St John's Anglican Church, Albany

Oldest consecrated church in Western Australia

Church in Western Australia, Australia

35°01′32″S 117°53′0″E / 35.02556°S 117.88333°E / -35.02556; 117.88333 (St John's Anglican Church)LocationYork Street, Albany, Western AustraliaCountryAustraliaDenominationAnglicanWebsiteanglicanchurchalbany.org.auHistoryStatusChurchFounded1841 (1841)DedicationSt John the EvangelistConsecrated25 October 1848ArchitectureFunctional statusActiveYears built1841–44SpecificationsMaterialsStone, shinglesAdministrationProvinceWestern AustraliaDioceseBunburyParishAlbanyClergyPriest(s)Rev Karen Cave

Western Australia Heritage Register

Official nameSt John's ChurchTypeState Registered PlaceDesignated9 February 1996Part ofSt John's Church Group (3514)Reference no.71

St John's Anglican Church, also known as St John the Evangelist Anglican Church, is a heritage-listed Anglican church on York Street in Albany, Western Australia. The church is the oldest consecrated church in Western Australia, consecrated in October 1848.^[1]

History

The church was built by the people of the town, with construction commencing in 1841^[2] and completed in 1844. The church was consecrated on 25 October 1848 by Augustus Short, Bishop of Adelaide, who introduced John Ramsden Wollaston as its clergyman.^[3] At this time the church would have been able to accommodate the entire population of the town, 170 people.^[2]

Construction of the rectory commenced in 1850^[2] and was completed the same year. Originally it was a single story stone building, however a second storey was added in 1875.^[4] A second rectory was built behind the original one in 1980.^[2]

The first recorded Anzac dawn service was held by the church in 1930.^[5]

The church, rectory, hall and peppermint trees were listed on the register of the National Trust in 1978.^[4]

From 1968 to 1979 Warwick Bastian was the coadjutor bishop of Bunbury, with the title Bishop of Albany.^[6] During that time, he based himself at St John's.^[7]

Canon Edward Argyl was appointed as the parish priest in 2011 until his death in 2015.^[5]

Description

The church is a stone building with gabled roofs covered in shingles.^[4] The aisle of the church is made from 22-centimetre (9 in) thick blocks that had been made in England.^[8] The stone walls are 540 millimetres (21 in) thick and the building also has stone foundations; the stone was thought to be quarried from nearby Mount Melville and Mount Clarence. The walls are so thick that no buttresses are required.^[4] The original building is now the nave of the present church, with the gallery behind built in 1852. The tower and porch were completed in 1853. The tower is topped with battlements on the parapet.^[4]

References

Notes

^ "Albany WA the most beautiful of Cities Western Australia". Albany Tourist Guide Association. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Albany's Heritage Walk Trail". Albany Historical Society Inc. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
^ "St John the Evangelist Anglican Church, York Street, Albany". Organ historical Trust of Australia. May 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "St John's Church Group". Heritage Council of Western Australia. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b Arnall, Karla (29 June 2015). "Remembering Father Edward Argyle of Albany's St John's". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
^ "Project Canterbury: Cable Clerical Index". Retrieved 21 April 2022.
^ "Australian Church Record, No 1443, 6 March 1969, p 8" (PDF). Retrieved 11 June 2022.
^ "St Johns Church of England - Albany". Plan Book Travel. Retrieved 9 August 2015.

Bibliography

Bartlett, Joan (1998). Built to Last: A History of the Anglican Church of St John the Evangelist, Albany, Western Australia 1848-1998. Albany, WA: St John's Albany. ISBN 1864590408.
——————; Argyle, Judith (2004). Journey: A History of the Anglican Diocese of Bunbury, Western Australia, 1904 to 2004. Bunbury, WA: Anglican Diocese of Bunbury. ISBN 0975698109.
Hardy, Alan; Bartlett, Joan (2010). St John's Church: A Pictorial Companion to the Book 'Built to last' by Joan Bartlett. Lower King, WA: Nutshell Books. ISBN 9780646530628.
Wollaston, John Ramsden (1954). Henn, Canon Percy U (ed.). Wollaston's Albany journals (1848-1856): being volume 2 of the journals and diaries (1841-1856) of Revd. John Ramsden Wollaston, M.A., Archdeacon of Western Australia, 1849-1856. Perth: Paterson Brokensha. ISBN 0855641045.
Church of St John the Evangelist, Albany Western Australia: Centenary of Consecration, 25th October, 1948. Albany, WA: St John's Church. 1948. OCLC 219896738.
Advance with Albany: St John's Church, Albany, WA, 1848-1961. Albany, WA: St John's Church. 1961. OCLC 224087916.

External links

Media related to St John's Anglican Church, Albany at Wikimedia Commons

Official website

Anglican Church of Australia

A list of all the Anglican dioceses, churches and cathedrals in Australia

Province of New South Wales

Dioceses	Sydney Churches Armidale Bathurst Canberra and Goulburn Grafton Newcastle Riverina
Cathedrals	Sydney (St Andrew) Armidale (St Peter) Bathurst (All Saints) Goulburn (St Savior) Grafton (Christ Church) Griffith (St Albans) Newcastle (Christ Church) Parramatta (St John) Wollongong (St Michael)
Churches	All Saints', Petersham All Saints Church, Canberra All Souls', Leichhardt St Andrew's, Roseville St Barnabas, Broadway Christ Church, Rouse Hill Christ Church, Springwood Christ Church, St Laurence Church by the Bridge St Clement's, Mosman Garrison Church Holy Innocents, Rossmore Holy Trinity, Kelso St James', Sydney St James', Morpeth St John the Baptist, Ashfield St John the Evangelist, Darlinghurst St John the Evangelist, Newcastle St John the Evangelist, Wentworth St John the Baptist, Reid St John's, Camden St John's, Wilberforce St Jude's, Randwick St Luke's, Liverpool St Mark's, Darling Point St Mary's the Virgin, Maitland St Mary's, Waverley St Matthew's, Windsor St Michael's, Surry Hills Narellan Naremburn Cammeray St Paul's, Burwood St Paul's, Castle Hill St Peter's, St Peters St Peter's, Richmond St Philip's, Kingswood St Philip's, Sydney St Stephen's, Newtown St Thomas', Mulgoa St Thomas', North Sydney

Province of Victoria

Dioceses	Melbourne Churches Ballarat Bendigo Gippsland Wangaratta
Cathedrals	Melbourne (St Paul) Bendigo (St Paul) Sale (St Paul)
Churches	Christ Church, Geelong Holy Trinity Church, Bacchus Marsh St Peter's, Eastern Hill

Province of Queensland

Dioceses	Brisbane North Queensland Rockhampton Northern Territory
Cathedrals	Brisbane (St John) Townsville (St James) Rockhampton (St Paul)
Churches	All Saints, Brisbane All Saints, Darnley Island All Saints, Tamrookum All Saints, Yandilla Christ Church, St Lawrence Christ Church, Childers Christ Church, Milton Christ Church, Tingalpa Holy Trinity, Fortitude Valley Holy Trinity, Herberton Holy Trinity, Mackay Holy Trinity, Saibai Island Holy Trinity, Woolloongabba Old Bishopsbourne Chapel Old St Mark's, Slacks Creek Shepherd Memorial Church of St Peter, Proston St Agnes, Esk St Andrew's, Ormiston St Andrew's, South Brisbane St Andrew's, Toogoolawah St Anne's, Jondaryan St Augustine's, Leyburn St David's, Allora St David's, Mossman St Denys St George's, Beenleigh St James, Toowoomba St John the Baptist, Bulimba St John the Baptist, Richmond St John's, Dalby St John's, South Townsville St John's, Mundoolun St John's, Rockhampton St Luke's, Boyne Island St Luke's, Toowoomba St Mark's, Rockhampton St Mark's, Dunwich St Mark's, Warwick St Mary's, Kangaroo Point St Mary's, Mount Morgan St Matthew's, Drayton St Michael and All Angels, Kingaroy St Paul's, Cleveland St Paul's, East Brisbane St Paul's, Ipswich St Paul's, Maryborough St Paul's, Proserpine St Saviour's, South Johnstone St Thomas', Toowong

Province of Western Australia

Dioceses	Perth Bunbury North West Australia
Cathedrals	Perth (St George) Bunbury (St Boniface) Geraldton (Holy Cross)
Churches	All Saints Church, Henley Brook Holy Trinity Church, Roebourne St John's Church, Albany St Mary's Church, Busselton

Province of South Australia

Dioceses	Adelaide The Murray Willochra
Cathedrals	Adelaide (St Peter) Murray Bridge (St John the Baptist)
Churches	Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide St Matthew's Church, Kensington Christ Church, North Adelaide

Extra-provincial

Dioceses	Tasmania
Cathedrals	Hobart (St David)

Defunct

Dioceses	Carpentaria Kalgoorlie St Arnaud Papua New Guinea
Churches	Broadway Carlingford Deniliquin Prospect Seven Hills Walcha Wallerawang (now Presbyterian) Yarramalong