MOONTA MINES UNITING CHURCH
PAUL SCOTT
Moonta Mines is an old mining area a short drive from the country town of Moonta. The Uniting Church is in the Moonta Mines environment at the end of Milne Street. Most visitors will approach the Church coming down Milne Street.
Since the Church sanctuary is at an indeterminate angle south of west, we shall use liturgical directions here, using East (with a capital letter) to denote the direction of the sanctuary. These directions are indicated by the super-imposed compass rose. The plan of the Church is a rectangular nave with a small attached sanctuary at the East (south souwest!) end. As usual, we shall circumnavigate the outside of the building before exploring the interior.
A very 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:
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HISTORY
Year Built: 1865
Address: Milne Street, Moonta Mines SA 5558
Built during the mining boom in this area in 1865, it seated 750 people. However, the number of worshippers greatly exceeded this number so in 1872, a gallery to hold a further 500 was installed, making the seating capacity 1250. Two Services were held each Sunday with a full congregation. On a lighter note, some things never change as repeatedly in the old Church Minute Books, the following is recorded: ‘Some senior members of the Church Trust must go into the gallery and control the boys’.
In 1888 a large, beautiful pipe organ was installed at a cost of £258 ($516). As you can imagine, after more than 100 years, the organ required a major overhaul. Approximately three years ago, we obtained a quote of $45,000 for the refurbishment. It was a shock but we contacted the National Estate in Canberra and received a grant of $39,000. We went ahead with the overhaul, which was carried out magnificently by Mr Leith Jacob and his staff. On completion, he stated that the pipe organ is now possibly better than when it was first installed. We did not want the outside of the organ touched and the paint work is original. Another reason for this was that the boys who pumped the bellows sat behind a large curtain and their names were scratched or pencilled on the panelling and we did not want this removed. These boys received one shilling (10 cents) a week for these duties. Quite often, to the consternation of the organist, the boys would fall asleep during the sermon. The pump handle is still there and was used until 1960 when a motor was installed.
The Church is open for visitors from 1.30pm to 400pm each day from September to April, and on Wednesdays and weekends from May to August. It will only cost you a gold coin donation to visit this beautiful old Church. The proceeds are used to maintain the buildings and other incidental expenditure. Today, the congregation is small and mainly seniors. We are experiencing some difficulties in securing sufficient volunteers to maintain our opening hours but we intend to carry on as long as possible.
https://sa.uca.org.au/find-a-church/by-list/moonta-mines-uniting-church
