St John the Baptist Anglican Church, Richmond facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St John the Baptist Anglican Church, Richmond |
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St John the Baptist Anglican Church, 2014
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| Location | Crawford Street, Richmond, Shire of Richmond, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1900–1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1909–1988 |
| Official name: St John the Baptist Anglican Church Complex | |
| Type | state heritage (landscape, built) |
| Designated | 25 February 2000 |
| Reference no. | 601714 |
| Significant period | 1900s–1910s (historical) ongoing (social) |
| Significant components | church, stained glass window/s, memorial – plaque, church hall/sunday school hall, formation – tramway, furniture/fittings |
| Builders | Mr Moore of Hughenden |
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St John the Baptist Anglican Church is a special old church in Richmond, Queensland, Australia. It's located on Crawford Street. A builder named Mr Moore from Hughenden built it in 1909. This church is so important that it was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on February 25, 2000. This means it's protected because of its history and beauty.
Contents
A Look Back at History
The St John the Baptist Church in Richmond was built in 1909. Mr Moore from Hughenden was the builder.
Richmond started growing in the late 1800s. It was built near a waterhole on the Flinders River. The town became a service center for the big sheep and cattle farms in the area.
The Anglican Church began its work in North Queensland around 1878. Bishop George Frodsham was a leader of the church at that time.
The Bush Brotherhood
To help people in isolated northern and western areas, the Anglican Church decided to create the Bush Brotherhood of St James. This was a group of priests who traveled to remote places. In 1903, the first Bush Brother started working in Herberton. By 1909, Edward Travers Crozier became the head of the North Queensland Bush Brotherhood.
Even before the church building was ready, Bishop Frodsham held services in Richmond. He used a dance hall and later the Richmond Court House. He even used the judge's bench as his pulpit!
Building the Church
In 1904, Bishop Frodsham talked to the Richmond community about building a church. By 1906, they had saved £105 for the building fund. They worked hard to double that amount. In 1907, plans were approved for the new Anglican church. It was to be named after St John the Baptist. The land for the church was given by Thomas Cox of Hughenden.
In 1908, a group called the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge gave £30 to help build the church. Reverend Canon Walter Williams brought a silver cup (chalice) and plate (paten) for the new church from England.
When Bishop Frodsham visited Richmond in July 1909, he officially opened the new church. Services were held once a month, with the priest traveling from Hughenden. By 1911, the church still owed some money, but they planned to paint the church and build a fence. A bell tower was also put up, and a bell was installed. The church even got a small organ by 1911.
In 1909, Hughenden had only one priest and one deacon to serve a huge area of 80,000 square miles. To solve this shortage, the Anglican Church looked for young, unmarried priests from other areas. By 1913, a Bush Brother was sent to Richmond. A large room and verandah were added to the church's vestry (a room for the priest) for him to live in.
Richmond's Growth and the Church
Richmond continued to rely on sheep and cattle farming. During World War II, the town got a boost when an airstrip was built nearby. In the 1950s, when wool prices were high, many shearers and station workers came to Richmond. This made the local economy very lively. New homes were built, and the railway line was extended from Hughenden to Richmond and Mt Isa in the 1960s, which also helped the town grow.
The Anglican Church remained an important part of the Richmond community during these years. A new front fence and steel entrance gates were added in 1951. A steel-framed bell tower was built in 1981. In 1988, the church building was covered with metal sheeting, and two beautiful stained glass windows were added to the front. Around 1997, two more stained glass windows were put into the side walls of the sanctuary.
What the Church Looks Like
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St John the Baptist Anglican Church in Richmond is a small, rectangular building made of timber. It has one story and a gabled roof made of corrugated iron. At the back, there's an extension with a sloping roof that holds several rooms. There's also a sloping-roofed open verandah at the front.
The church is located on a flat, grassy block facing Crawford Street. This street is one block away from Goldring Street, which is the main street of Richmond. Most of the buildings around the church are homes.
You reach the church through decorative steel gates and a path with two trees. To the north-west of the church, there is a steel bell tower.
The outside of the building was originally covered with timber boards. Now, it's covered with aluminum sheeting that looks similar. The building sits on low concrete stumps.
The front entry door has two parts with special carved wood and interlocking boards. It also has old, decorative iron hinges.
Inside the Church
Inside, the main area (called the nave) and the special area near the altar (called the sanctuary) are about 7 by 9 meters. Most of the inside is made of beautiful silky oak wood. This includes the shiny wooden boards on the walls and the sloped ceiling. The wooden roof beams (called trusses) can be seen inside. The arch leading to the sanctuary and the altar rails are also made of silky oak.
The nave has eight silky oak pews (church benches) with pegged joints. The table used as the altar is also made of silky oak. On the wall of the nave, there's a special board with plaques. These plaques remember when the altar rails were dedicated in 1906, the gates and fence in 1951, and the bell tower in 1981.
On either side of the entry doors are two tall stained glass windows. They were made by Oliver Cowley in 1988. One shows John the Baptist, and the other shows the baptism of Christ. On the side walls, near the sanctuary, are two more stained glass windows. These were put in during the 1990s to remember the pioneering men and women of the area.
The extension at the back of the church is divided into two parts. There are bathroom facilities in one corner. This area has walls and a sloped ceiling lined with fibrous cement sheets. Inside this extension, you can find wardrobes, a lectern (a stand for reading), an organ, and an iron bed.
Why is it a Heritage Site?
St John the Baptist Anglican Church in Richmond was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on February 25, 2000. It met certain important rules to be listed.
It shows how Queensland's history developed. The church, built in 1909, is important because it shows how the Anglican Church grew in small towns in western Queensland in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It especially shows the impact of the Bush Brotherhood. This group helped set up churches and parishes in distant towns.
It is beautiful to look at. The inside of the church is still very much like it was originally. It has a strong beauty because of the shiny silky oak wood on the walls, the wooden details, the furniture, and the memorials. This inside design is a great example of how simple, small timber churches of that time could be very beautiful.
It is connected to important people or groups in Queensland's history. The church has a special link to the Bush Brotherhood movement in western Queensland.
