G'day MARG ( & ALL) ...
Note that the subject line has changed slightly from TENT to CHURCH <g>
Before heading in that direction, though, I hope everyone said to
themselves overnight when they heard about the rave party that turned
into a tragic warehouse fire in Oakland, California: "Haven't I been
there recently?"
CORRECT!!!!
Oakland is where uncle Herbert Hellier, our San Francisco correspondent,
woke up beside his wife before being thrown around the room by the
earthquake that was terrorising San Francisco just across the bay!
Marg's account of her Rechabite and Methodist ancestors in Greenough
provides a perfect lead into a thread I had in mind for further down the
track, but its best to seize the opportunity ...
Although my g-grandfather and his generation were heavily involved in
the SDA movement in various locations around the world, for reasons that
may become obvious over time, my grandmother and her siblings entered
adulthood mixed up with the Methodist church. That was great for me as
by so doing, she met and married my Nelson grandfather who was attending
the same Methodist church in Male Street, Brighton (VIC) and I've become
part of the family history.
The Nelson's and another family called Hanson grew up in a little
outpost called Waurn Ponds, just West of Geelong, and apart from being a
family of school teachers, the Hansons were Methodists as well and in
the late 1800s that little community was made up of Swiss vignerons, a
quarry which the Nelsons worked, a Methodist church and a small school.
My family ended up with several Nelsons marrying Hansons and they spread
out throughout Australia, some even ending up over here in the West,
including my g-grandmother who died separated from her husband who still
lived in Victoria.
(I touched on that yarn after I got my DNA results back and made a
connection with a chap in Geelong whose Evans family in Kulin, WA
descended from that same Hanson-Nelson g-grandmother --- his grandma and
my grandfather were siblings.)
The Methodist theme continued down my tree and when my parents bought a
new home in a sub-divided market garden in Moorabbin, VIC in the early
1950s, our local church was Methodist.
I'll close off with a beautiful excerpt from a centennial-type history
of Moorabbin which really taps into the message I've been promoting ...
----->
The market gardening community of early Moorabbin had a number of shared
characteristics: most members derived from poor circumstances in the
British Isles, arriving in Australia with few or no financial resources;
they were strongly family-oriented and, in many cases, highly fertile,
spawning ancestral trees formidable in dimension; and they were
staunchly religious.
The church communities were valued both for worship, and for the
important communal link that they provided. Within the environment of
the churches there was the opportunity for farmers and their families to
gather and express their neighbourliness and common identity, find
support in times of trial or stress, reinforce the ethic of hard work
and the strong sense of duty, and maintain their connections with a
heritage that sprang from their shared origins overseas.
Anglican, Presbyterian, Catholic and Methodist churches were established
in the Moorabbin region from the earliest years and were important to
the growth and well-being of the communities they served. All churches
also paid much attention to religious observance, particularly on
Sundays, although some faiths were more demanding than others.
Alan Marriott, a member of one of Moorabbin’s most successful market
gardening families, recalls that, as a child and young man earlier in
this century, being required to attend chapel three times on Sundays, as
were many of his peers within the Methodist community. Such
demonstrations of piety had applied for generations, and other
denominational groups had requirements that were similarly demanding,
although not always in the same form.
At Moorabbin, Methodists first used a tent for worship. In 1854, they
constructed their first permanent church on a site in Wickham Road. This
was replaced by the current Wickham Road church in 1867. A church hall
was constructed on a site immediately adjacent to the church in 1928.
The memorial stone for the hall was laid by Rev R Barnes, President of
the Conference.
The original church and hall remain on the site. The church is a
rendered brick structure with a slate roof. It was designed in a Gothic
style favoured by the church in the 1860s and 70s with prominent corner
pinnacles and butresses. The principal facade of the church is of note
for its tracery and lancet arched heads to doors and windows. The hall
is designed in a simpler but complementary style. Both early buildings
have been painted white.
A number of additions have been made to the group since WWII. A child
care facility has been added to the rear of the church and a vestry has
been constructed to the rear of the hall. Both appear to date from c.1960.
A porte Cochere and entry hall constructed some years later form a link
between the two early buildings but their form and detailing are
appreciably different to that of the early buildings and the early group
remains clearly legible.
The Methodist Church was among a number of denominations to amalgamate,
forming the Uniting Church in 1977. The church has been known as the
Wickham Road Uniting Church since this time.
<-----
Interestingly, the conversion of those early market gardens into post
war housing estates led to a new wave of poor English, Irish and war
ravaged Jewish survivors taking up residence around my family home and
in many cases their children were my associates at kindergarten, school
and sunday-school.
Cheers for now, ROB!!
rnelson@xxxxxxxxxxxx
