Crookwell, NSW - St Andrew's Presbyterian
Year Built: 1882
Denomination: Presbyterian
Saint: Andrew
Address: 45 Colyer Street, Crookwell, New South Wales, 2583
Architect: Unknown
Traditional Owners: Ngunawal and Gandangara people
Last Updated: 26/02/2025 - Brief history added from source publication including several more names and dates of service.
Click on the image to view larger (3 photos)
History and Architecture:
An extract from the source publication reads in part, "According to newspaper reports of the day, “the site, consisting of 1 1/2acres, is a very superior one, commanding a view of the village and surrounding countryside.” The memorial stone of the new church, the walls of which were already six or eight feet high, was laid by Miss Anne Keith of Gullen, on 15th March, 1882. A bottle containing copies of a Goulburn paper, The Presbyterian, and a written document were placed below the stone, the building when completed would seat one hundred worshippers and was expected to cost about £300.
In an issue of the Goulburn Penny Post, now known as the Goulburn Post, dated Saturday, 28th October, 1882 the following account was carried of the opening of the new church, which was then known as St. Mary's. “This church was opened for divine worship on Sunday, 22nd instant. Notwithstanding the incessant, heavy rain, between twenty and thirty people assembled in the church at 11.00 a.m. The Rev. Andrew Gardner, M.A., delivered an impressive discourse from Phillippians 2 and 5.
The church is a very neat and substantial stone building, measuring 30 feet by 18 feet in the clear. Mr. Williams, the contractor for the mason work, carried out his contract in a most substantial and excellent manner. Although it is rubble work, the outside looks almost like dressed stone. Mr. James Balgowan, who took the woodwork in hand, completed it in a no less neat and satisfactory manner. Indeed, great credit is due to all concerned in the undertaking thus happily completed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 - 1919 | Rev Stewart Robertson | 1887 | 1971 | |
| 1922 - 1923 | Rev Thomas Goy | Home Mission | 1869 | 1949 |
| 1924 - 1926 | Rev John Vardre James | With Taralga | 1877 | 1969 |
| 1927 - 1930 | Rev John Clarence McLelland | With Taralga | 1877 | 1949 |
| 1931 - 1934 | Rev William Mullan | Ordained & Inducted | 1890 | 1958 |
| 1934 - 1937 | Rev Malcolm Andrew Spence | 1907 | 1979 | |
| 1938 - 1938 | Rev John Lundie | 1872 | 1951 | |
| 1938 - 1943 | Rev Donald Johnson Munro | With Taralga | 1884 | 1954 |
| 1944 - 1951 | Rev Frederick Henry Druery | With Taralga | 1886 | 1977 |
| 1952 - 1953 | Rev Kenneth Clouston McAlpine | Home Mission | 1913 | 1980 |
| 1954 - 1956 | Rev Raymond Oliver Walder | 1922 | 1998 | |
| 1962 - 1964 | Rev Geoffrey Robert McIntyre | With Taralga | 1930 | 2017 |
| 1963 - | Rev G. McIntyre | Student | ||
| 1963 - 1965 | Rev Joseph Forbes Eddy | Home Mission student | 1929 | 2008 |
| 1965 - 1968 | Rev John MacKinley | Ordained & Inducted | 1919 | 1992 |
| 1971 - 1973 | Rev D., J. Gillman | |||
| 1973 - 1977 | Rev William Lapier Langley | With Taralga | 1922 | 1998 |
| 1977 - 1978 | Rev F. G. Hollands | |||
| 1978 - 1982 | Rev K. T. Martin | |||
| 1982 - 1988 | Rev W. G. Morrow | |||
| 1988 - 2003 | Rev K. W. King | |||
| 2005 - | Rev C. D. Balzer |
Organ:
No information currently available. Submissions welcomed.
Contributions:
1. 2024 Simon Saunders for church photos.
Source:
1. Biographical Register of Presbyterian Ministers in Australia 1901-1977 New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia with permission Rowland Ward and Malcolm Prentis.
2. St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Crookwell: 125 years of history 1882-2007 from Illuminate Recollect with permission..