Catholic services had taken place in the area since the
permanent settlers had arrived from 1892. These services were held in private
houses, Kavanagh’s Iona store and the Pioneer Hall which had opened in 1895.
On December 16, 1900 the Catholic Church was opened by the
Very Reverend M. J. Maher, C.M, and Fr
Maher was assisted in the function by the pastor of the Dandenong mission, in
which the new church is situated (Rev. J. Gleeson) according to The Advocate of December 22, 1900. The report went on to say the building is of wood and is considered
very good value for the sum of £250, the contract price. The preacher concluded
with an appeal on behalf of the debt on the new structure, and a generous
response was made, the sum £48 being received.
Damian Smith, in his book 100 years of a faith community: St Joseph’s Iona 1905 -2005 writes
that the church was built by Charles Pearson of Bunyip and it was 40 feet by 25
feet and could accommodate 350 people. The church was dedicated to St Joseph.
Catholic Church, Hall and Presbytery at Iona.
Image from 100 years of a faith community: St Joseph’s Iona 1905 -2005 by Damian Smith (The Author, 2005)
The next major building project for the Catholic community
was the erection of the Presbytery (the house where the Priests live). It was
built at a cost of £725 sometime between June and December of 1905, for the
newly appointed Parish Priest, Father James Byrne. Two other significant events
happened in 1905 - the Parish of Iona was formed; the area was previously part
of the Catholic Parish of Dandenong. The other event that happened was that Bunyip
South officially changed its name to Iona in July of 1905, even though,
according to articles in the local papers, the area had clearly been known as
Iona from around 1901 and the Iona Riding of the Shire of Berwick had already
been named.
The Columba Hall, was officially opened on October 28,
1906. The event was celebrated by a concert and a ball, both of which were well
attended. This Hall was destroyed by fire on December 26, 1927. A new brick hall (the existing hall), was opened October 21, 1928. The last building in the ‘Catholic precinct’ at Iona was
the Convent, built to accommodate the Sisters of St Joseph. This was officially
opened April 11, 1915. The existing St Joseph’s Church was opened April 14,
1940.
The Presbyterian Church at Iona, St Johns, was opened in
February 1908. Here is a report from the Bunyip
and Garfield Express of February 18, 1908.
The
Scotch folk are again to the front and are to be congratulated for their
enterprise in building a new kirk at Iona which reflects great credit on all
who have had anything to do with the building of it and is decidedly an acquisition
to the district. The opening services were conducted by the Rev J. Downey, M.A,
B.B., of Warragul who preached suitable sermons for the occasion to large and
appreciative congregations. At the evening service, solos were sung by Miss
Bruce and Mr Thompson of the Longwarry Presbyterian choir which were highly appreciated,
especially Mr Thompsons rendering of ‘Dream of Paradise’. Special hymns were
sang by the choir under the able leadership of Miss Adamson, choir conductress.
The collections for the day
amounted to [just over] 5 pounds, which was considered by the Committee to be
highly satisfactory. It was suggested that those connected with the kirk should
get to work and have some trees planted. Some friends have offered to supply
trees free of charge and as the kirk is in a very exposed
position…[illegible].. beautify the kirk and ground. In future, services will be conducted every sabbath morning at 11.00am
by Mr L. Watson, the home missionary, instead of fortnightly. The best thanks
of the Committee are due to Mr McIntosh who always looks after the welfare of
visiting ministers while in the district.
Not sure when the Church closed - we believe around 1980.
St John's Presbyterian Church at Iona, c. 1908.
Image from Call of the Bunyip: history of Bunyip, Iona & Tonimbuk 1847-1990 by Denise Nest (Bunyip History Committee, 1990)
What else was happening in Iona at this time? The Advocate newspaper had a Children’s
column called ‘Letters to Aunt Patsy’. On September 18, 1906 Ellen May
Elizabeth Fitzpatrick wrote the following letter with a description of Iona -
Dear
Aunt Patsy - This is my second letter to you. I hope my oar is not rusty. I am
going to tell you about Iona. There are three stores, one Catholic church and
presbytery; a new Hibernian Hall is getting built, one school (there's a new
school nearly finished), one mechanics' institute, a new bank, a cream depot,
and a post-office. We live four miles from Garfield, and six miles from Bunyip.
Dear Aunt Patsy, have you ever been to Iona? The flowers are all out nice now.
The paddocks are also nice and green. The Rev. Fr. Byrne is our parish priest.
He passes our place to say Mass in Koo-wee-rup. The birds are building their
nests now. We found a parrot's nest with two little birds in. We left them till
they get bigger. I shall bring my letter to a close, hoping you are all
well. I remain, your loving niece, Ellen
May Elizabeth Fitzpatrick. (The Advocate, October 6, 1906, see here)
As you can see, Iona was a much larger town than it is
today. And, in case you are wondering, Aunt Patsy had not been to Iona.
Sources -
- 100 years of a faith community: St Joseph’s Iona 1905 -2005 by Damian Smith (The Author, 2005)
- On the edge of the swamp: a history of the Iona Primary School No. 3201 1894-1994 by Denise M. Nest ( Iona Primary School Back-To-Committee, 1994)
