St Lucia Presbyterian Church
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The St Lucia Uniting Church is a heritage-listed Uniting
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
at 7 Hawken Drive,
St Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
,
City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of Greater Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. The LGAs in the other mainland state capitals ...
,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia. Built in 1952, it was designed by Ronald Martin Wilson.R. Martin Wilson, ‘Notes and specifications for St Lucia Presbyterian Church ’, Wilson Architect’s Collection, UQFL112, Box 24, Folder D.94, Fryer Library, the University of Queensland. The church, formerly known as St Lucia Presbyterian Church, was originally commissioned for the St Lucia congregation of
Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
, subsequently becoming the property of the Uniting Church. This church was the first substantial commission awarded to R. Martin Wilson after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The church is listed on the
Brisbane Heritage Register The Brisbane Heritage Register is a heritage register containing a list of culturally-significant places within the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mai ...
.


History

Before the commission for this church during 1949, the Presbyterian community of St Lucia were forced to worship at the nearby
Toowong Toowong ( ) is a riverside Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 12,556 people with a median weekly household income of $1,927. Geography Toowong is ...
Presbyterian Church.CHURCH HALL AT ST. LUCIA OPENED. (25 August 1947). The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved 8 October 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49326791 As the congregation grew in size it became apparent that a church for the St Lucia community became necessary. During the late 1940s, many young Presbyterians from the local area received religious instruction at a room within the local primary school, Ironside State School. However during August 1947, the State Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Rt. Rev. Norman Leslie Douglas Webster, dedicated a relocated army hut as a place of worship for the St Lucia congregation. While Rev. James Frederick McKay would preach from this space, the army hut was still considered an extension of the Toowong Church. Nevertheless, the Presbyterian Church of Queensland did consider this a temporary resolution to the needs of a growing congregation and thus it was revealed that plans were to be drawn up for a permanent church. This church, with a budget of £6000, was to be located on two adjoining allotments on Hawken Drive in St Lucia, which was proximate to the temporary place of worship.


The architect and the church

Ronald Martin Wilson (1886–1967), the primary architect for the Brisbane-based family practice of ''R. Martin Wilson, Architect and Architectural Engineers;'' was an Honorary Architect to the Presbyterian Church of Queensland like his father before him. The Wilson family had relocated to a home in St Lucia in 1937 and were among the members of the congregate at the nearby Toowong Presbyterian Church. The combination of Wilson's close ties to the community and his standing within the Presbyterian church made him an appropriate choice as project architect for the church. In an interview with his son, Blair Mansfield Wilson (1930- ), it was revealed that commissions in Queensland were awarded based on community ties and friendships, and were not a competition between a series of different entries by other firms. Wilson had also demonstrated an aptitude towards ecclesiastical design, with his design for the Ithaca Presbyterian Church of 1927 at La Trobe Terrace in
Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...
(now
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
) being a source of inspiration for the architectural firm of the church at St Lucia. This church was also the first major ecclesiastical work to be completed by the firm after the death of Wilson's father Alexander Brown Wilson’s in 1938, as well as after the completion of World War II. Over the course of the next few decades, Wilson also completed a variety of other commissions for the Presbyterian Church of Queensland, including the design of the W. R. Black Home for Girls, the Blackheath Home for Boys and the ‘Hometown’ Home for Elderly Men. As such, this church represents a significant stage of the firm’s work after the war.


Architectural style

Presbyterian architecture in Queensland is often the result of slavishly following older ecclesiastical traditions. By contrast, the St Lucia Uniting Church makes certain steps towards addressing the needs of a Presbyterian congregation while overcoming the scarcity of construction materials after World War II. Wilson's son Blair has acknowledged that despite the relative rarity of bricks and other construction materials, his father was able to source them for the church despite their impact on the efficiency of the church construction.Interview with Blair Mansfield Wilson by Owen Murphy, Kevin Luu and Darcy Kay on 21 September 2012 This tradition of brick construction resonates in later work by his son Blair, such as the Kindler Memorial Theatre and the
La Boite Theatre La Boite Theatre, founded as the Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society, is an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite was established in 1925 and is Australia’s longest continuously running theatre company. La Boite ...
later in the 1970s. In responding to the needs of the Presbyterian congregation, Wilson made concessions towards two key considerations of the Presbyterian faith. Firstly, the Presbyterian faith is one of equality, and thus the design produced by Wilson is based around a
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
that is negligibly raised above the level of the congregation creating equality between every individual of the church. There is also little ornamentation added to the pulpit. Secondly, the ability to hear the word of God clearly during
sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...
s is crucial, and thus the resultant church is based around a short Latin cross plan form with the
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
s housing the organ and choir. This more intimate scale of church, combined with naturally dark finish of the interior brickwork, creates a place of worship where the congregation should feel intimately linked to the minister and sermon. As thanks for his work on the church, the congregation also constructed a dedication stone thanking Wilson.


Community engagement

As with many ecclesiastical works, the relationship between the local congregation or community and the architecture is often a close one. Even before the design and construction of the current St Lucia Uniting Church, the congregation took their involvement in their place of worship seriously. It was noted that when the army hut was to be moved from its home in Enoggera in the northern suburbs of Brisbane to St Lucia, many of the members of the congregate volunteer to aid the process. While the congregation were unable to assist in the construction,
Mansergh Shaw Mansergh may refer to: * Mansergh (surname) * Mansergh, Cumbria, England * Mansergh Snowfield, snow field of Antarctica * Mansergh Wall, cliff of Antarctica {{Disambiguation ...
, Professor of Engineering at the nearby
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
, built the
belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...
in his spare time and later donated it to the new church during 1953. The tower no longer remains. The church was very significant to the community. At the official opening ceremony, more than 150 people were forced to sit outside the building as the interior was packed to capacity.


The modern church

Since its construction during the 1950s, the St Lucia Presbyterian Church has passed into the ownership of the Uniting Church of Australia. The church has since been rebranded as the St Lucia Uniting Church, with the current minister, Reverend Mandy Smith, preaching every Sunday. While the congregation may have shifted since its construction, the church community is still closely linked to the local Ironside State School and teaches during the weekly religious education programme.


References


Further reading

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Lucia Uniting Church Brisbane Local Heritage Register St Lucia, Queensland Lucia
St Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
1951 establishments in Australia Churches completed in 1952