Parish History

A History of the Parish of Holy Trinity
Surrey Hills/Mont Albert

The first organised services in the district were held monthly during 1885 in the recreation hall (long since demolished) on Albany Crescent, near the Surrey Hills railway station which had opened in 1883. The Reverend H E Taylor, then Vicar of St Barnabas, Balwyn conducted the services and had care of the area.

A committee of five was formed to establish a church and a building fund commenced. Mr E D Dyer, who had bought considerable quantities of land in Surrey Hills at the height of the speculative land boom of the 1800's, donated the land for a church. He also gave the original Font and became one of the original Guardians (who had responsibilities similar to churchwardens).

The foundation stone of the church, (known for most of its history as St George's Church of England) was laid by Dr H St John Clarke, past deputy Grand Master English Constitution, with Masonic ceremonies on July 17, 1886. The Christ-in-Glory, or Ascension, window was dedicated to his memory and that of his wife.

Mr G V Blackburn was honorary architect and Mr R C Rees, of Hawthorn, the contractor for the building which cost approximately £720, of which some £200 was from donations, a bazaar and concert. The remainder was secured on mortgage; a number of people made gifts of furnishings.

The first service took place with eighty people present on Sunday, January 30, 1887. St George's was then part of the parish of St Barnabas, Balwyn; two years later it became part of the parish of St Peter's, Box Hill.

Land in Surrey Hills with no gas, no streetlights and no water rose from 15 shillings a foot in 1884, to £15 in 1887. This could not go on for ever, with the collapse of the speculative land boom, bank crashes and subsequent depression of the 1890's; the church was in financial trouble. In 1892 the Guardians lost the title to the property, as the mortgage could neither be redeemed or renewed. Services were held in the Surrey Hills hall from March 6, 1892 until October 28, 1894 , when arrangements were made to rent back the church building from Mrs Lane who now held title to the building for the sum of £12 per annum. Constant friction over rent and repairs culminated in the closure of the building by the Central Board of Health, as the brick gable wall was in a very unsafe condition. Between March 1903 and October 1904 Surrey Hall was again used for services.

As early as 1897, it was realised that the church was not central enough for the developing district and suggestions of obtaining a more central site were made. After an inspection of the building and district in 1904, the Bishop of Melbourne, Dr L Clarke, persuaded a meeting of parishioners that it was desirable to erect a new church on a more central site. It was agreed, however, to purchase the existing building in Mont Albert Road for parochial purposes for the sum of £300, financed by a loan from the diocese. Surrey Hills then became a separate parish and the Rev L Townsend was appointed vicar. The request for a change in names for the Mont Albert Church, from St George to Holy Trinity was approved, and the Bishop dedicated the existing church building at the induction of the Rev L Townsend as vicar.

Spurred by the offer from the diocese of a new site in Union Road, Surrey Hills, Mr Charleton, architect, was entrusted with the task of drawing up plans. The tender of Taylor Brothers of £595 was accepted. The plans were a departure from normal church architecture, with its combination of oiled jarrah weather boarding with rough cast above. The total cost of church, land and furniture was about £1,100 and of this only £300 remained to be paid off at the time of opening. With the new buildings in use as the parish church, the Mont Albert Road building (to become St George's again from 1922) became known as the parish hall and was used as a Sunday school and for weekday meetings until the present Holy Trinity was completed. A vicarage adjacent to the church was desirable. Such a site became available and was purchased for £220 in 1912. The present vicarage, which was built for £836, was completed in December 1913.

By the end of World War I, there was an urgent need for more Sunday school accommodation. After considerable deliberation, it was considered better to build a brick church on the present site and use the existing building for Sunday school and parochial purposes than spending more money on Sunday school extensions. The foundation stone was laid by the Governor (Earl of Stradbroke) on the July 16, 1921. Archbishop Lees consecrated the new building as one of his first official duties on March 12,1922. The contractor for the building was Mr J Kinsman and it cost £3,350, with a furniture outlay of £600 for furnishings to supplement the many gifts and/or memorials. The architects were Messrs. Gawler and Drummond.

With the opening of the new church, the system of pew rents was abolished with most seat holders agreeing to continuing contributions of equivalent amounts to church funds. The old church building in Union Road, hence forth known as Trinity Hall became available for Sunday School purposes. The Mont Albert Road building (St George's) which had served as a Sunday School and hall from June 9, 1907 until the May 7, 1922, was now available for services which were resumed, first monthly, then weekly in 1923. To distinguish it from the present Holy Trinity (consecrated March 1922) the Mont Albert Rd building became known again as St George's , Mont Albert.

To keep pace with the growth of the Sunday School and to be in line with the trend of religious education, the need was urged for a separate kindergarten building. Money raised by donations and debentures brought in sufficient funds to call for tenders in May 1924. The building (now Carter Hall), which cost £750, was officially opened in November of the same year.

In the 1920's Sunday School classes to meet the needs of the expanding north were at first held in Mont Albert Central School prior to the construction of a church/hall designed by Mr J. Gawler in 1929. From these beginnings St Augustine's , Mont Albert North met the needs of a rapidly growing area, becoming a separate parish in 1949.

Beautification of the church grounds in Union Road was undertaken, much of the work being done by working bees. Fund raising for a pipe organ was the principal objective in the early 1930's. The firm of Hill Norman and Beard was entrusted with the work of building and installing a two manual, electro-pneumatic organ for the sum of £731. Bishop Booth dedicated the instrument on the Trinity Sunday, June 16, 1935.

Another project, which came fruition (November 25, 1939) was the construction of two tennis courts (at first asphalt) and a pavilion in a lane off Balmoral Crescent.

After the dislocation of the war years, the parish like many others in the diocese entered a period of rapid growth. In 1949 to cater for growth in the south and south-east part of the Parish, a new branch church was established. St Theodore's, Wattle Park had humble beginnings in an army hut, but with much enthusiastic hard work were soon able to build a brick church. Despite some fears about the difficulties which would have to be faced in the future Archbishop Booth granted their wish to become a separate Parish in 1953.

St George's hall was built and dedicated by Bishop Redding on July 23, 1961. Two flats were constructed adjacent to the church. Alterations were made to the Church with the demolition of the timber northern end of the building. This section was rebuilt in brick with the sanctuary being moved to the southern end of the church. Although the new foundation stone stated that the alterations were dedicated with Anglican rites by Archdeacon Peter Monie on the July 17, 1977, the dedication did not take place on this date because of the sudden death of the Archdeacon.

At the Holy Trinity end of the parish Trinity Hall was extended and bricked altering the external appearance. The sanctuary area of the church was enlarged by removing the choir stalls. New altar rails and a Nave Altar were installed. Stained glass windows were also installed in this period.

The parish continued to operate as a two centre parish in spite of the very close proximity of the two churches. As the years passed it became obvious to many that we could operate more effectively out of one centre without the distraction of keeping two sets of aging buildings in good repair. After much prayerful consideration the decision was made to close the smaller of the two centres.

St George's, at the time of its closure on October 25, 1998 was the oldest church building in the City of Whitehorse, in which Anglican services were still held. After the service of secularisation, led by Bishop John Stewart, many of the items used in worship were transferred to Holy Trinity for continued use, especially in the newly created chapel of St George. The more portable of these were carried in procession behind the flag of St George by parishioners to Holy Trinity where they were received by the Vicar, Rev Derek Jones and the bearers were welcomed by representatives of the Holy Trinity congregation. During 2000 extensive renovations were undertaken to the front of the church and the hall, and on May 13, 2001 the refurbished buildings were dedicated by Archbishop Peter Watson.

In 2006 The Reverend Derek Jones accepted the invitation to be vicar at Christ Church Geelong. In 2007 the parish accepted the vision of a husband and wife joint leadership team. On 7th February 2007 the Reverend Jennifer Inglis MA and the Reverend Philip Gill MA were commissioned.(pictured following commissioning,left).

(Brian Clark prepared the history of the parish.)

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