City of Subiaco Heritage Place Record

Name Uniting Church Address 315-317 Bagot Road Subiaco Lot Number 404/45 Photograph (2014)

Construction Date 1897 Architectural Style Federation Gothic Historical Notes This building was constructed in 1897 for the Presbyterian Church and opened on 9th March 1898. The church was designed by architect James Husband McFarlane. Little biographical information has been found relating to this architect. He was born in Tasmania in 1863 and after a brief stay in Western in 1898 he was back living in Tasmania by 1899 before relocating to . No comparative work by McFarlane was found in this research. A foundation stone was laid on Saturday 11th December 1897 by F. A. Mosely, a senior member of the Presbyterian Church. At the time of this ceremony The Western Mail described the plans for the church as follows. The building, when complete will be 45ft long by 30ft wide and 14ft high to the wall plate. The roof will be ceiled with diagonally-laid matchboards and the interior of the walls will be plastered. The windows will be of cathedral glass. The estimated cost of the church will be about £450. Several donations of materials have been made, including one of 10,000 bricks, given by the Mayor of Subiaco, Mr Doyle. The work of the erection is being carried out by day labour under the supervision of the architect, Mr J. H. McFarlane. The decision to build a Presbyterian church in Subiaco was part of a broader extension work of the Presbyterian church. The population of Perth in during the 1890s grew rapidly in response to the gold discoveries. The suburbs close to central Perth underwent massive development as land was swiftly subdivided and new homes quickly erected. Subiaco grew significantly during this period and it is no coincidence that the district became a municipality in 1897, pulling away from the City of Perth and establishing its own identity. Many new services and facilities were built in the 1890s and

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City of Subiaco Heritage Place Record

the early 20th century in Subiaco.

The first Presbyterian services in Subiaco were organised through St Andrew’s Church in Perth who engaged J. C. Hewson to preach in Subiaco in December 1895 and he began to provide services in January 1896 in a large tent erected in Barker Road. He only stayed for a short while however local couple Mr and Mrs Simpson began holding a Sunday School in their home to provide some continuity of services. The Victorian Missions Committee assisted by sending students to the Subiaco congregation.

Francis Arnold Moseley, a senior public servant and elder in the Presbyterian Church and Joseph Hope a surveyor in the firm Hope and Klem secured the land for the church in Subiaco. The church was erected quickly in early 1899 and a photograph of the church in 1899 shows that the church was originally face brick work with white bands running horizontally around the building and across the top of the windows. (Later photographs indicate that the bands are painted and not render.) The original entry porch was much smaller than the current porch and featured only one window on the main elevation and a pitched roof in contrast to the current porch which has three windows and a flat roof. It is also apparent from a later photograph that the rear wall of the church was weatherboard at the time of construction which was a common practice in church design, with the intent of a more substantial sanctuary be built at a later stage. The congregation at Subiaco was linked to the Leederville congregation. In 1899 the average attendance at the Sunday service rose from 40 to 70 with 90 Sunday school children also attending. Due to the growth in numbers Subiaco applied to become an independent parish. In 1905, the Church had its own minister, Rev C.D.P. Taylor and in order to accommodate the new minister a manse was built adjacent to the church, at 317 Bagot Road, an extant property still held by the Uniting Church. The Subiaco Presbyterian Church provided a range of services for its community including a tennis club, cricket club, young men’s club in addition to a Junior Christian Endeavour Society and Sunday School. The Subiaco Presbyterian Church attendance grew during World War One with membership peaking in 1918 at 167 and the Sunday School had 280 attendees. After the war the tennis club was reformed and many young people took their first Communion. The congregation was also active in fund raising for communities in Europe and other parts of the globe which had suffered during the conflict. From its peak in 1918 the congregation numbers declined to about 100 in1947. Adjacent to the church at that time were two tennis courts and a grass playing field. In 1949, the local press noted that a film was shown to the children at the Subiaco Presbyterian Church Hall, the weatherboard hall at the rear of the church. A sewerage plan of the site in 1955 shows that the original porch had been removed prior to this date and had been replaced with the larger current porch. At the rear of the church were several additions in brick and weatherboard.

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The Uniting Church in Australia was formed on June 22 1977 as a union of the Congregational Union of Australia, the Methodist Church of Australia and the Presbyterian Church of Australian. This property was transferred to the new entity in 1979. The building continued to be used for church services until well into the 20th century however, with the Ross Memorial Church in West Perth and St Andrew’s Church in the city as well as a declining congregation, the church in Subiaco gradually became superfluous to needs. In 1985, the church hall was damaged by a fire and a new purpose built facility was constructed including a meeting room, kitchen, offices and toilet facilities. In 1991, the property was made available for use by the Uniting Church as an op shop and low cost food centre. Since then the place has been developed through the work of volunteers, accessing grant funds to promote projects related to the principals of recycling and sustainability. In 2014, the property is still owned by the Uniting Church of Australia and the place is the location of not for profit programmes run by volunteers. Income is derived from hiring the rooms, profits from the op shop and fundraising. Physical The former Uniting church is of brick and iron construction presenting Description with an influence of the Federation Gothic style. The church has been painted but was originally fair faced brick with a traditional contrasting band extending around the building. The side elevations have been divided into bays with the provision of buttress columns, each bay incorporating a pointed arch (lancet style) leaded window. The north elevation is a gabled wall incorporating a pointed arch vent and a small cross is positioned on the apex of the gable. The roof is a steep pitched gable form clad in corrugated iron with vented dormers positioned at regular intervals along the roof form. The gutters are positioned at the end of the roof pitch with a row of brick dentils below creating a decorative edge to the building. A prominent porch forms the northern entrance into the former church. The structure has a shallow pitched roof with a parapet wall around the top obscuring the roof form. The north wall of the church is dominated by three pointed arch leaded windows and the paired stepped buttresses located at the corners of the element. The entrance door into the building is positioned on the eastern side of the porch and comprises a pair of timber plank doors underneath an arched window. The mural painted on the north-eastern section of the main façade is not in keeping with the character of the church but reflects the new arts related uses of the building. A brick addition has been built to the rear of the former church which extends in an ‘L’ shape towards the eastern side of the building around a small courtyard area. A covered entrance is incorporated into the western side of this structure. The former church is positioned a distance back from the road with mature plantings and gardens to the front of the building and car parking to the west. The former presbytery, a single storey red brick and iron dwelling, is located on the north-western corner of the site. Integrity Moderate: The place is longer used as a church and has been adapted for a new use. Authenticity Moderate: Since the date of construction in 1897 the church has

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been extended in 1985 and undergone other minor modifications. Rarity/ The place is not rare as an example of a brick church in the Representativeness Federation Gothic style The place is a good example of a local church which has been adapted for a new use in recent decades. Statement of The place has historic significance representing the role of the Significance Uniting Church in the developing residential area. It has aesthetic significance for its general design quality as an example of ecclesiastical architecture, and as a recognised landmark. It has social significance to the members of its congregation for religious and social reasons. Level of Some Significance (Level 3) Significance/ Contribution Listings Local Heritage Survey -adopted 28/02/1995 & 4/02/2003 Uniting Church Inventory – 30/09/1992 Heritage List - adopted 22/7/2014 Main Sources / Heritage Assessment of former Uniting Church, 315 Bagot Road, References prepared by Hocking Heritage Studio, May 2014

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