Yankalilla - Christ Church - Anglican - South Australia - 1857

Christ Church: The Anglican church in Yankalilla known as 'Christ Church, has a marble font which has its origins in the Middle Ages, once gracing Salisbury Cathedral in England.  It was given to a former Christ Church rector during a visit to England. The former owners subsequently regretted their generosity and requested its return, but this was denied. 

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This church constructed of stone consists of three distinct sections.  The apse which was the original church, the nave, and the porch. Three pointed windows, several of stain glass, are positioned down each side of the nave, and the porch roof is three sectioned.  A belfry is set high on the roof at the end of the nave.

This church (the nave with small apse) was opened on 9 July 1857, with some 200 people present, by Augustus Short the first Bishop of Adelaide.  The structure cost 300 pounds.  Lay Readers conducted worship there until the appointment of the first priest, Reverend Astley Cooper in 1860.  The Reverend C W Morse held the church from 1869-1901 and was noted for his religious and civic contributions.

Shrine of Our Lady of Yankalilla:  On August 24 1994 an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on the wall of the Anglican church in Yankalilla. Since 1996 pilgrims have been coming to this church from all over the world. Yankalilla is the world's newest Marian Shrine. It is also the second known apparition of Mary in an Anglican church. The Shrine of Our Lady of Yankalilla is well on it's way to becoming a major spiritual and ecumenical centre for all Australia. Over the past few years the church has received widespread national and international media exposure.   At the same time, the church has become almost as famous for an unusual series of events around the shrine as it is for the Apparition itself. Holy Water is available from the Shrine Well, and visitors are welcome to attend the Shrine Mass for the sick each Sunday at 2pm.

References:
Australian Heritage Database   Place ID:  7809
Yankalilla District Council

Wikipedia - Yankalilla