Fortitude Valley, QLD - Presbyterian (Former)
Year Built: 1885
Denomination: Presbyterian
Address: 28 Warner Street, Fortitude Valley, Queensland, 4006
Architect: Richard Gailey
Traditional Owners: Turrbal people
Last Updated: 31/07/2024
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History and Architecture:
The Fortitude Valley Presbyterian Church was started ia a very modest way on 14th February, 1866, when a congregation was formed in the Valley and met in a small cottage in Ann Street, near Morgan Street.
When, in 1883, the Reverend W. Anson Smith was called to minister to the congregation, it was decided to build a church on land purchased in Warner Street in 1881 for £500. So enthusiastic was the response that on 9th August, 1884, the foundation stone of the present church building was laid by Mr. John McMaster, M.L.A., Mayor of Brisbane, and the church was opened for public worship in May, 1885.
The Church was constructed in 1885 to a design by influential architect Richard Gailey, while the Sunday School building was designed by honorary Presbyterian architect Alexander Brown Wilson and built in 1906.
By 1884 the Valley Presbyterian Church had 138 members, and the congregation was forced to meet in the Valley Hall as it outgrew the original church building. Reverend W. Anson Smith agitated for the construction of a church on land in Warner Street, between Ann and Wickham Streets, which had been purchased for £500 in 1881.
The rendered masonry church and school are built in complementary Romanesque or Renaissance style displaying symmetrical facades, simple low pitched gable roofs of corrugated metal sheeting, rose windows, projecting string courses and semi-circular arches and fanlights.
The building is now a Golf Club.
Clergy:
These names are now in the Database and can be searched individually.
| Years | Name | Annotation | D.o.B | D.o.D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1866 - 1870 | Rev Alex Caldwell | |||
| 1878 - 1881 | Rev Jas Stewart | |||
| 1883 - 1885 | Rev W. Anson Smith | |||
| 1887 - 1892 | Rev Jas Ewen | |||
| 1892 - 1904 | Rev Wm C. Radcliffe | |||
| 1905 - 1905 | Rev Benjamin David Morris | Supply | 1862 | 1936 |
| 1905 - 1905 | Rev James Maxwell Rodgers | Supply | 1871 | 1945 |
| 1905 - 1907 | Rev F. Barclay | |||
| 1908 - 1908 | Rev John Frew Brown | Supply | 1870 | 1947 |
| 1909 - 1914 | Rev J. C. Gibson | |||
| 1914 - 1920 | Rev Wm. Duffey | |||
| 1921 - 1924 | Rev John Adam Hunter | 1887 | 1951 | |
| 1924 - 1936 | Rev Robert Millar | 1869 | 1948 | |
| 1937 - 1937 | Rev James Charles Russell | Supply | 1878 | 1956 |
| 1937 - 1966 | Rev Samuel Summers | 1891 | 1988 | |
| 1966 - 1970 | Rev James Francis McConaghy | 1918 | 2018 | |
| 1971 - | Rev Richard Diffin | 1936 | 2016 |
Source:
1. Fortitude Valley Presbyterian Church Centenary 1866 - 1966 P285.2 FOR C1
2. Heritage Brisbane. Click here for the full story.
3. Biographical Register of Presbyterian Ministers in Australia 1901-1977 New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia with permission.