St Mark's Anglican Church

Child Places

• 04353 Moreton Bay Fig Tree & Charterhouse site

Statement of Significance

St. Mark's Anglican Church, a weatherboard building with a timber shingled roof, together with its Graveyard and Moreton Bay Fig Tree , has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: as one of the oldest extant churches in Western Australia, St Marks' Anglican Church is evidence of the Preston River settlement and of early building techniques; set within the idyllic landscape of the Preston River meadows, the place has a picturesque aesthetic quality and is a landmark within the Preston riverine precinct; the place was built by noted early resident, the Reverend John Ramsden Wollaston, Colonial Chaplain at Bunbury 1841-48 and first Archdeacon of Western Australia; the graveyard is the final resting place of many of the district's earliest settlers and provides evidence of their way of life; the large Moreton Bay Fig Tree has landmark qualities, contributes to the picturesque setting and marks the site of Reverend Wollaston's home, 'Charterhouse'.

Physical Description

St Mark's Anglican Church is a timber framed weatherboard clad church building constructed in 1842 in the Victorian Carpenter Gothic style of architecture. The church is cruciform in plan form. The walls are clad with weatherboards and lined with painted matchboards. The building was originally of wattle and daub construction using pit sawn timbers. The roof is clad with timber shingles (having originally been a thatched roof of rushes and sedges. There are no gutter and downpipes to the building. Internally there are steeply pitched dark oiled timber rafters with cross ties of forged steel rods. The original oil soaked calico cloth windows were replaced with pairs of cast iron casement windows with diamond shaped leadlight glass. The floor is cement, as originally designed by Wollaston. In 1936 an extensive restoration of the church was undertaken by Rev Arnold Fryer. There is a small panel showing original wattle-and-daub construction in the southern wall. This was revealed during the c 1969 restoration by Marshall Clifton. An old ship's bell hangs in the minature belfry providing a link with wrecks associated with early whaling days. The adjacent cemetery contains the graves of many of the pioneer settlers of the area, including those of William and Margaret Forrest (parents of Sir John Forrest), and the Scott family, buried beneath unusual bed-post wooden grave markers. Other grave monuments and markers include carved marble monuments and cast and wrought iron fences. The surrounding fence is now an open wooden picket fence which replaces the former split post and rail fencing. The site is surrounded by magnificent trees including peppermint and one particularly large, mature Moreton Bay Fig Tree.

History

St Marks Anglican Church was built on 15 acres at Location 26 in 1842 by the Reverend John Ramsden Wollaston (1790 to 1856). Wollaston was the Colonial Chaplain at Bunbury from 1841 to 1848 and was the first Archdeacon of Western Australia. The church was designed by Wollaston and built by him, his sons, agricultural servants and parishioners on his private land at “Charterhouse”. The total cost of building St Marks was £129/1/10 and the money came from donations and Wollaston’s own funds. Frederick Hymus is recorded as the thatcher of the roof and it is thought that Wollaston designed the church in wattle and daub to take advantage of the skills of his servant John Moore, a builder and a man recorded by Wollaston as ‘being clever with clay and straw’. The land the church was built on was originally owned by Lieutenant Bull, Resident Magistrate. Bull had been given the land by Governor Stirling. He then passed the land onto an American whaling captain, C F Coffin, who in turn sold it to Rev Wollaston along with the adjacent 100 acres of Location 29. To this Wollaston added the 100 acre Location 39, which was across the river. When Wollaston was posted to Albany in 1848 he sold all of his land to Henry Sillifant, except the churchyard which had been gifted to church trustees in 1843. The small timber cruciform church was opened without being consecrated in 18 September 1842. A service was held at the same time with 100 parishioners in attendance. In the early half of the twentieth century, the church began to lean and was pulled back into place with jacks. Mr R H Rose of “Moorlands” also provided funds for minor repair work. In 1936 St Marks was set to be demolished. Reverend Arnold Fryer (Rector of South Bunbury, 1932 to 1948) fought for its retention and raised funds to have it repaired. Also in 1936, the Bunbury Centenary Committee unveiled a plaque dedicated to the memory of Reverend Wollaston. In the late 1960s, noted architect Marshall Clifton helped to restore St Marks. The church was finally consecrated on 13 July 1969 and certified in the Diocesan Register at Bunbury as "St. Mark the Evangelist." The nearby cemetery contains the graves of many of the pioneer settlers in the area, including those of William and Margaret Forrest, the parents of Sir John Forrest, and the Scott family. The fig tree marks the site of Charterhouse, the Wollaston's home (See B246). This history is largely based on the Documentary Evidence in Heritage Council of Western Australia, ‘Register of Heritage Places: St Marks Anglican Church, Picton’ prepared by Ian Molyneux, 1997.

Integrity/Authenticity

High degree of integrity (original intent clear, current use compatible, high long term sustainability). High degree of authenticity with much original fabric remaining. (These statements based on street survey only). The original split post and rail fence has been replaced by open wooden pickets.

Condition

Condition assessed as good (assessed from streetscape survey only).

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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