On the corner of Blair and Woods Streets, early in 1924, a new building was commenced! It was to replace the first Church building erected in Donald.
The foundation stone of the church was laid by Sen. J. F. Guthrie, on the 23rd of February, 1924, and the solid brick church was built over the ensuing months.
The magnificent building was constructed and ready for occupation in March, 1925.
The significance of the date is the reason for a special service of Celebration on the Anniversary to be held – and that will be on March 23, 2025, at 10.30 a.m..
Of course there is a considerable story to cover those 100 years. What follows is some of that story – there is much, much more!
The original entrance, from the corner of Blair and Woods Streets, entailed mounting bluestone steps to the original floor level, which then sloped down to just above ground level. The seating capacity was somewhat greater than since 2009 when the building was greatly altered. In the wider part of the building the right side (facing away from Woods Street) had four rows of pews square on to the main body of the church, and the left side had raised seating for a choir and an organ.
The preacher’s pulpit was originally central and raised, but alterations in the 1940s saw it re-situated to one side. A Communion Table and ornate chairs then occupied the central section of the front of the church building.
A church bell – which can be heard all over town – is high in the 80ft steeple, activated by rope from the original entrance, these days 5 minutes before the start of worship on a Sunday morning.
A feature not noticed or known of by many is that firstly, the cathedral ceiling is not a full cathedral style as the design anticipated. The top portion of the ceiling is flat, and secondly, the top three panels of the huge stained glass window facing Woods Street are not visible inside the building!
A Plan
In the days of the ministry of Rev Margaret Russell, along with her husband John, a plan was conceived to modernize St. Andrew’s, to level the floor, to make access with no steps, and to completely reverse the internal furniture to what it had previously been. The new plan also was to install better electronics and numerous other minor additions.
In the process, white ants (termites) which were known to be under the choir area, were found to have invaded the entire church flooring bearers, so eradication and restoration was timely indeed. Termites are highly selective – the heavy bearers were in a great state of disrepair, whereas the actual flooring was in good condition!
The large hall, stage, kitchen facilities, meeting rooms and toilets were originally built, altered and then added to in the 1960s. In the process the original Presbyterian building was demolished (1967) and one of the meeting rooms now occupies that site.
The whole area became part of the Uniting Church in Australia in July 1977 and has stood as a town landmark, and a much used set of buildings.
The local History Society, at its Monday evening meeting on March 10, was given a most comprehensive history spanning 150 years – of which the present St Andrew’s covers only 100!
Isabelle Flett was the guest speaker, and she spun a fascinating tale of the corner of Woods and Blair Streets and its buildings.
Centenary Celebrations
Anyone interested is welcome to the Centenary celebrations, a service of Worship on 23rd of March, 2025, at 10.30 a.m. – see the advertisement in the pages of the long standing “Buloke Times”!
The celebrations will be led by Rev. Margaret and John Russell – would you believe it is more than 10 years since Margaret was our ordained Minister resident in Donald?