churcharchitecture

I think I was baptised here - well, I don't know how many Methodist churches there were in Brisbane.

The present Albert Street Church building was opened in 1889, but the history of its people goes back to when the first Methodist congregation met in Brisbane in 1847. This church was regarded as the mother of Queensland Methodism and has been the scene of many historic events. Among these were state and national conferences of the Methodist church, and the ordination of its Ministers. The first Methodist church in Brisbane was built by John Petrie, the first Mayor of Brisbane town, and was opened on March 10, 1849, on the corner of Albert Street and Burnett Lane, where the Commonwealth Bank now stands. This was a plain rectangular brick building, quite small, and the congregation soon outgrew it. The second Methodist church was built in 1856 on the same site as the first by a Mr Jeays. Frederick Richard (Dick) Smith in his book, “The Church on the Square: A History of the Albert Street Church”, notes that Mr Jeays was also the builder of Parliament House in George Street. The second church cost £2667 and was 80 feet long, 40 feet wide and could accommodate 500 people seated. It was approximately twice the size of the original. The building style was Gothic Revival with a wooden shingle roof and its stained glass windows were created by a Mr Murray. The original wooden pews from the first church were reused in this building, along with additional pews made specifically for the new building. The opening service was held on 6 December 1856. In 1877, the second church was extensively renovated and additions such as a new schoolroom facing Adelaide Street were built. It was reopened in 1878 with a gallery added to increase the seating capacity and the wooden shingles changed to slate to reduce the fire hazard. Smith notes that a decorative iron railing was used to separate the sanctuary and in front of the new gallery. A pipe organ, made by Mr. James Cole of Manchester, England, was installed and had 17 stops and 622 pipes costing £350. Before long the congregation outgrew the second church building and land was purchased in 1884 on the corner of Albert and Ann Streets from the Masonic Lodge. The second church building and land were sold in 1888 for £25,000 and the organ was relocated to St Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Ipswich. A design competition was held for the new church building and was won by the firm of Messrs. Oakden, Addison, and Kemp who had offices in both Melbourne and Brisbane. The chief architect was George Henry Male Addison, a prominent architect of the day. The work on the new church began in 1888 and was completed by late 1889. The church was opened on 8 November 1889 by Lady Norman, the wife of the Governor of Queensland Sir Henry Norman. The dedication sermon was given by Rev JH Fletcher who was the Church’s minister at the time of the second building. While the graceful spire captured the local newspaper reporter’s eye, the size and height of the pulpit were criticized for hiding the choir gallery. The decision to have such a prominent pulpit is thought to reflect the importance given to preaching in the Methodist tradition. Since 1847, the mission to the wider community has always been at the heart of the Albert Street Church and was formalised in 1907 with the creation of the Central Methodist Mission. “The Central Methodist Mission [was] constituted by the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church of Queensland for the purpose of Divine Worship according to the ordinances of the Methodist Church, establishing charitable institutions and engaging in a ministry of social service irrespective of ages, class or creed.” – extract from F.R Smith’s The Church on the Square. Source: www.wmq.org.au/albert-street-uniting-church/our-history

The Church was built as a war memorial and commemorates the men and women of the district who served in World Wars One and Two. The foundation stone for the church was laid in 1947 and the church was officially opened on the 15th November 1953. Front Inscription KINGAROY DISTRICT METHODIST MEMORIAL CHURCH To The Glory Of God And In Honour Of The Men And Women Of This District Who Served In World Wars I & II This Stone Was Laid By The President Of The Queensland Conference Rev. A. A. Mills, M. C. 11th. October 1947. Rev. W. Lawton Minister Source: www.monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/multiple/dis...

The first Saint Mary's Church, Warwick is a substantial sandstone building, constructed 1863–1865 to designs of prominent Brisbane architect, Benjamin Backhouse.[1 The plan for the church was duly prepared by prominent Brisbane architect, Benjamin Backhouse, to the specifications that it was to be simple but tasteful, in the Gothic style and in stone or brick. Despite the setback of severe damage during a thunderstorm, the church building was officially opened on 23 August 1865 by Bishop Quinn, the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Brisbane. At this time the church was named the St Mary of the Assumption, now popularly shortened to St Mary's. This original building consisted of only the nave of the present church, with side entrances, not through porches, but simply accessing the body of the church directly. The roof of the building was slated or shingled. By 1867 a Catholic school, run by the Misses O'Mara until the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy in 1874, was established in the church by the next parish priest, Father O'Reilly. The church was partitioned with calico screens, firstly to separate the sanctuary from the teaching area and, later to divide the teaching area into smaller rooms in the body of the church. O'Reilly was replaced by Father McDonagh, who was the first resident priest, and after him in 1876 came Father James Horan who was to remain in Warwick until 1905. Horan was responsible for the completion of the church by 1894 when the transepts and chancel were added. By this time porches over the side, entrances were also completed.[1] AS St Mary's Church over time became inadequate for the needs of his community, new plans are sought for the construction of a second larger church, further north on the same block in Palmerin Street. Local architects, Dornbusch & Connolly drew plans for the second St Mary's church which, like the original church, was to conform to a cruciform plan, but only the body has thus far been completed. The new church was constructed between 1920 and 1926 when it was officially opened.[1] After the opening of the new church, the original St Mary's was partitioned, lined and used as school rooms, for the Catholic primary school which began in the building in its earliest days. It has remained as a community meeting hall and store to this day. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_St_Mary%27s_Church,_Warwick