Eudunda, SA - St John's Lutheran
Year Built: 1979
Denomination: Lutheran
Saint: John
Address: Corner Hanna & Kapunda Streets, Eudunda, South Australia, 5374
Architect: Drogemuller, Pudney & Associates
Traditional Owners: Peramangk people
Last Updated: 02/05/2024
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History and Architecture:
A congregation was formed at Emmaus in 1870 by Pastor E.D. Appelt of the Nain-Gnadenberg Parish. The first service was held in the home of Mr. C. Ziersch. A church was built in 1872 at Emmaus during the ministry of Pastor R. Ey and an adjoining school was also built.
Eudunda, which had originated with a wine store on busy cross roads in 1870, had grown to an expanding township. As many of the members of the "Emmaus" Congregation lived in or near Eudunda, it was decided to build a new church in Hannan Street. The church was built in 1884 at a cost of $2,200. The bell was donated by Pastor Georg's wife, Maria.
In 1900 the "St. Paul's" Lutheran Parish was established consisting of "St. Paul's" Eudunda, "St. John's" Sutherlands, "Redeemer" Friedrichswalde, and Steinthal congregations. The Ebenezer congregation was also served. The "Emmaus" congregation was affiliated with the former Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia and the "St. Paul's" congregation was affiliated with the former United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia. Following the amalgamation of these two synods to form the Lutheran Church of Australia the two congregations combined to form "St. John's" Lutheran Congregation from the beginning of 1967. The combined congregation decided to worship in the larger "Emmaus" church which was re-named "St. John's" Lutheran Church. This building was not large enough to hold the full congregation and had problems with salt damp and soil movement. At the half-yearly meeting of the new congregation in July 1967 it was resolved that a new church should be built as soon as possible.
Building plans were approved for a brick and steel constructed new church in 1979, and Drogemuller, Pudney & Associates were appointed as architects. The builder was C O Juncken Pty Ltd. The new church was built on the site occupied by "St. John's" Church building and the weatherboard manse.
The closing service for the old church was was held on 18th November 1979. The furniture and fittings were removed and the building was subsequently demolished at a cost of $900.
The new church was dedicated on 21 December 1980.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1868 - 1872 | Pastor Ernst David Appelt | ELSA | 1810 | 1891 |
| 1872 - 1875 | Pastor Johannes Martin Rudolph Ey | ELSA | 1837 | 1893 |
| 1876 - 1887 | Pastor Dietrich Wilhelm Georg | ELSA | 1844 | 1924 |
| 1890 - 1895 | Pastor Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Linke | ELSA | 1866 | 1895 |
| 1895 - 1900 | Pastor R. Emil J. Hanow | ELSA | 1862 | 1930 |
| 1900 - 1917 | Pastor Theodor August Friedrich Nickel | ELSA | 1865 | 1953 |
| 1916 - 1917 | Pastor Theodor Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Nickel Hoelty | ELSA | 1894 | 1986 |
| 1917 - 1952 | Pastor Francis H.S. Hassold | ELSA | ||
| 1953 - 1959 | Pastor Luther Paul Altus | ELSA | 1922 | 2002 |
| 1959 - 1962 | Pastor Emund Waldemar Manuel Wiebusch | ELSA | 1916 | 2004 |
| 1966 - 1973 | Pastor Adolf Edmund Schirmer | ELSA & LCA | 1911 | 2003 |
| 1966 - 1969 | Pastor Douglas Roy Tscharke | ELSA & LCA | 1929 | 2000 |
| 1969 - 1977 | Pastor Walter Percy Borgas | LCA | 1916 | 2007 |
| 1973 - 1978 | Pastor Hartley Bernard Hage | LCA | 1930 | 2021 |
| 1978 - 1982 | Pastor Eric Colin Kernich | LCA | 1923 | 2009 |
| 1979 - 1983 | Pastor Frederick Veerhuis | LCA | ||
| 1982 - 1996 | Pastor Elmore Theodor Harms | LCA | 1931 | 2010 |
| 1984 - 1990 | Pastor David Walter Borgas | LCA | 1948 | 2020 |
| 1990 - 1996 | Pastor Terry Rex Natt | LCA | 1949 | 2018 |
| 1996 - 2000 | Pastor Avito Sebastiao J Da Costa | LCA | ||
| 2001 - 2006 | Pastor James Albert Haak | LCA | 1959 | 2018 |
| 2007 - 2012 | Pastor Brian Leslie Keller | LCA | ||
| 2014 - 2022 | Pastor J. F. Mueller | LCA | ||
| 2016 - 2017 | Pastor Peter Eugen Pfitzner | LCA |
Organ:
The organ has two manuals of 58 notes, and a pedal board of 30 notes. The pipework consists of 494 second-hand pipes from the Norwood Wesley Methodist organ, and 125 new pipes imported from Holland. The console and organ facade, were also from the old Norwood Wesley organ.
Source:
1. Lutheran Archives with permission.