St Mary's Anglican Church and Graveyard

Statement of Significance

• St Mary's Anglican Church is one of the oldest churches in the State. • St Mary's Anglican Church and Graveyard is associated with the founding and development of the townsite of Busselton. • St Mary's Anglican Church and Graveyard has close connections with the founding families of Busselton, such as the Bussells and the Molloys, who not only raised the funds for its construction, but actively helped to build it. • St Mary's Anglican Church and Graveyard is highly valued by the local community as a place of worship, and for its aesthetic qualities and historical associations. • Its long history and association with the founding families of Busselton contribute to the community's sense of place.

Physical Description

St Mary's Anglican Church and Graveyard consists of a single-Storey stone building with a shingled roof. It is located to the south and west of a small graveyard. There are about thirty visible graves dating from about 1840 and a modern low wall for memorial plaques. The timber bell tower is located in the north-west corner of the graveyard. The construction of St. Mary's Church consists of limestone walls, which are plastered internally full height and rendered externally up to height of about 1.8m. Four metre high integrated piers and buttresses are rendered in their entirety. The hammer-beamed roof is lined internally with timber and clad externally with timber shingles. Windows and doors have semi-circular heads. Above the openings are hood moulds, which are generally semicircular although some have a very slight pointed arch. There are two groupings of three lancet windows; these are located at the east of the sanctuary and vestry. The nave is rectangular in plan. The timber pews are arranged in two rows, with a cross aisle linking the porch to the main central aisle, which leads to the sanctuary

History

The Vasse district, 200km southwards of Perth, was settled in the late 1830s by the Bussells, Molloys and others who moved there from Augusta. By it was felt that the increasing population of the region warranted the erection of a church. The initial financing of this project consisted almost entirely of contributions raised by friends and relatives of the Bussell family in England, especially cousins, Capel Carter and Frances Bowker. By October 1843, funds sufficient for erecting walls and a roof had been amassed, and it was resolved to proceed. Trustees appointed were John G. Bussell, John Molloy and Henry Chapman. It is thought that Reverend John Wollaston and Bussell designed the building as an adaption of an early Norman architectural style based on Winchester College Chapel. Plans and estimates were prepared by Mr. F. Brabazon Forsayth. The foundation stone was laid with due ceremony by Mrs. Frances Bussell on 4 March 1844. The settlers quarried stone, cut and carted timber and shared in the construction work. John Bussell made all the frames on which the arches were built and donated the timber which, with the assistance of a sawyer named Balschin, the pit-sawed himself. George Blechynden, the district carpenter, also gave some months labour free of charge. Altogether, the construction costs amounted to £300. The church was opened on 11 April 1845, even though the interior was incomplete. At that time the floor was of beaten earth. The building was named St Mary's after a church of that name in Portsea, England, where William Marchant Bussell had once been curate. The ceremony was conducted by Reverend Wollaston who also performed the first baptism in the church that day. The building is generally represented to have been completed by 1848 and it was consecrated by Bishop Short on 2 November 1848. In 1859, a harmonium was installed. In 1902, a bell and bell tower were erected. A vestry, added as a gift from Sir Winthrop Hackett, was consecrated on 14 October 1906, superseding an earlier, less permanent vestry. In 1909 a jarrah pulpit was presented to the memory of Lieutenant Colonel Molloy. A porch erected in memory of John G. Bussell, another of the original trustees, was dedicated on 14 September 1924. Repairs and renovations have been undertaken at the church generally through donations and through grant funding. Significant alterations have included the installation of timber shingles in 1989 to replace aluminum tiles that had been installed in 1972. The church continues to serve the Busselton community, and the graveyard is well maintained

Integrity/Authenticity

Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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