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   

Kyneton - Gnadenberg Church - Lutheran - Sth Australia - 1904

The Gnadenberg Church is in the Barossa Valley near Kyneton in South Australia.  Grapes from the vines planted near the church, are made into the famed red wine, known as Henschke  'Hill of Grace' . A very poplular drop!  The English translation of Gnadenberg is "Hill of Grace" .

Historyof the area: "A typical small Barossa Lutheran church surrounded by vineyard and framed by gum trees is Gnadenberg (Hill of Grace). The vineyard is owned by the Henschke family, who produce a famous red wine called Hill of Grace. Gnadenberg is in the hills east of Angaston, between Keyneton and Moculta. Gnadenberg was settled in 1856 by people from Bethany, who were seeking new land and the Gnadenberg church shares a pastor with the Strait Gate Lutheran Church in Light Pass". 

To view the full album of the church, click on the link below.

Gnadenberg Church
















References: Understanding Cultural Landscapes symposium, Flinders University, July 11-16, 2005 by Lyn Leader-Elliott

Blampied – St Josephs - Catholic - Victoria - 1869

While out for a drive to the village of Daylesford we passed this gorgeous church, of course Bucko knew we had to turn around so I could take a few photograph.  The building is simply stunning. 

"A prominently-sited bluestone church allegedly designed by E Shephardson, a school teacher at Eganstown, near Daylesford and built between 1869 and 1874. The design derives from St Peter's Daylesford, but with the introduction of different window tracery and a double-gabled sacristy. The building comprises a five-bay nave, chancel and sacristy and has a spacious interior with several stained glass windows."

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Reference: Victorian Heritage site

Malmsbury - St Johns - Anglican – Victoria 1866

This beautiful old church sits on a rise in the small town of  Malmsbury in Victoria, on one of our excursions when in Ballarat, we found this church. 

The first sod for foundations was turned for construction in Oct 1861 and in Nov 1861 the foundation stone was laid. It was officially opened in Jan 1866 (and baptisms and marriage conducted in it) but not completed until Nov 1873.

A common theme with many of the older churches is the large grounds around the buildings, I suppose well used in the days of the horse and buggy.  Often the land has been sold off, however, the members of this church have not done so.  Today, worshipers arrive at what once would have been the back entrance, up on the hill.  The main gates are down a slope from the church.  I have included photographs of the tiles of dedication by the people who donated the gate.  This church is actually across the road from the other Malmsbury church (For Sale), that I have previously posted.  Enjoy.

The following information was sourced from the Australian Heritage Database. Place ID: 101614

St Johns Church is finely detailed, a local landmark, a church that goes back to the first two decades of settlement at Malmsbury and the first four decades in Victoria, and has an arcaded side chapel arrangement that is apparently unique in Victoria. The building has a special physical, historic and social role in the town, which it has served for 130 years. The history of construction over two decades illustrates the small size of the Malmsbury community and there is an important comparison to be made with the nearby Kyneton's St. Paul's Church of England constructed in 1855-1857, both historically and physically. St. John's remains the last operating church in the town. The interior is conventionally planned apart from the arcaded north wall of the main body, which gives access to the north side chapel/s; this structure, which is similar to an aisle, is apparently unique. Where such a structure was part of a nineteenth century church it was planned as aisles on both sides and gave access to the chancel or the transepts. In Malmsbury's case, the side section has access only into the adjoining nave, the vestry being in the east end of the side section. The parishioners had trouble raising enough funds to plaster the interior and complete the church; this is illustrated by the unplastered interior of the tower. The building is well detailed and enhanced by its elevated site overlooking the town. The adjacent bluestone and red brick rectory is next to the church and enhances it.

St. John's Malmsbury comprises a rectangular gable roofed nave of four bays and a chancel. Along the north side is an aisle-like structure, also with a gable roof and distinguished by three gables in its middle. The eastern end is the vestry, which has a flat roofed, parapeted porch. The walls are coursed local rusticated bluestone with cement dressings. The roofs are slate clad. The spire is cement rendered and the lantern is faced with crude he lantern is faced with crude pilasters. The central main entrance is finely detailed.

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