St George's Anglican Church in Koo Wee Rup

This was the original design for St George's Anglican Church in Koo Wee Rup.  The tower was never built and doors were added to the front, rather than having a side entrance. The Architect was Louis Williams of the firm North and Williams. Williams also designed the Finlay McQueen Memorial Presbyterian Church in Lang Lang in 1936 and the St John the Evangelist Anglican Church, also in Lang Lang, in 1959 (1). 

An effective design for  small church - Koo Wee Rup Anglican Building

The Herald, June 4, 1917 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/242678982

The text which accompanied the above illustration was - Our illustration shows an effective design by Messrs North and Williams, for a small church. It is being used in the erection of St. George's Anglican Church, Koo-wee-rup, the foundation stone of which was recently laid by Dr. A. W. Pain, Bishop of Gippsland. The nave of the church is to be built first, at a cost of £567, and it is expected to complete the full plans in the next two years for a total outlay of £1200. The Rev. Noel Danne is the priest of St. George's (2).

The same illustration appeared on the cover of Architecture magazine a year later, in May 1918.

The original design for St George's Anglican Church

Image: Architecture: an Australasian review of architecture and the allied arts and sciences. 

Vol. 3 No. 5 (1 May 1918) via Trove.

The same issue also had the following photograph of the entrance with the double doors. 

West front of St George's Anglican Church

Image: Architecture: an Australasian review of architecture and the allied arts and sciences. 

Vol. 3 No. 5 (1 May 1918), p. 128 via Trove.

The first Anglican service in Koo Wee Rup was held on October 7, 1897 by the Cranbourne vicar, the Reverend H. Hitchcock (3). Cranbourne vicars continued to hold services in the area until 1905, when the town became part of the Lang Lang District (4).  For some years services were held at the Presbyterian Church (5), and later the school. In 1915 the parishioners decided to build their own Church and a building committee was formed under Clarence Adeney, a parishioner and the manager of the local London Bank (6).  

The foundation stone of St George’s was laid by Bishop Pain, the Bishop of Gippsland, on May 1, 1917,  before a large gathering of the residents from Koo Wee Rup  and Lang Lang districts. After the ceremony the Bishop opened the annual Flower Show (7). 

On September 1, 1917, the Cranbourne Shire Engineer reported to Council that the Anglican Church at Kooweerup has been completed and complies with all the necessary requirements, so would recommend the council to grant its approval (8). 

The Church was dedicated on December 7, 1917 by the Bishop of Gippsland, The Right Reverend George Cranswick. The next week the Lang Lang Guardian had this report -
Koo-Wee-Rup
On the afternoon of Friday, 7 December, the Bishop of Gippsland, the Right Rev. G. H. Cranswick, officiated at the dedication of St. George's Church here. There was a full congregation. Amongst the visiting clergy present were:- Revs. A. Adeney (Morwell), G. H. White (Korumburra), R. Hamilton (Wonthaggi), Backholm (Bunyip), B. T. Syer (Drouin), and the local clergyman Rev. Danne. The secretary to the church, Mr C. A. Adeney, read a petition from the board of guardians asking the Bishop to dedicate the church. 

After singing "O God our help in Ages past" the Bishop started from the font, then went to lectern, chancel steps, and communion table, before which different members of the clergy read appropriate chapters from the scriptures. The Bishop afterwards delivered a helpful address from the text "I was glad when they said unto me, I will go into the house of the Lord." During the service the choir rendered the anthem "The Lord is in His Holy Temple," Mrs Hudson accompanying at the organ. 

Immediately after a baptismal service was held. At night there was an overflowing congregation when 20 persons - 11 males and 9 females - were confirmed. The Bishop gave a fine address to the congregation on the meaning of confirmation and to the confirmees he delivered a message from the text "Thy grace is sufficient for thee." A collection in aid of the home mission fund was taken up.

After the service, Mr C. Adeney, manager of the London Bank, entertained the clergy. During the stay of the Bishop in the district, he was the guest of Messrs N. Bennett, J. Carton, F. Smethurst, of Yannathan, and P. Einsiedel of Monomieth (9).

The Anglican Church closed in 2012 and the congregation moved to the Uniting Church.

The Anglican Church, c. 1940s

See the rest of the photographs in this series, here.

The Church in October 2010

Image: Heather Arnold

Footnotes

(1) Cardinia Local Heritage Study Review - Volume 3: Heritage Place & Precinct citations. Final report, revised December 2020. Prepared for the Cardinia Shire Council by Context P/L.   https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0034/408499/C249card-Cardinia-Local-Heritage-Study-Review-Vol-3-Heritage-Places-and-Precinct-Citations-Revised-Dec-2020.pdf

(2) The Herald, June 4, 1917, see here. 

(3) Gunson, Niel The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968) p. 166)

(4) Clark, Albert E. The Church of our Fathers:  being the history of the Church of England in Gippsland, 1847-1947 (Diocese of Gippsland, 1947), p. 264

(5) Gunson, op. cit., p. 166.

(6) A short history of St George's Koo Wee Rup, 1917-1997. This is a booklet published by the Church in 1997. 

(7) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, May 10, 1917, see here.

(8) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, September 6, 1917, see here.

(9) Lang Lang Guardian, December 15, 1917, see here.