Brisbane, QLD -St Paul's Presbyterian
Year Built: 1889
Denomination: Presbyterian
Saint: Paul
Address: 43 St Paul's Terrace, Brisbane, Queensland, 4000
Architect: Francis Drummond Greville Stanley
Traditional Owners: Turrbal people
Last Updated: 11/08/2024
Click on the image to view larger (2 photos)
History and Architecture:
The congregation initially worshipped in a wooden Church in Creek Street and then built a handsome stone church in 1876. Their church building stood originally near the corner of Creek and Adelaide Streets in the city.
Former Queensland Colonial Architect Francis Drummond Greville Stanley was commissioned to design a building well beyond immediate requirements. A stone, gothic-styled building complete with buttresses, belltower and a spire rising 150 feet (46 m) above the ground.
Cruciform in shape, the design incorporates a nave, aisles, and well defined transepts. The chancel is truncated. Essentially the plan is symmetrical, with the addition of a small southwestern entry porch for the spiral staircase to the belltower.
The steeply pitched gabled roof with ventilation gablets is clad in broad profile galvanised iron. Three distinct types of stone have been employed in the construction: rough dressed Brisbane tuff, probably from the Spring Hill and Windsor quarries, for the walls and buttresses; durable Helidon sandstone for the window facings; and a softer and less robust sandstone, possibly from Breakfast Creek or Goodna, for other facings and decorative work.
Clergy:
These names are now in the Database and can be searched individually.
| Years | Name | Annotation | D.o.B | D.o.D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1863 - 1874 | Rev Matthew McGavin | |||
| 1876 - 1898 | Rev John Fleming McSwaine | |||
| 1898 - 1904 | Rev Thomas Nisbett | |||
| 1905 - 1909 | Rev Andrew Gillison | 1868 | 1915 | |
| 1910 - 1916 | Rev R. Moorhead Legate | 1945 | ||
| 1919 - 1928 | Rev James Walker | 1873 | 1949 | |
| 1929 - 1947 | Rev John Sinclair | 1879 | 1951 | |
| 1948 - 1979 | Rev Ronald Edward Pashen | 1914 | 1987 | |
| 1982 - 1986 | Rev Hector Lockhart Dunn | Supply | 1918 | 2007 |
| 1987 - 2013 | Rev Andrew Gardiner | |||
| 2022 ? - | Rev John Evans |
Organ:
The Organ was built by Hill & Son of London in 1882. Installed in 1883 by T.C. Christmas in Presbyterian Church, Creek Street. Installed in 1889 in apse of present church and then removed in 1891 to present location in transept. It had 2 manuals, 18 speaking stops, mechanical action. Rebuilt with additions in 1963 by Whitehouse Brothers of Brisbane. It has 2 manuals, 22 speaking stops, electro-pneumatic action.
For a full description and photos clic here.
Source:
1. St Paul's Presbyterian Church Brisbane A History H Russell Cowie.
2. Ryerson Index.
3. Organ Historical Trust of Australia with permission.
4. Wikipedia. For a full history click here.
5. Biographical Register of Presbyterian Ministers in Australia 1901-1977 New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia with permission Rowland Ward and Malcolm Prentis.