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.

Plowright Brothers sand mining operation

The photographs, below, of the Plowright Brothers sand mining operation on the Main Drain just out of Koo Wee Rup are from the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society collection. The photographs are undated but the Siding closed in 1931 (1), which dates them to between 1926 - 1932.

Marilyn Ramsay in Steam to Strzelecki: the Koo Wee Rup to McDonald’s Track Railway (2) wrote this about the sand mining - 

To service the sand mining industry the Railways Department (during 1925 and 1926) built sidings on the line between Koo Wee Rup and Bayles, at three miles one chain and four miles from Koo Wee Rup. In March 1925 Cameron Bros. began transporting water-washed sand pumped from the Main Drain along a 2-foot gauge steel-railed tramway which they had built to the siding. The next year Plowright Bros and the Koo Wee Rup Water Washed Sand Co, each took over part of  Cameron Bros operations . Plowright's tramline to the 3-mile siding ran almost two miles north-east, and the Koo Wee Rup Water Washed Sand Co.'s. tramline ran about one and a half mile along the line of Backhouses Road to the Main Drain. Initially both tramlines were operated by horse but later Fordson tractors provided motive power. The skips were filled from hopper tanks beside the Drain and tipped from a platform into railway trucks at the siding. I have written about the Strzelecki railway line, here.

This report is from the Koo Wee Rup Sun of June 24, 1926, just before the Plowright Brothers operation commenced -

Plowright Brothers commence operations

Koo Wee Rup Sun June 24, 1926

Who were the Plowright Brothers? John Plowright of Station Street in Koo Wee Rup passed away September 24, 1942 aged 55. He was the husband of Isabel (nee Bethune) and the father of Jean and Lindsay. An obituary (3) said that he had been a resident of Koo Wee Rup for 30 years. John and his two brothers, David  (died in 1969 aged 77) and William (died in 1967 aged 74) were born in Kings Lynn, Norfolk in England the sons of John and Sarah Ann (nee Harrison) Plowright (4). 

The death notice of John Plowright

Dandenong Journal September 30, 1942 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/215710598/21587643

Another obituary (5) also said that he had been in business for 18 years, which means the business would have started around 1924. At the time of John's death he was a partner and director of the firm Plowright, Albion Sand and Gravel Co.

Obituary of John Plowright

The Age September 30, 1942 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/206823665

Plowright Brothers was acquired by an new company, Albion Sand and Gravel Co., in 1930 (6).

Plowright Albion Sand and Gravel Co., formed. 

The Age December 27, 1930 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203274094

The captions on the photos of the Plowright Albion operation are partially taken from the original captions as written on the back of the photos.

At the Main Drain - Plowright Albion Sand Co. Sand Pumping Unit, c. 1926-1931. 

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

At the Main Drain - Loaded truck being towed to rail siding,  c. 1926-1931.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

At the Main Drain - Trucks filled with water washed sand leaving the hopper, c. 1926-1931.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

At the Main Drain - Sand passing through hopper onto trucks,  c. 1926-1931.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

This article from the Koo Wee Rup Sun of April 12, 1926 explains how the operation 

works at the Railway Siding.

At the Railway Siding - Trucks are winched up an elevated ramp and tipped into the waiting railway trucks,  c. 1926-1931.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

At the Railway Siding - The elevated ramp,  c. 1926-1931.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

Footnotes

(1) Ramsay, Merilyn Steam to Strzelecki : the Koo-Wee-Rup to McDonald’s Track Railway (Australian Railway Historical Society, 1991) p. 69

(2) See above

(3) Obituary -  Dandenong Journal September 30, 1942, see here.

(4) Dandenong Journal September 30, 1942, see here and Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.

(5) The Age September 30, 1942, see here. 

(6) The Age December 27, 1930, see here. 

"Corpse" that came to life

This report appeared in the Sydney Truth newspaper of March 10, 1925. Not sure if it is true or not, but it’s a great story.

What does it feel like to be dead? “Scotty” McDonald, of Koo-wee-rup (Victoria), says it is quite a pleasant experience. "Scotty" ought to know, because he has been officially dead and buried, but confounded his mourners by walking in on them and ordering a pot of foaming beer.

"Scotty" is short and stocky, and somewhere over the 60-year mark in age. A grizzly moustache and stubbly beard mark his weather-beaten features. In a humble hut near Dalmore, five or six miles from

Koo-wee-rup, he lives while the potato-digging is on. Before his miraculous death, burial, and resurrection Scotty's headquarters were the Royal Hotel, Koo-wee-rup. There was he to be found in the intervals between his luring of the elusive spud from the soil.

Not Wilfully Dead.
Man is not master of his own destiny, and Scotty was not to be allowed to have control of his own death. The matter was taken out of his hands without his consent. A body was found in a paddock some miles from Koo-wee-rup, and was brought into the township by a passing carter. There is no such thing as a mortuary in the township, and as is customary in such places bodies are taken to the local hotel, where post-mortems and inquests are held. There the body was taken to the scene of Scotty's best triumphs on the imitation bagpipes, and an awed bar paused awhile over its pots of beer to talk of poor old Scotty's sudden end.

One "Butcher'" (christened Mick), who had quaffed the flowing bowl full many a time and oft with
Scotty, could not contain his tears. So while the habitues of the Royal hostelry held an informal wake for Scotty, the doctors made a post-mortem examination, which showed that death was due to certain persistent poisoning of the heart and other organs. "That's Scotty," said everyone who knew the "deceased.”

Mr Cole, J.P., of Lang Lang, came to Koo-wee-rup and held a formal inquest on the body of John McDonald, deceased. There was no question of foul play, and the medical evidence was accepted as sufficient for the granting of an order of burial. So Scotty was buried. A motor lorry belonging to Gilchrist and Co. was requisitioned, and the coffin was taken to the Lang Lang Cemetery on the Wednesday afternoon, and interred several feet below in the embracing Mother Earth.

Now, whose body was it, since it was not Scotty's? Undoubtedly a body was buried, but whose?

 
Was it a Joke?
Constable Whiteside, of Koo-wee-rup says it was the body of another McDonald altogether, and that someone must have been trying to play a joke on Scotty. But the explanation advanced by those who knew both Scotty and the other McDonald is probably nearer the mark. The other man, though taller, was very like Scotty in facial appearance; "like twins," one man described them. When the body was brought in everyone assumed that it was Scotty, and it was Scotty who was buried.

Came a public holiday, and all Scotty's cronies were gathered in the bar of the hotel. They missed the clank of his unconventional beer billy made from a 2lb jam tin. The beer splashed merrily on thirsty throats, and the till clanged cheerily. Prominent in the gathering was Mick, still willing to join in toasts to the memory of departed Scotty.

The swing doors opened from the street. Casually the company turned to see who was coming in. Then the silence of the tomb fell upon the crowd. With beer mugs poised in mid-air they stood as inert as the stuffed fox in the corner: An apparition from Eternity was framed in the doorway! The wraith of Scotty had come to haunt his former resting-place. "It's Scotty's ghost!" shrieked Mick. “It's a banshee, O-ooh !" He would not look, for had not his own scarf-pin been used to pin the blanket around Scotty's lifeless form? The ghost announced himself in full blooded human language to the gaping bar. "What the hell are you staring at?" he demanded. "What's the joke?"

Movement returned to the awed company. It might be Scotty's ghost that stood in the doorway, but at least it was a ghost that put on no superior ethereal airs. If Scotty had some back to haunt the bar he was going to do it properly, for as wondering eyes were dragged from the spellbound contemplation of the familiar face it was seen that the ghost carried Scotty's beer-billy. It seemed to have come prepared to haunt the place in a respectable manner, with the rattle of glasses rather than chains.

Cautiously the more daring spirits investigated, and were met with pointed instructions to go to the place that it might have been reasonably expected Scotty had come from, judging by his adjectives. A babel of explanations smashed the silence, and everyone tried to tell Scotty that he was dead.

He Ought to Know.
He refused to believe it, and told them so, asserting that he was the person who should know. Panting dispensers of news gasped word of Scotty's return to the people who did not happen to be in the pub at the time, and he became the show sight for the day - the man who had returned from the grave. Mick was the last to be convinced, and then, like the doubting disciple Thomas, he would only be convinced of the resurrection by physical contact. To him it seemed that Scotty's ghost had come before him as a warning, and it was some time before he would approach. Then, much to Scotty's indignation, Mick convinced himself by vigorously pinching the man who should have been dead.

The earnest explanations of the erstwhile mourners mollified the anger of Scotty, over what he thought was a rotten joke, and over a few "welcome back to earth" pots, he forgave them all and realised what had happened. While he was being "buried" he had been out some miles and he had not been able to assure them that the reports of his death, like those of Mark Twain's, "had been grossly exaggerated."

When a man is so unceremoniously shuffled off this mortal coil, without having a say in the matter, it is up to him to prove conclusively that he is very much alive. Was it not Constable Whiteside who had had some part in this dastardly attempt to take a man's life away from him? To be sure, and the honor of the McDonalds demanded a bout with the doughty limb of the law. Scotty decided that the honor of the McDonalds would be compensated by a wrestle for drinks, and therefore he challenged the constable to a fall - the loser to shout for the company. But the policeman declined to satisfy any ghost, and informed Scotty that a night in the lockup was all the satisfaction the pride of the McDonalds would get.

Koo-wee-rup had thought that it had seen Scotty make his last motor ride when the motor lorry bore away the rough coffin, but a few days later it witnessed a very hilarious ghost leave by motor for Lang Lang with the constable. On the Saturday morning he was fined 6s for being drunk. The fine was inflicted by Mr. Cole, J.P., who had three days before signed the order for Scotty's burial!

Source: Sydney Truth newspaper of March 10, 1925 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168706639