Christ Church, South Yarra
Christ Church, South Yarra | ||
---|---|---|
Style Gothic Revival | | |
Specifications | ||
Materials | Bluestone, Oamaru stone | |
Administration | ||
Diocese | Melbourne | |
Official name | Christ Church | |
Type | State heritage (built) | |
Designated | 30 July 1986 | |
Reference no. | 1080 |
Christ Church, South Yarra is an
History
In 1852 land was set aside for a parish district including what is now South Yarra. Community meetings were held in the Ayres Arms Hotel and the South Yarra Hotel (now the Arcadia), and early services were held in the nearby Presbyterian Sunday School.
In 1884 Bishop Moorhouse ordained Marion Macfarlane to be the first deaconess in Australia in Christ Church.[3] Moorhouse explicitly used the term 'ordination'.[4]
The vicarage was built in 1859 during the incumbency of the first Vicar, the Rev. William Guinness. It was the birthplace of the founder of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Fr Gerard Tucker, in 1885.[1] Since 2012, the Brotherhood of St Laurence has held an annual Gerard Tucker Oration at Christ Church.[5]
Christ Church Grammar School was established as a parish primary school in 1898, and remains associated with the parish.[6]
Architecture
Located on the corner of Toorak and Punt Roads, the church's tall spire is a local landmark. The church is built of local bluestone.[1] Although the original proposal had been to engage the architect Charles Vickers with a design with a central tower and freestone facings, this plan fell through due to lack of funds. The next plan was for a tin tabernacle, built by Hemmings of Bristol.[7]: 10–11 Nothing came of this poorly-received proposal, and in late 1855 the parish building committee chose a design by Charles Webb and James Taylor. This was in preference to a design by Joseph Reed.[7]: 13 The tower (built of Oamaru stone) and spire and aisles were built later to a design by Reed, Henderson and Smart.[7]: 26 [8]
The north transept is the
Other features include an alabaster bust by William Wetmore Story depicting Lt Alexander Gordon Anderson, [9]: 16–17 and General Sir Harry Chauvel's sword.[10]
The church is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.[11]
Stained glass
Three windows in the north transept depicting the Life of Joseph are the work of Clayton and Bell; they were installed in 1868[9]: 9 and were given in memory of the first Premier of Victoria, William Haines.[12] The south transept windows (depicting the Good Samaritan, Solomon's Temple, and Christ and the Samaritan Woman) are also probably the work of Clayton & Bell.[9]: 8
The three windows in the sanctuary above the high altar were the work of Ferguson and Urie, and were installed in 1881. The west window depicts the Resurrection, and was installed by John Brown of Brooks, Robinson & Co in 1892.[9]: 10
The windows in the south wall of the nave depict the Blessed Virgin, by Mathieson Stained Glass, and the Sacrifice of Isaac, by John Hughes of Hughes and Rogers, dating from 1892.[9]: 11 A slightly earlier rose window in the west of the nave (1889), by Charles Rogers & Co, depicts the Agnus Dei.[13] The Horace Tucker memorial window in the baptistry, and the windows depicting St Michael, St Paul, the Ascension and the Baptism of Jesus, were the work of William Montgomery. There is also a window depicting a portrait of the first Vicar, William Guinness, by Napier Waller from 1961.[9]: 12, 17
Organ
A
An early organist (1861-62) was Charles Edward Horsley, a pupil of Mendelssohn's, who resigned after six months, frustrated by Guinness's loyalty to Bishop Perry's injunctions against music, Perry being an extreme Evangelical.[9]: 20 [17] Leonard Fullard was the organist for the lengthy period of 1949-87.[7]: 70
Music
There is a strong musical tradition at Christ Church, and it has been the venue for a number of premiere performances, including John Carmichael's Piano Concerto No. 2 in 2011,[18] a carol-motet Bethlehem without a sound by Daniel Riley with words by Katherine Firth in 2018,[19] and Lest We Forget, an arrangement by Matthew Orlovich in 2018.[20]
Mission
Christ Church describes its mission as sharing God's love for the world, aiming to be a community of hospitality, education, and outreach that invites everyone to experience God's generosity, nurtures and matures Christian faith and ministry, and brings the Gospel to our neighbourhood and beyond.[21]
Key people
Vicars
The following individuals have served as Vicar of Christ Church, including six of whom have gone on to become bishops.
Ordinal | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | Time in office | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | William Guinness | 1855 | 1880 | 24–25 years | [2] |
2 | Horace Tucker | 1880 | 1908 | 27–28 years | |
3 | Leonard Townsend | 1908 | 1938 | 29–30 years | |
4 | Charles Murray | 1938 | 1944 | 5–6 years | Subsequently Bishop of Riverina; he died in 1950 in the Amana accident.[2] |
5 | John McKie |
1944 | 1946 | 1–2 years | Subsequently an assistant bishop in Melbourne. (McKie's older brother, Sir William McKie was the director of music at the Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.)[2] |
6 | James Housden | 1946 | 1947 | 0–1 years | HSubsequently Bishop of Rockhampton and then Bishop of Newcastle.[2] |
7 | James Schofield | 1947 | 1954 | 6–7 years | [2] |
8 | Sydney Ball | 1954 | 1965 | 10–11 years | |
9 | John Grindrod | 1965 | 1966 | 0–1 years | Subsequently Anglican Primate.[2]
|
10 | David Shand | 1966 | 1969 | 2–3 years | Subsequently the last Bishop of St Arnaud.[2] |
11 | Evan Wetherell | 1970 | 1982 | 11–12 years | Subsequently Dean of St Peter's Cathedral, Armidale.[2] |
12 | David Warner | 1982 | 1992 | 9–10 years | [2] |
13 | Desmond Benfield | 1993 | 2006 | 12–13 years | |
14 | Richard Treloar | 2007 | 2018 | 10–11 years | Served as the Bishop of Gippsland.[2] |
15 | Craig D'Alton | 2019 | 2022 | 2–3 years | [22][23] |
Curates
Notable curates include the Irish composer
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "History". Christ Church South Yarra. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Vicars". Christ Church South Yarra. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ "The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-century Australia: Christian Church Workers". Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- )
- ^ "Gerard Tucker Oration". Brotherhood of St Laurence. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "History". Christ Church Grammar School. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d Cuthbert, David (1996). Christ Church in South Yarra: A Social History, 1850-1990. Christ Church South Yarra Vestry.
- ^ "CHRIST CHURCH, SOUTH YARRA". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 13, 468. Victoria, Australia. 22 August 1889. p. 6. Retrieved 29 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Holden, Colin (2005). Christ Church South Yarra: A Short History and Guide. Christ Church South Yarra.
- ^ "Evensong". Chauvel Foundation. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Christ Church, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1080, Heritage Overlay HO635,HO401". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ^ "William Clark Haines". Monument Australia. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "CHRIST CHURCH, SOUTH YARRA". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 13, 468. Victoria, Australia. 22 August 1889. p. 6. Retrieved 29 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- Weekly Times. No. 2. Victoria, Australia. 18 September 1869. p. 14. Retrieved 28 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c "Christ Church, South Yarra". Organ Historical Trust of Australia. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Pipe Organ". Christ Church South Yarra. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ "Charles Edward Horsley". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Australian Music Centre: Chamber Strings of Melbourne Concert". Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Katherine Firth: Bethlehem without a Sound". Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Lest We Forget". Matthew Orlovich. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Mission". Christ Church, South Yarra. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Clergy and Pastoral Staff". Christ Church South Yarra. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ "Parishes". Anglican Church of Australia Directory. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ "George William Torrance". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "John Stewart Hart". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Anglican History: Cable Clergy Index" (PDF). Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Bishop Allen Winter". Melbourne Grammar School. Retrieved 27 September 2021.