In the
1870s, some people living in south St Kilda decided they wanted their own
local Wesleyan church. Despite the opposition of some people living close
to the St Kilda Wesleyan Church in Fitzroy Street, who feared the new
church would be a drain on their church’s finances, fundraising began in
July 1876 and a contract to build the church was signed on 22 December
1876. The position of the building was marked out on Christmas Day. The
land had been reserved for a church in 1859 through the efforts and
foresight of the Reverend Draper.
The
architects were Crouch and Wilson. Crouch lived nearby on the other side
of the railway line and was a long-serving trustee. He and his wife were
commemorated in a 1950 stained-glass window. The polychromatic Gothic
church with hawthorn face bricks and red and cream facings and a slate
roof was opened on 23 May
1877.
The cost of building was about £1060 and about half this amount had been
raised when it opened. Built to accommodate 220 people, fifty-eight seats
were taken when the church opened.[1]
The turret measures 29 metres and is topped by an ornamental vane and is
considered a local landmark. The stained-glass windows are by Ferguson &
Wise. Inside, the main feature is the diagonal trusses at each corner of
the junction of the nave and transepts, added in 1885 when the church was
enlarged.[2]
A side pulpit and solid screen across the sanctuary were added in 1938.
The 1891
two-manual organ of nine stops was built by Fincham and Hobday. It was
classified of local significance by the National Trust of Australia in
1989. It ‘retains its mechanical action, detached console, tonal scheme,
and attractive casework incorporating diapered pipework’.[3]
It cost £235 and was never altered and is one of a small group of pipe
organs in Melbourne in original condition.[4]
The
congregation elected to join the Uniting Church in 1977 and the minister
in 2002 is the Reverend John Tansey.
School
A school
was built in 1879 and enlarged in 1887. A large brick room was later built
for use as a kindergarten and classrooms.[5]
It now operates as the St Kilda Drop In Centre for people with psychiatric
disabilities. The Port Phillip Community Group, St Kilda Legal Services
and Tenants Union have office space at this site.