History
3(a). 1863 St Philip's Church
Extract from
The Inner Suburbs-The Evolution of an Industrial Area
by Bernard Barrett“After the schism, loyal Anglicans proceeded to erect a bluestone church, St Philip's, on swampy Portion 66 for the new parish of East Collingwood. In an editorial [2nd January 1864] marking the founding , the Observer commented that loyalists had had to surmount a difficulty peculiar to East Collingwood - the comparative absence of a wealthy class there. East Collingwood's population, it said, was especially of the kind which most needs well organised clerical aid, and at the same time is the least likely to make any personal sacrifices to obtain it - meaning, apparently, pew-rents and other offerings. The editorial [written during the long delay in implementing an East Collingwood drainage project] added that the founding of St Philip's in the middle of the Flat was a milestone in the improvement of the Flat.
“It raises hopes in the hearts of all who are interested in the moral and social welfare of the population. When East Collingwood numbers in her midst well-educated and untiring citizens with some degree of leisure, it will not be long before their attention will be turned to the abominable disgrace of civic affairs as at present conducted, and, remembering that cleanliness is next to godliness, organise the population to thoroughly drain, cleanse, and improve the borough.”