St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall |
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St Mark's Anglican Church
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| Location | Junner Street, Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island, City of Redland, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1907 - c. 1913 |
| Official name: St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall, Benevolent Asylum Mess Hall | |
| Type | state heritage (built, landscape) |
| Designated | 28 July 2000 |
| Reference no. | 601163 |
| Significant period | 1900s-1940s (historical) 1900s (fabric church) 1910s (fabric hall) ongoing (social) |
| Significant components | views to, hall, furniture/fittings, views from, church, memorial - plaque |
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St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall are important old buildings in Dunwich, on North Stradbroke Island in Queensland, Australia. The church was built in 1907. The hall was built around 1913. Both were part of the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum, a special home for people who needed help. The Dunwich Public Hall was also known as the Benevolent Asylum Mess Hall. These buildings were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 July 2000 because of their historical importance.
Contents
A Look Back: The Dunwich Benevolent Asylum
The St Mark's Anglican Church (built 1907) and the Dunwich Public Hall (built 1913) were key parts of the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum. This asylum was located in Dunwich from 1864 to 1947. It was a place for people who were old, sick, disabled, or had other difficulties. For a short time, it also housed people with leprosy.
Before becoming an asylum, the site had other uses. From 1827 to 1831, it was an out-station for the Brisbane penal settlement. This means it was a small camp connected to the prison. Later, from 1843 to 1847, it was a Catholic mission for local Aboriginal people. From 1850 to 1864, it served as a Quarantine Station. This was a place where people arriving from other countries stayed to make sure they didn't bring diseases.
The Benevolent Asylum was similar to "poorhouses" in England. These were places set up to give shelter and food to people who couldn't support themselves. In the 1800s, these poorhouses sometimes became "workhouses." Conditions in workhouses could be very tough. People often didn't get enough food, families were separated, and they had to do boring or difficult work.
In Australia, the Benevolent Asylum was meant to be a better place. It wasn't a prison, and it was generally seen as more helpful. At first, the government didn't want to directly help people who were poor. They thought poverty was a person's own fault. Instead, they gave money to charity groups, like benevolent societies. They preferred to give aid in goods, not cash, so people would still try to be self-reliant.
However, many people in the community really struggled. So, the government eventually had to help charity groups. They also took responsibility for the elderly and sick who had no family to care for them.
In 1844, the Moreton Bay Benevolent Society was formed. This was a charity run by citizens. In 1858, they took over the Brisbane hospital. In 1861, the Queensland Government passed a law. This law gave money to Queensland Hospitals to set aside wards for Benevolent Asylums.
Hospitals became very crowded and expensive because of the asylums. So, the Hospital Committee asked for the asylum to be moved. In 1863, they decided the hospital and asylum should be separate. They suggested a new place that could be both an asylum and an orphanage. It would first house men, then women and children later.
In 1864, the government suggested moving the hospital. The hospital committee saw this as a chance to separate the institutions. After visiting the asylum, the Colonial Secretary, Robert Herbert, agreed. He first thought a separate building on the hospital site could work. But the hospital committee disagreed. So, Herbert arranged for the asylum to be housed by the immigration department.
In 1865, the benevolent asylum moved to the old quarantine station at Dunwich. The government thought this would be a temporary move. But the asylum stayed at Dunwich until it closed in 1947. The Colonial Secretary took full control of the asylum in 1867. However, the government didn't see the asylum as a high priority. They gave money for it unwillingly.
Dunwich became home to many men and women who were poor. This included the old, sick, disabled, and orphaned. The mix of people made it crowded and hard to manage. With little money and untrained staff, conditions were often bad. During the Great Depression, many unemployed and elderly people came to the asylum. The administration tried to create work inside the asylum to help support it. This made some people wonder if it was an "asylum or workhouse."
A map from 1913 shows the asylum at its busiest. It had grown from the original quarantine station. The buildings were arranged in a "U" shape around an open community space. This space is now a public park. The asylum had a police station, visitor centre, public hall, and many other buildings. Early buildings were made of timber. Later ones, like the bakery and mess hall, were made of brick.
In 1947, the asylum officially closed. It was too crowded, and health conditions were getting worse. Over 80 years, about 21,000 people were admitted. The institution then moved to Sandgate and was renamed "Eventide." Dunwich was then opened for land sales and mining. Many asylum buildings were sold and moved or torn down. The community space became a public park in 1949.
North Stradbroke Island became a popular holiday spot and a place for mining. This meant the area around Dunwich changed a lot after 1947. Even with all these changes, you can still see parts of the old asylum layout in the town today.
St Mark's Church: A Place of Worship
At first, church services for the asylum residents were held in Victoria Hall. This was the main meeting place. But in 1907, St Mark's Church was built. The Queensland Government didn't pay for it. The money for the church came from private donations. The annual report for the asylum in 1907 said that a kind, anonymous donor, who cared about the poor, paid for a small church to be built. The Church of England approved the building. They leased part of the asylum land from the government.
It is said that Lady Chelmsford, the wife of the Governor of Queensland, donated the money. A long-time island resident, Bonty Dickson, claimed that Lady Chelmsford visited the asylum. She was surprised that the residents had no place to worship. So, she gave money to build the church in Dunwich.
The church was designed by Robin Dods. He was the architect for the Church of England. His records show that Hall and Meyer were chosen to build the church in October 1907. Robin Dods was a very talented architect. He brought new ideas from England to Queensland. He also improved traditional Queensland house designs. He created many impressive buildings, including hospitals, shops, churches, and homes.
The first church leader was Reverend W Richner. He worked for free. After the asylum closed, local people continued to use the church. In 1973, the local council said the building was unsafe. But the people of Stradbroke Island worked together to raise money. They fixed the church and saved it from being torn down. In 1977, the Archbishop of Brisbane held a special service to celebrate. Since then, more work has been done to keep the church in good condition.
Today, St Mark's Church is part of the Anglican parish of Stradbroke Island. Services are held there twice a month.
Dunwich Public Hall: From Mess Hall to Community Hub
The Dunwich Public Hall was built in 1913. It is located at the corner of Junner Street and Ballow Road in Dunwich. This building was originally the men's mess hall at the Benevolent Asylum. The Queensland government paid for it. Records show that Graham and Speering were chosen to build it.
The mess hall was in the middle of the asylum, near the kitchen and laundry. Food and other goods from the mainland were brought to the mess hall using a horse-drawn tram system. This tram also carried food in large pots from the kitchen, which was about 200 yards away. Because of this, the food was often cold, which the residents often complained about.
The hall could seat 400 single men. It had a serving area and a dishwashing area at one end. The lower parts of the walls were covered with tiles to keep them clean. High windows and large side windows let in lots of light and fresh air. Supervisors watched over meals, which were served by the residents themselves. After 1913, a boiler room was added to provide hot water for washing dishes. During World War II, the floor of the hall was removed, and an air raid shelter was dug underneath.
Most of the asylum buildings were moved or torn down when it closed in 1947. But the mess hall survived. It has been used as the Dunwich Public Hall ever since. The building is still very much the same as it was. Some parts of the verandah were enclosed to add toilets, and a stage was built inside. More recently, the old verandah enclosure was removed. New toilets were built in a separate building, connected by a wooden walkway.
As of 2015, the Redland City Council manages the Dunwich Public Hall.
What They Look Like Today
St Mark's Church: A Closer Look
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St Mark's Church is on the corner of Rous Street and Ballow Road in Dunwich. The land slopes down towards Ballow Road. The church is set back from the streets, with pine trees along the edge. From the front of the church, you can see a great view across Moreton Bay towards Brisbane.
The church is raised off the ground. It is made of timber with a steep corrugated metal roof. The roof flattens out a bit at the eaves (the part of the roof that hangs over the walls). The outside walls are covered with timber weatherboards. These boards go all the way down below the floor, making the building look solid. At the corners, the boards are cut to fit together perfectly. At the gable ends (the triangular parts of the wall under the roof), the weatherboards are slightly separated to let air into the roof space. These roof and wall details are typical of Robin Dods' designs.
Recently, steel rods were added to the south-eastern side of the church. These rods help to make the building stronger. They are connected to concrete foundations that are raised above the ground. A timber cross brace was also added to the back wall to help stabilize the structure.
You enter the church from the Ballow Road side using a newer timber staircase with steel handrails. The main entrance has two doors with an arched top. They are made of timber with vertical wooden boards. The church windows have three panels and are made of timber. They have colored glass.
Inside, the church is one large open space. There's a small vestry (a room for the priest) in the southern corner, separated by low walls. The ceiling follows the shape of the roof, making the space feel tall. Two large timber beams cross the ceiling. Both the walls and ceilings are covered with timber boards. Steps lead up to the altar area. The timber floors are carpeted in the main seating area and polished near the altar.
Inside, you'll find a varnished timber altar with special quatrefoil (four-leaf clover shape) panels. There's also a fabric curtain screen behind the altar, an altar rail, and varnished wooden pews (benches). A painting by the famous Aboriginal poet and local resident, Oodgeroo Noonuccal (also known as Kath Walker), hangs on the southern wall near the altar.
At the back of the site, there's a newer building used as a thrift shop. It's a rectangular building with cement sheeting walls and a simple metal butterfly roof.
Dunwich Public Hall: A Prominent Landmark
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The Dunwich Public Hall is on the corner of Junner Street and Ballow Road. The area around it is mostly open grass with a few gum trees. This makes the building easy to spot when you arrive in Dunwich.
The hall is a large, low brick building with a simple corrugated iron hip roof (a roof that slopes on all four sides). In the middle of the roof, there's a gabled clerestorey roof. This part has five windows on each side, letting in extra light. A verandah runs along the entire north-east side of the building. At the south-eastern end, there's a brick extension for the boiler room, which has a simple skillion roof (a single-sloping roof).
New toilets were recently built in a separate building next to the hall. This new building is connected to the hall by an enclosed timber walkway. While the new building looks similar to the original hall, it's clearly a modern addition.
You can enter the hall through timber French doors at the north-western end or from the southern end of the verandah. Six timber windows with high pivot fan lights are on the north-eastern and south-western sides of the building. The doors and windows have simple painted concrete tops and sills. Air flows into the space under the floor and into the roof through metal and clay wall grilles and timber-covered eaves.
Inside, the building is one big room. The original serving and dishwashing areas are at the south-eastern end. The new stage is at the opposite end. Low walls separate the serving and dishwashing areas from the rest of the hall. The ceiling is covered with hardboard and timber strips. It follows the line of the roof, showing the main timber trusses (support beams) connected by steel plates. The central clerestorey windows bring lots of natural light into the space.
The floor is polished timber. The walls have tiles on the lower part and painted brickwork above. There are also several memorial plaques on the walls.
Why They Are Heritage-Listed
St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 July 2000. This means they are important historical sites for several reasons:
- Showing Queensland's History: These buildings are important because they show how Queensland's history has changed. They are some of the few remaining buildings from the old Benevolent Asylum.
- Unique Cultural Heritage: They are rare examples of buildings from Queensland's only 19th-century Benevolent Asylum that are still in good condition.
- Understanding the Past: The way the Benevolent Asylum was set up and run shows how the Queensland Government helped elderly, sick, or disabled people in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
- Beautiful Buildings: St Mark's Anglican Church is a great example of excellent architecture. It's an important surviving church designed by the famous Queensland architect, Robert S. (Robin) Dods. The Dunwich Public Hall, though simpler, is also a striking building that stands out when you arrive in Dunwich.
- Important to the Community: As the last parts of the Benevolent Asylum, both buildings are very important to the families of past residents. Since the asylum closed in 1947, St Mark's Church has continued to be a place of worship. The old Men's Mess Hall has been used as the Dunwich Public Hall. So, both buildings are very important to the Anglican church members and the wider community of Dunwich and North Stradbroke Island.
