St. John the Baptist Anglican Church & Group 60 Memorial

Values

· St John’s is the only remaining physical evidence of the small town of Metricup, which was established during Group Settlement.
· St John’s is a fine example of a local church built in the Federation Carpenter Gothic style.
· St John’s has played an important role in the development of the local community and demonstrates the community spirit and activity of the individual Groups in the Group Settlement Scheme.

Physical Description

Simple gable roofed, weatherboard and iron building with a small covered entrance porch with adjacent cemetery.

History

· Metricup was first developed for agricultural purposes in the 1920s when the area was earmarked for Group Settlement under Premier Sir James Mitchell’s Group Settlement Scheme.
· The Metricup area was settled by ‘Group 60’. Following initial settlement, a small township developed which included the Church, a school, shop, post office, sporting grounds and a railway siding with railway worker’s cottages. The Church is now the only extant building of this township.
· St John the Baptist Church was built in c1935 and opened on 11 May 1935. The building of the Church was believed to have been funded by monies sent out from England to service the spiritual needs of the English settlers. It was one of six Group churches to be built in the Margaret River Parish, of which three survive.
· The Church was built by Mr Les Harding with the assistance of the local people. The local community has been strongly involved in the on-going maintenance of the building.
· The Cemetery immediately adjacent to the Church contains the grave and cremation sites of many of the settlers and their descendants. It is still used for local purposes.
· The Metricup Memorial Stone is located within the Church grounds and includes plaques with the original settlers names and group block land location number. Another plaque, located outside the Church gate, lists the settlers prior to 1930. The second plaque was installed through the efforts of the Busselton Heritage Committee (see attached news article).

Condition

The place is in good condition.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.