Balhannah, SA - St Thomas' Anglican
Year Built: 1865
Denomination: Anglican
Saint: Thomas
Address: Cnr Onkaparinga Valley & Junction Rd, Balhannah, Balhannah, South Australia, 5242
Architect: Robert Rickman
Last Updated: 20/02/2025 - Additional names and dates of service added.
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History and Architecture:
There is no record of the building of the original church but it seems to have been erected in 1848. It was intended to be a school building as it had a chimney.
A new Church was proposed in 1864. Such good progress was made that in October 1864 the Church committee was in a position to accept Mr. Robert Page's plans and to call fur tenders for the building of the new church.
The foundation stone was laid on 6th January 1865 by Bishop Augustus Short The Church is of bluestone with brick quoins.
A Mr Page was a builder living at Oakbank and was something of an architect. It appears that the tenders received were not considered satisfactory, and the committee agreed to arrange themselves for the carting of the stone, and then Mr. Page's vague offer "to build as much of the walls as possible for a Church was accepted. By April 1865 Mr Page did not proceed any further with the work and new tenders were called for.
The Church was opened on 10th September 1865.
Clergy:
This list may not contain every serving cleric, past or present, for this church.
Further submissions welcomed.
| Years | Name | Annotation | D.o.B | D.o.D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1855 - 1856 | Rev William Buckton Andrews | Catechist 55 Deacon 56 | 1829 | 1918 |
| 1864 - 1867 | Rev William Withers Ewbank | Curate from Blakiston 64 Rector to 67 | 1831 | 1873 |
| 1869 - 1871 | Rev Edwin Browne | From Mt Barker | 1835 | 1892 |
| 1871 - 1873 | Rev Henry John Alexander Riddle Poole | From Blakiston | 1830 | 1893 |
| 1873 - | Rev John Wright | provisional licence | 1819 | |
| 1874 - 1999 | Rev John William Gower | From Blakiston | 1829 | 1915 |
| 1900 - 1904 | Rev William Alfred Moore | 1865 | 1912 | |
| 1904 - 1923 | Rev R. M. Turnball | 1860 | 1941 | |
| 1915 - | Rev Canon Girdleston | locum tenens | ||
| 1923 - 1925 | Rev R. V.S. Adams | 1886 | 1959 | |
| 1925 - 1933 | Rev Frederick Lewis Walker | 1874 | 1960 | |
| 1933 - | Rev H. N. Drummond | 1880 | 1941 | |
| 1938 - 1944 | Rev Cedric William Lyon Noon | 1897 | 1960 | |
| 1946 - 1947 | Rev Charles Martin Swan | 1911 | 1988 | |
| 1947 - 1952 | Rev Normal Catchlove Paynter | 1911 | 2001 | |
| 1959 - 1964 | Rev Henry James Cecil Hughes | 1905 | 2000 | |
| 1964 - 1969 | Rev Hugh David Butler | 1913 | 2003 | |
| 1970 - 1973 | Rev John Raymond Bleby | 1913 | 2001 | |
| 1973 - 1978 | Rector Laurence Richard David Jupp | 1912 | 1992 | |
| 2024 - | Rev David McDougall | approx start date. |
Organ:
No information currently available. Submissions welcomed.
Source:
1. The First Seventy Years of the Church of St Thomas Balhannah 1865 - 1935 H.N. Drummond
2. heritage-surveys/3-Onkaparinga-Valley-Heritage-Survey-2000
3. Cable Clerical Index with permission.