ST MATTHEW’S CHURCH
HAMILTON, SA ANGLICAN
PAUL SCOTT
The original Church hall, just west of St Matthew’s Church.
INDEX
I always enjoy visting a church and then preparing a photographic record of that visit: that is why I do it! This visit to the beautiful St Matthew’s Anglican Church in country South Australia was no exception. However this was a very memorable visit which affected me emotionally, as will become clear.
A brief history of this Church is given below. However, if you want to begin your tour of the Church immediately, tap / click on START . You can also access intermediate points in the tour by a tap / click on the following links:
SATELLITE VIEW
To reach Hamilton we drive some 23 km north from Kapunda on the Marrabel Road. A narrow, poorly sign-posted road called Caroline Street brings us past the old church building to the present St Matthew’s Church. There is a cemetery behind the Church.
As usual, we shall use liturgical directions on this site, designated by capital letters (for example, West). Here it is just a formality as the sanctuary is exactly in the geographically eastern direction
The satellite view shows us that the Church is a slightly modified cruciform shape with a square tower at the Western end. The Church is entered through a door in the South wall of the tower.
HISTORY
Year Built: 1896
Address: Caroline Street, Hamilton, South Australia 5373
Hamilton
Hamilton is a small township in the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia. It is about 120 km northeast of Adelaide, South Australia, about 23 km north of Kapunda. It was once a stop for the mining carts going from Adelaide to Burra, but is now just an agricultural district.
This shrinking town used to be a very vibrant one with its own football, netball and cricket teams all of which now are non-existent. The Hamilton tennis club is still running. The park at Hamilton is called Gill Park and is named after the Gill family which was prominent in the district.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton,_South_Australia
St Matthew’s Church
The Dutton Memorial Church of St Matthew was built in 1896 (replacing a more modest building of 1857) and financed by one man, Henry Dutton (1844–1914) of nearby Anlaby Station. It was a memorial to his brother Frederick, to Henry's wife Helen, and to their daughter Ethel, who died accidentally on Granite Island. Henry Dutton was occasional lay reader and, an accomplished musician, played the organ, a magnificent instrument for such a small town. The church is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton,_South_Australia
The original Hamilton Church was a small schoolroom situated to the south east of the present building. It was dedicated to St Matthew on April 29, 1857.
The present Church of St Matthew was the gift of Henry Dutton of Anlaby Station as a memorial to his family, particularly to his uncle, Frederick Hansborough, wife Helen and daughter Ethel. The foundation stone was laid on September 9, 1896 and the consecration performed on December 2 of the year.
The architect was F. T. Naish, the builder D. James and Co. of Kapunda, and the cost was reported as ‘about £400’. However the original structure was much smaller and plainer than is seen today. From then until his death in 1914, Henry Dutton made extensive additions (designed by Walter Bagot) and added to its furnishings. In 1907 the extensions to the chancel and nave, the choir vestry, the tower and the baptistery were consecrated. There have been three organs in St Matthews, the first being a small harmonium which sat where the choir stalls are, and then a pipe organ was installed in the new organ loft. The present three manual pipe organ was dedicated in October 1914. Unfortunately Mr Dutton who was the organist, died in August 1914.
Mary Anne’s notes
