ST ANDREW’S CHURCH
STRATHALBYN UNITING
PAUL SCOTT
A satellite view, and brief history of this Church are 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:
NOTE ON MAGNIFYING IMAGES
With this website format the images are large enough for most purposes. If there is a need for greater magnification of an image, go to the identical photo on
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulscottinfo/albums
and download the image as instructed.
SATELLITE VIEW
This rather poor resolution satellite view shows the location of the Church on a site bounded by Sunter Street and Alfred Place. It is a beautiful site, overlooking the Angas River, and the Church is a dominant feature of the townscape.
The orientation of the Church is governed by its site, with the sanctuary pointing in a geographical direction some 20° south of west. It will therefore be much easier in our descriptions to use the liturgical directions which place the sanctuary in an Easterly direction (capital E) with the other liturgical directions set accordingly. This is indicated by the golden ‘points of the compass’.
So we see that the Church is cruciform in shape with a spire at the West (Alfred Place) end, and a tower nestled in the Northeast corner (bottom left). There is plenty of nearby car parking. The timing of our visit is a little unfortunate as work is being done restoring the western spire, so this area is fenced off. We shall then enter the nave through a door close to the North transept.
We shall begin our exploration at Alfred Place and walk around the Church in a clockwise direction
HISTORY
Years Built: 1844 – 1938
Address: 10 Alfred Place, Strathalbyn
Most of the first European settlers who arrived in Strathalbyn in 1840 were very staunch Scottish Presbyterians. For several years they held worship services in private homes, but despite the demands of building houses, clearing land, putting up fences, etc., they determined to erect a church.
In 1844 the first church-school, claimed to be the second Presbyterian place of worship built in the colony of South Australia, was built on the site of the present building. This served several denominations for over three years.
By 1848 the original church was too small and so began the building of the present St Andrew’s. The 1848 structure is now part of the nave of the present building. In 1857 the church was again too small and so the transepts (completed in 1859) were added. The demand for space became pressing requiring the nave to be enlarged (in 1865) as well as a gallery, the spire and porch being added.
A prominent citizen, Edward Stirling, who had returned to Scotland, was persuaded to donate a bell for the spire. The bell, which was cast in Sheffield (UK), weighed two tonnes. When it arrived in Strathalbyn, church officials realized at once that it was too heavy for the spire. Several alternatives were tried but eventually the decision was made in 1869 to build a bell tower.
Mrs E J Tucker suggested (in 1895) that the tower needed a clock and so started a subscription list in the community enabling the project to be completed. The clock faces came from England and the clock was installed by Wendt’s of Adelaide.
The last of the buildings was completed in 1938, when the vestry and furnishings were donated by Mrs Tucker to celebrate 100 years of Presbyterianism in South Australia.
When church union took place in 1977, the congregations in Strathalbyn decided to use St Andrew’s as the place of worship. In 1981 the building was closed for extensive refurbishing and was reopened on 12th December 1982.
St Andrew’s is probably the most photographed building in Strathalbyn, and is on the National Trust Heritage List.
(Adapted from text supplied by Evelyn Glazbrook, May 2001)
https://historicalsociety.unitingchurch.org.au/my-dream/
