathedral held a service of thanksgiving marking the reign of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. Design elements The cathedral was designed in the Gothic revival style by John Loughborough Pearson, one of England's leading church architects of the late 19th century and bears similarities to Truro Cathedral in Cornwall, also designed by Pearson, although the architecture of St John's is more decidedly French Gothic in inspiration. The external walls are