Burwood, VIC - St Benedict's Catholic

History and Architecture:

The first Catholic Church in the Shire of Nunawading was built on land granted to the Catholic Church in 1854 at the north east corner of Warrigal (Boundary) and Riversdale (Moloneys) Roads. In July 1855 the Catholic Church applied for a building grant towards the estimated cost of £300 for a brick building with slate roof, and they erected a permanent structure on their site. Known as St Bridget’s, the building functioned as a church and school and 64 children from local Irish families were enrolled when it opened.

It was thirty years before residents to the south of this original church site were provided with a Catholic Church, in the township of Burwood. The Mechanics Hall, Burwood was used for Catholic worship until a site with a 210 foot frontage to Warrigal (Boundary) Road was purchased and a brick church constructed and opened in March 1931. This original church can be seen in the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works Detail Plan of the site in 1932. Attached to the Parish of Box Hill, this church was placed under the invocation of St Benedict and dedicated by Archbishop Mannix.

The church building was erected towards the rear of the site; the intention being to convert it to a Roman Catholic school and construct a larger church in the future, presumably on the Warrigal Road frontage. The total cost of the site and building was £3,250.

St Benedict’s was declared an autonomous parish and the Marist Sisters commenced work there in 1954, with a convent located in Warrigal Road, to the south of the church site.