Local Government
Bunbury
Region
South West
147A Victoria St Bunbury
now McBridge's Gift Shop & pt Challenge Bank
Sculpture of John Forrest
Bunbury
South West
Constructed from 1866
| Type | Status | Date | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| (no listings) |
| Type | Status | Date | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| (no listings) |
| Type | Status | Date | Grading/Management | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | ||||
| Municipal Inventory | Adopted | 31 Jul 1996 | Historic Site | |
DEMOLISHED The Anglican Church played a significant and pivotal religious and cultural role in the development of the early township. From the earliest days in 1845, the place has been associated with church activities. From 1866 until 1962, St Paul's was Parish Church to the district.
DEMOLISHED
Assistant Surveyor Ommaney set aside a site for the Anglican Church during his 1841 survey of Bunbury, positioning it so that the Anglican Church would dominate its surrounds from Leschenault Square. However, St Paul’s Church was built on land where a previous, temporary, church hall and school had operated from the very first days of settlement. The owner of the lot, Thomas Thompson (surveyor with the West Australian Company) had died on a return journey from Ceylon and the lot passed to his fiancée, Elinor K Clifton. The Eliot and Clifton families, along with Reverend Henry Brown, ministered to the townspeople from a basic hall on the lot. Plans for the long awaited St Paul’s Church were prepared in the 1860s following active fundraising by Reverend Joseph Withers. The church was a small timber building with a shingled roof and has been attributed to Ephraim Clarke. After the first contractor died after falling off the roof, the work was completed by William Spencer. In later years, a Deanery was built for Withers in nearby Prinsep Street. The Church became a Pro-Cathedral in 1903 and the Bishopric was established in 1904. When the decision was made to build St Boniface Cathedral in the 1960s, many parishioners lamented the plan to demolish their little church. All efforts to save or relocate the church failed and it was demolished in 1963. The church site became St Paul’s Place. In 1979, a group of businessmen commissioned Mark Le Buse to sculpt a monument to Sir John Forrest to be placed in St Paul’s Place. The monument took the form of a giant bust. As the limestone block broke in half, only the front of the head could be sculpted. As a young apprentice to Surveyor T C Carey, one of John Forrest’s earliest jobs was to mark out the site plan for St Paul’s Church, so it is therefore fitting that this monument was placed on the church site.
DEMOLISHED
No visible remains of St Paul's Church. Sculpture of Lord Forrest: Good condition.
| Library Id | Title | Medium | Year Of Publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5430 | Memorial plaques and historic sites. | Heritage Study {Other} | 1999 |
| 7299 | Bunbury images : people and places. | Book | 2004 |
Historic Site
| Epoch | General | Specific |
|---|---|---|
| Original Use | PARK\RESERVE | Park\Reserve |
| Present Use | COMMERCIAL | Bank |
| Present Use | COMMERCIAL | Shop\Retail Store {single} |
| Original Use | RELIGIOUS | Church, Cathedral or Chapel |
| Style |
|---|
| Victorian Carpenter Gothic |
| General | Specific |
|---|---|
| SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES | Religion |
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