Advent Sunday, December 1, is the Sesqui-centenary of the establishment of the Anglican Parish of Gawler, and the occasion will be celebrated with a visit by the Primate, the Most Reverend Dr. Keith Rayner. In conjunction with the event our series of historic buildings in Gawler, this week we feature St. George's Church in Cowan street.
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The first town in South Australia was named Gawler in 1839, after the then second Governor of South Australia, Colonel George Gawler.
When the Reid family settled that year in the area at Clonlea park, they brought with them from England a school master to teach their children, and whose duty was to read Morning Prayer each Sunday.
On January 14, 1845, the members and friends of the Church of England met together with the Colonial Chaplain, Rev. James Farrell, to form a group of citizens to seek a resident clergyman for the Gawler and Lyndoch valley area. They also planned to build a church in Orleana Square on Church Hill, which had been surveyed and laid out by William Light in 1839. Five trustees were appointed -- King, Grant, Butler, Stubbs and Younghusband.
A copy of their resolutions was forwarded to Colonel George Gawler, Rev. Sir H. R. Dukinfield (Vicar of St. Martin in the Fields), Admiral Hawker, and other gentlemen in order to obtain financial help, support and encouragement. In November 1848 Colonel George Gawler presented a silver communion service for the proposed new church.
A curate at St. Martin in the Fields, London, Rev. W.H. Coombs was appointed as minister for the district, and sailed on July 22, 1846, landing in SA on November 14, 1846. He proceeded to Gawler towards the end of the month and took his first services in the old Victoria mill on November 28, Advent Sunday.
The foundation stone of the new church was laid by Governor Robe on Easter day 1847, and in March 1848, the church was opened and consecrated by the first bishop of Adelaide, Bishop Augustus Short, who had only arrived in SA four months before. The new church was named St. George in honour of Colonel George Gawler, and had seating for 200.
Rev. Coombs also established a church school for the area, and built a rectory at "Gulfview" on 20 acres of land given by the SA Government, together with a grant of 150 pounds towards the building cost.
On Christmas eve 1851, a severe storm hit Gawler, causing much damage, with the result the newly built church, which had been supervised by the government architect, George Kingston, was badly damaged. After a number of years of indecision whether to rebuild or repair, a new church was decided upon.
The new church, of the 14th century English style, designed by Mr. E.A. Hamilton, was started in 1858. The recycled foundation stone of the first church was laid by Mrs. Short, the wife of the Bishop of Adelaide, and the new nave was completed and opened in April 1864.
St. George's is famous for its stained glass, lead windows, tower and peal of bells. The northern window features Colonel Gawler's coat of arms and was installed as a memorial to him by the citizens of Gawler.
In 1884 the old church, which was used for Sunday school and parish activities, was pulled down and the material recycled into the building of the sanctuary, choir and transepts of the present church, which was completed in 1885.
The builders had considerable difficulty in finding suitable freestone for a tower to match the rest of the building. Eventually they found what they were seeking -- at the quarry of a Mr. Wolf, near Sandy Creek. Mr. Wolf donated the stone free of royalties and in 1909 the tower was built and dedicated, thus completing the Hamilton design for the church.
A set of eight fixed hemispherical bells was placed in the tower in 1921 and dedicated to the memory of the men of Gawler who gave their lives in the 1914-1918 war. The bells are played from a keyboard in the base of the tower.
The Anglican Parish of Gawler, as it exists today, did not come into being until 1907 when St. George's and the Mission Church of the Transfiguration combined.
Over the years many memorial windows, fittings and furnishings have been given, adding to the interest and charm of St. George's. Stained glass windows are memorials to Ada Crace, Elizabeth Harris, Mary Ann Dixon, Rose W. Crace, Sybil Chambers and others.
There is a memorial tablet to Lieutenant Rodney V. Franklin, "Croix de Guerre," an Anzac, killed in Egypt in June, 1917. Lt. Franklin's father was a station master at the Gawler railway station.
St. George's celebrated its centenary in April, 1947, with the presence of the Governor at special services. The church could have become a cathedral if plans for new diocesan boundaries were changed.
It had been planned to include Gawler in the northern Willochra Diocese, with the bishop residing in the town. However these plans never eventuated and St. George's remained part of the Adelaide diocese.
Today you could put the Church of St. George, on any English village green and it would not look the least out of place. It is however proudly part of Gawler's heritage.