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https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/38378025
iv, 68 p. : ill., ports. ; 25 cm.
Templestowe, Vic. : Uniting Church in Australia, Parish of Templestowe, 1995.
Subjects:
Uniting Church in Australia. Templestowe Parish -- History.
Templestowe Presbyterian Church -- History.
Uniting Church in Australia -- Victoria -- Templestowe -- History.
Templestowe (Vic.) -- Church history.
ISBN 0646226754
Permission granted for publication on Website by Manningham Church Council (20 May, 2020).
Hard copies can be obtained from: MUC HUB. Email: info@manninghamuc.org Phone: 98462012
Hard copies can be obtained from: MUC HUB. Email: info@manninghamuc.org Phone: 98462012
Raw OCR: Apr 2021
FRUIT Of the SPIRIT
A history of the Uniting Church Templestowe, Victoria, Australia
1895-1995
Doncaster / Templestowe Historical Society
Fruit of the Spirit LIBRARY i
“The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Galations 5:22-23 (New International Version)
First Published 1995
Uniting Church in Australia, Parish of Templestowe 109 Wood Street Templestowe 3106
Editorial Committee: Petrina Dodds-Buckley, Peter Fishley (Convenor),
Ron Gaudion, John Gow, Jim Roberton, Rob Serpell
© Uniting Church in Australia, Parish of Templestowe
Thanks are due to many people who assisted in this publication,
particularly to Dorothy Aumann, Dorothy Blackie, David Dodds, Alan Dun, Ian Harland, John Howard, Jan Jenkyn, Marie Mackrell, David Merritt, Alf Miller, Charles Poole, Hazel Poulter, John Reid, Marjorie Ross, Eleanor Sumner and Helen Turnham.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Fruit of the spirit: a history of the Uniting Church Templestowe, Victoria, Australia, 1895 1995.
Bibliography ISBN 0 646 22675 4
Uniting Church Templestowe - History. 2. Templestowe Presbyterian Church -History. 3. Templestowe (Vic.) - Church history. I. Uniting Church in Australia, Templestowe Parish.
287.93099451
Production:
Front Cover illustrations by Rob Serpell Pictures on pages 20, 48, 49 & 50 by David Dodds Graphic Design by LR Graphics Pty Ltd Printed by Metro Printing Pty Ltd
Cover Illustrations
Top: The view in the nineteen-thirties of Petty’s and Clay’s orchards with the Yana River beyond, looking north-west from Poulter’s bush block overlooking Homestead Road, Templestowe. The scene is not much altered today.
Bottom: A representative view of the residential area of Templestowe above Fitzsimons Lane, looking south-west from Edwin Road towards Templestowe Uniting Church.
Contents
History of Templestowe Area...................................................... 1
Ministers of Templestowe Parish ................................................. 8
I Part of the Heidelberg Parish.......................................... 8
II Templestowe Congregation Established................................... 9
III Templestowe Forms Own Parish .........................................13
IV Uniting Church Templestowe............................................19
Pioneer Families.................................................................22
Aumanns.................................................................22
Beales .................................................................23
Smiths..................................................................25
Rosses..................................................................26
Sunday School....................................................................27
Harvest Festivals................................................................28
PWMU.............................................................................29
Girls’ Clubs.....................................................................30
Youth Groups.....................................................................31
Waripana.........................................................................33
Boys’ Clubs......................................................................34
Couples’ Club....................................................................34
KUCA Club........................................................................35
Friendship Circle 35
Newsletter.......................................................................35
Church Fetes.....................................................................36
Church Camps.....................................................................38
Christian Drama..................................................................39
Music............................................................................40
Church Union 1977................................................................43
The New Church Building..........................................................44
The Future.......................................................................47
Appendixes.......................................................................51
Elders....................................................................51
Board of Management.......................................................52
Parish Council............................................................53
List of Original Communicant Members......................................53
Office-Bearers (to 1977)..................................................54
Office-Bearers (1977 on)..................................................55
List of Ministers.........................................................56
Land and Buildings........................................................57
Map of Templestowe...............................................................59
Smith Family Tree................................................................60
Bibliography.....................................................................62
Fruit of the Spirit DOHCSStSf/ FompiGStOWO iii
Historical Society LIBRARY
iv
Fruit of the Spirit
Fruit of the Spirit
The Templestowe Presbyterian Church was established in 1895 for the building up of the community in faith, when a number of Templestowe people decided to separate from Heidelberg parish. Sunday School and corporate worship are believed to have started in the local Mechanics Institute on Sunday, 14 July 1895. The Templestowe folk erected a church building in 1896 and it was officially opened on Sunday, 24 May 1896. The Templestowe Presbyterian Church joined the Uniting Church in Australia at its inception in June 1977. The original building is used as a hall by the Uniting Church Templestowe. A new church building was erected in 1962.
History of the Templestowe Area
Rolling hills
Templestowe is a picturesque area in the Yarra River valley about 2 km wide and 4 km long some 16 km from Melbourne, consisting of steeply rolling hills descending into the river plain.
The name Templestowe was not used for this area until the township was laid out in 1852. Until that time the area was part of Bulleen.
Early inhabitants
The earliest known people in the Templestowe district were the aborigines of the Wurundjeri tribe. They had lived in the Yarra Valley for eons prior to European settlement of the Port Phillip district in 1835. European settlers began arriving in the Templestowe district in 1837, the first permanent settler being Major Charles Newman. His selection was rolling grassland near the junction of the Yarra River and Deep Creek. His stone home Pontville, built in 1843, still stands.
First church service
In 1843, Presbyterian church services began in Alexander Duncan’s bam. They were conducted by Rev Peter Gunn, who had been commissioned to preach to Gaelic-speaking settlers wherever he could find them. He covered a large part of Victoria on horseback encouraging the establishment of schools, as well as preaching. Alexander Duncan had settled in the Bulleen area near the Bulleen-Thompsons Road junction. By the time of the first church service there were several other lease-holders along the Yarra Valley between Duncan and Newman. The land was mainly leased for sheep and cattle grazing, and dairying.
The first Presbyterian church services were held in Duncans Barn
Township created
Land had been set aside for a village and in 1852 Henry Foote laid out the streets between Anderson Street, Foote Street and the Yarra River. Most of the blocks were half an acre (2,000 square metres) and sold for an average price of £40.
The lower area of Templestowe around Parker, Ruffey, and Union Streets became an area of village activity, with an Anglican School (1854), Anglican Church (1867), two hotels (1854, 1868), Shire Office (1871) and pound, blacksmith shop (cl880), and Post Office (cl880).
Another area developed near the James Street and Anderson Street corner, with a primary school (1874), blacksmith shop (1878), Mechanics Institute (1883), Methodist Church (cl880-1932), Presbyterian Church (1896), Post Office (cl905), and general store (cl914). The Anglicans moved their church from the Omar-Foote Street corner to Foote Street-Glendale Avenue corner in 1900.
Templestowe church established
The Templestowe Presbyterian Church was established in 1895 for the building up of the community in faith, when a number of Templestowe people decided to separate from Heidelberg parish.
Templestowe Presbyterian church 1896
Sunday School and corporate worship are believed to have started in the local Mechanics Institute on Sunday, 14 July 1895. The Templestowe folk erected a church building in 1896 on land donated by Emma Smith Sr. It was officially opened on Sunday, 24 May 1896 by the Rev Frederick A Darling, Principal of Surrey College. The Lay Preachers Association supplied preachers from July 1896 to July 1898. The building has been conserved and is still used by the Uniting Church Templestowe today.
The Smith family was deeply involved in the construction of the original weatherboard church building, John and James being primarily responsible for its erection. On 31 March 1896 several of the Smith cousins were collected from school and taken to the site to work with their uncles John and James in digging the stump holes. It took barely eight weeks to finish the building ready for the official opening. A tea meeting was one of the opening functions which attracted everyone from the district.
Early developments and orcharding
From the earliest days, crops and vegetables were grown in the rich river flats, but frequent flooding was a problem. The grasslands were suitable for dairying and the higher ground was
Original church building in 1994
timbered. As the timber on this higher ground was felled and sold for firewood, orchards were established, so that in time orchards covered the hillsides. James Read reputedly planted the first fruit trees in Templestowe in 1855.
By 1919, orcharding was well and truly established as the main industry and the area boasted a large cool store. Although other fruit had been tried, peaches, apples, pears and lemons were the most successful and made up most of the orchards.
Because of the orcharding, several supporting industries were established. Farm inventions from ploughs to spray pumps and motorised equipment, came out of the area. Daniel Harvey's farm equipment became famous throughout Australia. He worked from his blacksmith shop in Foote Street from about 1900 to 1911 then moved to Whitehorse Road, Box Hill.
Some shafts were dug for gold and antimony mining between Feathertop Avenue and Thompsons Road from 1858, and a large-scale mine was established in 1890. It had a fifteen-year period of operation before closing in 1905 when antimony production became uneconomic. The mine tailings were washed at a dam constructed across Ruffey Creek near Parker Street.
The telephone came in 1912 and electricity in 1922.
In the church records, references to the two World Wars were few and far between; readers can assume that there was little effect on life in Templestowe. An element of vilification towards people of German descent was known to occur. Men enlisted and served overseas during both wars; honour rolls were commonly erected in churches recording the names of those who served. There is a Roll of Honour in Scots Heidelberg including the names of some Templestowe folk. The Honour Roll from the Templestowe Methodist church is still in our possession.
The Memorial Hall was built in 1922 following World War 1.
Residential demand
Orcharding was the backbone of Templestowe for many years. However, orchards progressively gave way to housing after World War 2, when immigration created a demand for house allotments. The metamorphosis started on the Bulleen and Doncaster boundaries and extended eastward and northward.
Community facilities
With the housing came the need for churches, kindergartens, schools, local shops, libraries, health and recreation facilities. Templestowe Presbyterian Church built a Sunday School Hall in 1955, a manse in 1960, and a new church building in 1962. An interesting aside is that the new electric stove for the manse was stolen from the building as it neared completion. Churches that subsequently joined the Uniting Church were established in Bulleen (1959), Doncaster (1967), and George Street, East Doncaster (1967).
The one primary school in Templestowe (1874) was no longer adequate. Another five schools were built - Manningham, Templestowe Valley, Templestowe Heights, Serpell, and Templestowe Park. Two secondary schools were created - Templestowe High School (1960) and Templestowe Technical School (1971). These two schools were eventually combined as Templestowe College in 1994, signalling the end of rapid population growth.
Breathing space
The land along the river has been reserved as part of the Yarra Valley Parkland and is a highly valued community asset. The Westerfolds part of this parkland was protected from urbanisation in 1973 when purchased by the State Government as a result of community pressure.
New Templestowe Presbyterian church 1962
Neighbouring Uniting churches
The surrounding Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches all joined the Uniting Church in 1977. Thus the history of the Uniting Church Templestowe is illuminated by the short following accounts of these churches of the DoncastenTemplestowe^Bulleen area.
Presbyterian
The first recorded corporate worship in the Yarra Valley east of Clifton Hill appears to have been in 1843 at Bulleen, when Presbyterian services began in Alexander Duncan’s barn. Two years later, Bulleen and Templestowe folk travelled to Heidelberg to worship, but it was not until 1958 with the introduction of fortnightly services led by the Rev D McKnight Jones in private homes, that corporate worship returned to Bulleen.
This led to a combined Presbyterian-Methodist Church being established in Kenneth Street, Bulleen in 1959, when young families were moving into that area. This church closed in May 1994 and combined with the Doncaster Uniting Church, now known as the Pilgrim Uniting Church.
The Presbyterian arm of the Uniting Church which started in a bam in Bulleen had come and gone more than once in 150 years.
The Methodists actually preceded the Presbyterians into Templestowe by about 15 years, constructing a church building in Anderson Street in 1880, opposite where the Memorial Hall now stands. That church served for 52 years until 1932 when it was relocated in one piece by bullock team to Highview Road, East Preston. The Methodists of East Preston used the building first as a church, and then as a Sunday School and hall until 1953.
Another Methodist Church was established in East Doncaster at the corner of Blackburn and Doncaster Roads in 1866. This church is today the Wesley Uniting Church, East Doncaster.
The Doncaster Methodist^Presbyterian Church was established in Westfield Drive, Doncaster in 1967. Their new building was opened in 1971. At Church Union this church became the Doncaster Uniting Church.
Congregationalists
In 1967, a Congregational Church was established in George Street, East Doncaster to serve the growing areas of East Templestowe, East Doncaster and Donvale. While the congregation continued at George Street after Church Union, it became increasingly apparent that this location was not ideal, being close to the long-established Wesley Uniting Church. Land was purchased in Andersons Creek Road near Reynolds Road for a new Deep Creek Parish Mission, and a manse built in 1982. The George Street church was sold in 1986. The congregation worshipped temporarily at Kingswood College, East Doncaster until 1989 when the church building for the Deep Creek Mission in Andersons Creek Road was dedicated.
Doncaster / Templestowe
Historical Society LIBRARY
Ministers of Templestowe Parish
The Templestowe Parish of the Uniting Church in Australia has been through four major phases in its progress.
I Part of the Heidelberg Parish
Meeting the spiritual needs of the Templestowe folk and other scattered rural communities must have been difficult.
Mr Fraser did not approve of the Templestowe effort to establish a local church and called on the Melbourne North Presbytery to disallow the move. The reaction of Templestowe was to seek to join the Melbourne South Presbytery. This move was unsuccessful.
Mr Fraser’s responsibility for Templestowe ceased when approval was given to establish our own congregation.
Mr Fraser resigned from Heidelberg on 31 December 1897.
II Templestowe Congregation Established
The initial resistance of Heidelberg to the formation of Templestowe as a separate congregation in 1895, even though Templestowe folk had worshipped there for 52 years, is understandable. The loss of a quarter of their members was threatening to Heidelberg, particularly as it had plans for building a new church: a decision which led to the resignations of some Heidelberg members. The Rev Duncan Fraser was offended by the action of the Templestowe folk in leaving to establish their own meeting place, claiming that Templestowe would not attract ministry sufficient for its needs.
The Templestowe church was built in 1896 but Heidelberg’s new church was delayed until 1901. After three years of separation, Heidelberg and Templestowe were reconciled following the resignation of Duncan Fraser and worked harmoniously together for the next 62 years.
During the period from July 1895 to July 1898, Templestowe did not have an ordained parish minister. It is not known who conducted services during the first year, but the Lay Preachers Association provided supply for the latter two years.
Some Templestowe folk continued to worship at Heidelberg after 1895, probably out of a sense of allegiance.
Although the Templestowe folk now had their own congregation and would have been generating and recording information locally, little documentation on this early period of the Templestowe church is available. As a consequence, some of the following entries on the ministers and their congregations are, by necessity, short.
The first list of Communicant Members of the Templestowe Presbyterian Church was drawn up in October 1898 by Mr MacDonald and his senior minister, the Rev George Carson, and is included in the Appendixes.
1898-1902 Rev George M Macdonald was appointed in March 1898 to be the first minister caring for both Templestowe and Heidelberg. Templestowe contributed towards his stipend. He preached at Templestowe in the afternoon and at Heidelberg in the morning and evening, travelling between services by horse and cart.
Mr MacDonald arranged for the election of the first Templestowe Board of Management, in January 1899. Arthur Chivers, Henry Finger, Alex Ross, John Smith and Thomas Smith were elected for two years, while Messrs Louis Grouix, Robert Martin, Frederick Schuhkraft, and James Smith from Doncaster were elected for one year.
Mr Macdonald completed his ministry on 15 March 1902.
1902-1907 Rev Stewart Byron was inducted on 23 October 1902.
He was very popular because of his genial disposition and his gospel singing, which he often shared with the patients at the Austin Hospital.
William Ross and Thomas Smith were elected as the first two elders in 1903. William Ross became Session Clerk.
1907-1923 Rev Alexander Hardie was minister of the Heidelberg and Templestowe congregations from his induction on 3 September 1907 until 31 December 1923, when Templestowe was formally severed from Heidelberg as a result of the high workload. Mr Hardie did not drive a car and travelled throughout the parish by horse and j inker.
Joseph Smith and Alex Ross were elected elders in 1911. Very little is known about Templestowe Session meetings in the early years. Heidelberg Session minutes contain brief references
to Templestowe, but it appears that separate meetings were held at Templestowe. Templestowe elders attended the Session meetings at Heidelberg occasionally, and sometimes combined meetings were held.
Templestowe Presbyterian Womens Missionary Union (PWMU) was formed in 1915.
1924'1931 From 1924 Templestowe and Warrandyte became a Home Mission charge. Rev A H Tolhurst, the minister at Warrandyte at the time, continued to minister at Templestowe until he resigned from Warrandyte. Then followed a series of Home Missioners: Mr Collins from June 1925 to March 1927, Mr W H Meredith Mathers from March 1927 to April 1929, and Mr Reid from May 1929 to at least July 1930.
In 1929, Montmorency, Warrandyte and Templestowe were linked as a Home Mission charge but by 1930 Templestowe was separate. However, before the year was out Templestowe and McLeod had been joined together as a Home Mission charge.
1931'1934 Rev David S Jones took up his ministry at Heidelberg in 1930. He encouraged and assisted Templestowe to rejoin Heidelberg and this reunion was formalised on 1 October
1931. His son D McKnight Jones, who was studying for the ministry, also assisted in the parish. Mr Jones resigned on 1 April
1934.
A number of Methodists joined the Templestowe Presbyterian Church when the local Methodist Church closed in
1932.
He was appreciated for his ability to care for the spiritual welfare of the members and the delight he had in working with young people.
1934' 1951 Rev Coledge Harland ministered to Heidelberg and Templestowe from 2 August 1934 to 23 October 1951.
As a young minister, Mr Harland had been a ‘camel padre’ under the Rev John Flynn, ministering to station folk over an enormous area from Oodnadatta SA to Tennant Creek NT.
He came to Heidelberg and Templestowe following several years in Gippsland.
Fruit of the Spirit Doncaster / Templestowe
Historical Society
x . ‘ LIBRARY
He took great interest in the training of Deaconesses and was on the managing committee.
In 1936 an Old Time Tea Meeting and Concert was held at the Memorial Hall to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the church building.
Fifty years
The Jubilee of the Templestowe Presbyterian Church was celebrated on Sunday, 20 May 1945 with a Communion Service at 9:30 am and a special anniversary service at 2:30 pm, at which the preacher was the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, the Rt Rev E H McLean Shugg.
On the following Tuesday there was a Jubilee Social Reunion in the Memorial Hall of present and former members and adherents of the church. The Rev WHM Mathers returned to conduct a service on the following Sunday (27 May) at 2:30 pm.
Work with youth
Mr Harland took religious education classes weekly in State schools from April to December each year and started and led the PFA group from 1948 to 1951.
Mr Harland’s motor car was not always in going order but he was known for arriving at high speed, often coming around the corner ‘on two wheels’.
1952-1960 On 1 February 1952, Rev John W P Gillan
was inducted. He prepared the ground for the establishment of several new parishes including Bulleen and Templestowe. Templestowe provided a loan to Heidelberg to assist the purchase of a block of land for the church in Bulleen.
In November 1954 an evangelistic Mission called the New Life Plan was conducted throughout the Heidelberg parish, with four special Sunday services led by the Rev Harold Whitney from Queensland. Mr Whitney had been appointed Assembly Evangelist and conducted the New Life Plan over a three-month period in many parishes. The Billy Graham Crusade was conducted throughout Australia in 1959. Thirty-seven respondents to this campaign were referred for our care.
The Sunday School building was dedicated and officially opened by the Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia on Saturday, 28 May 1955. In 1958 two rooms were added to the Sunday School.
Cottage meetings were introduced for bible study, and ‘fifth Sunday' combined services with the local Anglicans were commenced in 1956. On some occasions these were held in the Memorial Hall, with a morning service devoted to worship and an evening service catering for youth and incorporating films.
Ill Templestowe Forms Own Parish
In the late 1950s the Presbyterian Church had developed a broad plan to establish new charges in growing areas. Heidelberg parish fitted this bill, as it encompassed several rapidly expanding residential suburbs. Rev John Gillan was actively encouraging each of these congregations to be self-supporting. In November 1958 we decided to build a manse at Templestowe as the first step in calling a minister and becoming a separate charge. Session Clerk Alan Ramsay pointed out that with 83 families in touch with the congregation it was possible to support a minister and build a manse and a new church building as well.
In October 1959 we asked Presbytery to investigate the possibility of our becoming a separate charge having our own minister. The initial application for an exit student was rejected but the Rev Roy Merritt was appointed part-time from February 1960. When it became known that his son David was returning from studies in the USA and would be soon available, application was made for David’s services.
1960-1963 Rev Dr David Merritt was ordained and inducted into the pastoral charge of the new Templestowe parish of the Presbyterian Church on 21 June 1960. He had been leading the congregation since March and on 6 April became an Exit Appointee to the parish.
David and his wife Joy had profound influences on the Templestowe parish in its formative stages; an influence that continued for many years after their short ministry.
Merritt’s could take up residence in the manse which was by then being constructed, Elsie Gow provided accommodation for them for several months. The manse was completed in July 1960. A meeting room/study was added in 1973.
Signs of growth
The number of members of the church doubled from 63 in 1960 to 128 by the end of 1963, while average attendances at church services increased from 53 to 83.
Letter of 23 March 1960, inaugurating Templestowe as a parish and appointing David Merritt as minister
Peter Aumann, son of Jack and Dorothy, became a Minister of the Word in 1960.
Dr Merritt conducted “Epilogue”, a five-minute reflective religious program on Channel 9, on several occasions.
A feature of the life of the church was the close co-operation with the Church of England in Templestowe. One youth group served both Anglican and Presbyterian parishes and a combined Couples’ Club was in operation in the early 1960s. The ‘fifth Sunday’ or quarterly services with the Anglicans continued.
Waripana, the ladies fellowship group, was formed at Joy Merritt’s initiative in 1961 to provide support for young mothers.
Cottage meetings were continued fortnightly for bible study and fellowship. David introduced monthly Holy Communion services held prior to usual corporate worship. Family services were increased to monthly occasions. Evening services were held twice a month, while on the fourth Sunday a Youth service was held, and on the first Sunday, a Fellowship Hour with films, speakers, and hymn singing.
Local crusade
A visitation evangelism program was developed by the elders in 1963. A little later, a large number became communicant members following study groups attended by 54. The visitation program was extended into the Templestowe Crusade, with specialist speakers at worship, followed by discussion on Sunday and during the week. These programs were supported by ‘friendly visitation’, planning groups, and membership classes.
Expansion
Even though extra pews had been added to the original church, worship had to be moved to the Upper Hall in 1960 to accommodate the swelling congregation. The final move to the new church was made in 1962 (see separate chapter - The New Church Building).
David Merritt started monthly modem music services on Sunday evenings. They used contemporary music, language, and preaching directed especially to the world of young people.
There was standing room only in the new church for these highly successful events which attracted all kinds of youth from a wide area of Melbourne. The period of major growth had started in earnest.
Strong lay leadership
The leader of many of the great changes which took place in our church during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was Alan Ramsay. Alan was a highly respected member of our church from 1952 to 1975, an elder from 1954 to 1975, and Session Clerk from 1956 to 1966. He was a global visionary and he wanted to see a strong community of faith where moral fibre was important. He had a strong faith and was very generous of his time and substance, and at the same time ran a successful publishing business. He was a lay preacher and a most effective leader in the parish and in the church at Assembly level.
David Merritt left in December 1963 to take up the position of Director of the Federal Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.
1964-1986 Rev John Howard was called from Laang and was due to start in May 1964 but while making pastoral calls in the Laang parish he was involved in a car accident, leaving him with paraplegia. He was inducted into the parish in November 1964 and took up duty progressively from February 1965.
John Howard’s ministry continued into the .Uniting Church until he retired on 7 June 1986.
John Howard’s ministry over a period of 22 years at Templestowe was a very large part of his life and a large part of the life of the Templestowe congregation.
New opportunities
When John and his wife Margaret arrived the congregation had a large proportion of young marrieds with young children. The congregation was active, enthusiastic and hopeful. There was an increasing membership and all the church organisations were functioning well. A number of outreach projects were under way with migrants and youth, including monthly modem music evening services. The number of communicants rose to 180 members by 1972 and has been reasonably constant ever since.
Early difficulties
John was hospitalised for six months as a result of the car accident. The congregation provided a team of volunteers organised by Irene Sewart/Hawthom to take Margaret and their two-year-old daughter Cathy to see John at the Austin Hospital twice a day for many weeks until their car was repaired, which coincided with the birth of the Howard’s second daughter Anne. In addition, the Victorian Church established a fund to provide short and long-term practical assistance to John.
The early years were difficult for John while he became accustomed to his new life-style in a wheel chair and as he battled with his variable health. In this time of adjustment the Templestowe members supported him and enabled him to work out his role in the parish. He had part-time assistance from theological students David Poynton (one year), Roger Webb (one year), and Karel Reus-Smit and his wife Janet for three years.
Innovations
John engaged the parish in a sharing and caring ministry. During the seventies, when churches were changing rapidly, he led many innovations in worship and communications which challenged conventional ways and wisdom. These challenging experiences contributed to the growth in the faith of members. Church weekend camps were generally held each year and were excellent vehicles for developing the community of faith.
The church pews were rearranged in 1970 to form an open square around the newly created sanctuary on the south side of the nave. The primary aim was to enable John easy ramped access to the sanctuary. However, by this move the congregation became physically closer to the sanctuary and could see each other’s faces from many vantages of the building. It also allowed John greater mobility and involvement with the congregation. Incidentally, most members could look towards the sanctuary without having to face the glare of the morning sun through the eastern glass wall, as had been the case before.
Celebrations
John enjoyed celebrating the Gospel. He particularly liked to incorporate new music, poetry, drama and action. He likes doodling and drawing, and often used sketches in worship and to illustrate articles in the Newsletter. The congregation learned to accept new ways of celebrating and contributing during his ministry. He often recommended books, films, music and art to others seeking Christ’s light.
He enthusiastically supported risky ventures like the Cave, which was a youth club designed to reach teenagers outside the church. He challenged church members to see the Cave as a legitimate outreach, even though it had limited formal preaching and teaching components.
International visitors and travels
During October and November 1970 we had the Rev Swamiappan. David and his wife Leila worshipping with us while he undertook further studies at Melbourne University. Swami David was a minister of the Church of South India in Madras, where his congregation exceeded a thousand members.
We hosted the Rev Professor Todor Sabev on 18 May 1980 during the World Council of Churches conference in Melbourne. Todor was a member of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Deputy Secretary^General of the World Council of Churches. He talked with the adults and children of the congregation and it was a real privilege to have him attend our service. He wrote back from Geneva saying how much he enjoyed meeting the children in our church.
The parish gave John leave in 1981 to work full time for the International Year for Disabled Persons, during which time he visited USA and attended the WCC meeting on disability in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The whole parish had their awareness of disability heightened by John’s messages of his encounters and speeches, and by newspaper articles, radio and TV interviews about John’s work.
He expanded our ecumenical relations with neighbouring churches, having worship with the Anglicans on the ‘fifth Sundays’ and occasional combined services with Bulleen Uniting Church, including an outdoor service.
Participation
During John Howard’s ministry at Templestowe, members were encouraged to be a more caring and sharing community, enjoying each other’s fellowship in worship and elsewhere. With his encouragement, members became more comfortable participating personally in worship, and more relaxed in accepting a wide range of worship experiences.
Pat Potter became a Deaconess and Alastair Pritchard became a Minister of the Word as an industrial chaplain.
IV Uniting Church Templestowe
Because the Templestowe Presbyterian Church was the only Protestant church in the area other than Anglican, it contained members from many denominational backgrounds. This led to a natural acceptance of, and easy transition to, the Uniting Church in Australia. John Howard played a significant role in preparing the congregation for Church Union.
On 22 June 1977 Templestowe Presbyterian Church became part of the Uniting Church in Australia.
1987-1993 Rev David Walker was inducted into the parish on 12 April 1987. David and his wife Joan widened the children’s programs and activities during difficult times. David and Joan Walker came to Templestowe from Yarrawonga.
By his personal involvement David encouraged the parish to become involved in community concerns such as youth housing. Part of the proceeds from the annual fete were directed to local youth housing projects for a number of years during his time of ministry. In August 1987, Gail Pritchard was ordained as a Minister of the Word, having been accepted as a chaplain at Epworth Hospital.
Children’s ministry
David was particularly interested in our mission with children. The KUCA Club (Kids of the Uniting Church in Australia) was established largely through Joan’s efforts. Puppet plays were introduced and used as a lively medium for messages to the children. The KUCA Club members and others presented many puppet shows for the congregation during worship. David was chaplain to the Victorian KUCA Kids Campout at Queenscliff on several occasions. This involvement enlarged the parish’s view of the UCA children’s ministry.
The Christmas play presented by members of the congregation was an annual feature during David’s ministry.
Doncaster / Templestowe
Fruit of the spirit Historical Society
LIBRARY
Parish reinvigorated
The rearranged seating introduced in 1970 was modified slightly in 1989 with a major refurbishment project. The old raised sanctuary at the east end was removed to create a level floor, a new sanctuary constructed, and full carpeting and acoustic treatment installed. The resulting interior is very pleasing and comfortable.
The parish undertook two Stewardship Programs - one in 1988 and a second in 1991. Members were challenged to contribute their time and efforts as well as to respond financially. This style of program had been developed strongly in this parish.
Candidates for further ministry
Janine McCarthy (1990) and Joan Walker (1993) served the wider church through the Order of St Stephen. Judith Watkins became a candidate for the ministry of the Word and commenced her training in 1994.
David accepted a call to Geelong East in October 1993, leaving Templestowe after conducting worship on Christmas Day.
1994 - Rev Dr David Beswick was inducted on 23 November 1994. This was for him a welcome return to parish ministry after many years in which he had served in academic work and more recently as Presbytery Minister of the Presbytery of Gippsland. He has a continuing interest in ministerial education and the development of pastoral ministry.
Interim ministries
In addition to the parish ministers mentioned above, the Templestowe congregation has been fortunate to have excellent service from interim ministers and short-term pastors. These have included Rev John Foyster (1951), Rev Roy Merritt (1960), Rev Stuart Calder (1964^5), Rev Syd Smale (1964), Rev Stan Weeks (1981), Rev Ken Cross (1985), Rev Lex Pollock (1986) and Rev Tom Howells (1991-92 & 1994).
Elders and Managers 1943
Front row - Robert Hillhouse, Alex Ross, Rev Coledge Harland, Eric Henshaw, Frederick Grass Standing - Roy Mundy, Jos Smith, Carl Aumann, Jack Aumann Absent - Fioward Smith (in the forces), Alf Miller
Pioneer Families
Many wonderful folk have been associated with the Uniting Church Templestowe over the years. By way of example, the stories which follow give readers an insight into the times and experiences of just a few. Those shown in bold type were members of the Templestowe congregation.
Aumanns
Carl Aumann was an early settler in the Templestowe district. He and his wife Isabella lived at the orchard home “Glencaim” in Main Road and joined the church in 1905. Carl served on the Board of Management for 43 years from 1910. Isabella was active in the PWMU, being a founding member in 1915.
Carl, Isabella, Jack and Dorothy Aumann
Their son Jack (John Milne Aumann) became a corner-stone of our church. He was an elder from 1954 until his death in 1966. Jack was one of the few people to live his whole life in the Templestowe church. He was secretary and treasurer of the Board of Management; for a number of years he was both. It was fitting that Jack was given the honour of laying the foundation stone of our new church.
Jack married Dorothy Hill of Lilydale in 1929 and they lived at “Glencaim” on the family orchard. Dorothy had visited Templestowe many times before and remembers Rev Alex Hardie from when she was about twelve in 1918.
Dorothy immediately became active in the church, joined the PWMU and started up the PGF. She was involved in the Sunday School for many years and became an elder in 1971, an office she still retains. Dorothy is an inspiration to all who know her and she continues to provide leadership in the parish at the age of 89.
Jack and Dorothy's children Peter, Neil and Keren grew up in the church family and taught in the Sunday School. Peter and Neil both served on the Board of Management in the 1950s.
Peter was the Sunday School superintendent from 1951 to 1956 and became an ordained minister in 1960, his first parish being Mirboo North.
Beales
Joseph and Doris Beale (nee Johnston) had links to the pioneering families back to the 1840s and 1850s. Doris died at the age of 91 in 1990 having been active in the Templestowe Methodist and Presbyterian churches. Her daughter Dorothy Blackie recalls the early days:
My earliest recollections are of walking down our long dusty lane to be picked up by Mr William Ross in a horse-drawn vehicle to go to Sunday School in the old church. I still have my first book from there dated 1933.
Doris Beale
My mother was assistant organist to Ivy Miller (who was originally her music teacher) and she later took over as organist. Her main worry was that there would be enough people to sing, as the congregation struggled to make double figures at times.
One Sunday afternoon, after cleaning the church and then practising on the organ, she got a surprise to find the Willys utility she had driven had been stolen from the church driveway. It was found several days later, empty of petrol and abandoned near the army camp at Watsonia.
There were on occasions some very unexpected visitors during the service - a stray dog and even a sheep wandered in, and one time some late comers beat a hasty retreat when they discovered, to their dismay, that the Catholic Church was further up the street on the top of the hill
One of the highlights was the Harvest Thanksgiving [Festival] when the display of fruit and vegetables was wonderful to see. Sunday School Anniversaries, when we sang our favourite hymns and were later presented with our attendance prizes, were also special days.
Best of all though, was our Sunday School and Church Picnic which was usually held at Mordialloc. We would go in Mr Jack Aumanns truck, taking our lunch with us. Mr Aumann always made sure to have some enormous water melons for everyone to eat. By the end of the day, we came home sticky from sunburn cream, salt water and sand, flies, and water melon juice, but we always enjoyed ourselves.
One of the saddest days I remember was the funeral service of the seven-year-old daughter and two-year-old grandson of Mr and Mrs Svanborg, who were drowned accidentally in Ruffey Creek in 1942.
One evening, at one of the modern music services, a smart alec was folding up hymn sheets and making paper darts during the service. He stopped pretty smartly when my husband Don threatened to hit him on the knuckles with a drum stick.
I have many happy memories of the Uniting Church Templestowe.
Smiths
A large proportion of the members of the early church were Smiths. There were 15 Smiths out of 24 active members in the communicant members roll book of 1910.
David Smith had arrived from Scotland in 1853. His letters home encouraged his family to emigrate also. Three of his brothers - John, Thomas, and George arrived in 1854 and tried their luck in the gold diggings. Their parents John and Elizabeth and the other eight siblings including Joseph and James followed in 1857. Some of the twelve children and some of the more than 60 second-generation Smiths settled in the Templestowe area and many of them joined the church. John and James were primarily responsible for the construction of the original church building.
John married Emma Hewish and later took over a butcher shop at the corner of Porter and Clarke Streets. Their daughter Emma married William Ross.
Emma Ross was organist, Sunday School teacher, and a PWMU Vice President for many years. Another daughter Agnes was also active in the congregation.
It was Emma Sr who gave the land in 1895 for the erection of the original weatherboard church. Their son Thomas was one of the first elders elected in 1903. He died in 1912.
Another son, George H Smith, was a member of the Board of Management and was the church auditor from at least 1912 to 1945. His wife Maggie assisted him as auditor.
Florence and Beatrice Smith, daughters of James, were members in the early days.
Gilbert and Mary Smith ran a dairy farm “Holyrood Park” on the site of Westerfolds Park and were both active members. Gil was a son of David and was a member of the Board of Management. Their daughter Lexi Carnochan was also an active member, being treasurer of the PWMU for a long time.
Howard Smith, son of Alexander, and grandson of James and Elizabeth, was a member of the Board of Management from 1945 to 1947, and Sunday School treasurer from 1938 to 1941, and a Budget Scheme collector.
Emma and John Smith
Doncaster / Templestowe
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Joseph Smith Sr was a member of the Heidelberg church around 1900 and ran an orchard in Newmans Road. His wife Ellen was a member at Templestowe although Joseph Smith Sr apparently remained at Scots Church Heidelberg until he died in 1902. Their son Joseph Jr became an elder in the Templestowe church in 1911. He was a respected and conscientious secretary to the Board of Management for many years until 1944 and Session Clerk for ten years from 1947 to 1956. He lived for his church and orchard and he cared for his sister Jessie, who was also a member of this church for many years.
Joseph was a bachelor, and when he died in 1956 he left most of his estate to the Church. He left stated amounts to all Church departments with the greater part being left to the Templestowe congregation. Much of the estate was in land, the value of which was rising.
On Sunday, 18 November 1962 the new church was dedicated - “To the glory of God in grateful memory of Joseph Smith, 1878'1956, a faithful elder and Session Clerk whose generosity made possible this building. ” A plaque with these words can be found in the church narthex.
There are many other Smiths who were involved with the congregation over the years and, quite clearly, the Smith families constituted a large part of the church membership in the first half of the twentieth century, with a contribution to its life and growth that was very significant.
Rosses
The two sons of William and Isabel Ross (nee Glennie), William J (* 1875^ 1938) and Alexander (1877-1946), and their wives Emma (nee Smith) and Florence (nee Crichton), were active members of the congregation from before 1900.
William was an elder and the Session Clerk from 1903 until he died in 1938, and Sunday School Superintendent from prior to 1910 until 1936. William was well known for offering rides to Sunday School in his phaeton.
Emma Ross was active in the PWMU and was a vice president from 1919 to 1940. Alongside her husband William she taught in the Sunday School, teaching the younger children.
William and Emma were presented with a. teacher’s bible in 1915 in recognition of their long service as Sunday School teachers, so it is quite possible that they were founding teachers in the Sunday School in 1895.
Alex Ross was a member of the first Board of Management in 1899. He was elected as an elder in 1911 and succeeded William as Session Clerk, a position which he held from 1938 to 1946 when he died. He was church treasurer from at least 1912 until 1942.
Eric and Marjorie Ross were the son and daughter of Alex and Florence Ross. Eric was a member of the Bible Class, later a member of the Board of Management and a collector for the Budget Schemes. He went to live in Eaglemont in 1958. Marjorie was secretary of the Bible Class and active in the PGF from 1931 to 1940 and was treasurer for a period, then remained attached to the congregation until 1982 when she went to live in East Kew.
Sunday School
The Sunday School started as the Presbyterian Sabbath School, Templestowe on 14 July 1895. It operated continuously to the end of 1993. It was called Discovery Group for much of the past 25 years and had a program very similar to that of a conventional Sunday School.
Early days
The first available records indicate that the main features of the Sunday School calendar were the Sunday School Anniversary (usually celebrated around October), the Hospital Sunday special effort, the annual picnic, and the annual prize giving.
The Sunday School Picnic was a full Cup Day excursion to Mordialloc, Mentone or Edithvale once motor trucks were available in 1934. Jack Aumann and Roy Mundy would fit their orchardist trucks out with seats to transport the children to the beach: no seat belts! Swimming, races, and socialising were the favourite activities. There were always plenty of water melons, and sunburn cream was needed.
Sunday School collections always seemed to exceed the cost of materials, hymn books and prizes, enabling the Sunday School to become a regular supporter of Presbyterian Social Services such as the Babies' Home and Rolland House, Australian Inland Mission, Foreign Missions, Welfare of Youth, Renfrew Hostel, and Abbotsford Kindergarten.
The longest serving Superintendent was William Ross, who retired in 1936 after more than a quarter of a century in the post, as mentioned in the previous chapter.
Prior to 1950, Sunday School pupils were known to study Catechisms, sing from Sankey Hymn books and, in 1939, 1940 and 1941, presented Sunday School concerts.
Joy Society
In 1952 the Joy Society was formed to promote an interest among the children in missionary work. On the first Sunday of the month each child with a birthday that month brought along an extra “love gift” to help maintain missionary work in the Pacific Islands. The practice continued for a number of years.
Own hall
As a result of the dramatic increase in the local population during the 1950s and 1960s, attendances at Sunday School also rose steadily. There was great pressure for additional accommodation. With considerable foresight, land was purchased in 1945 for the Upper Hall which was built in 1955 for the Sunday School. This hall provided greater flexibility and was capable of accommodating the 100 children attending by 1960.
By 1964, notwithstanding the extra space created by the new church building, the Sunday School needed to use private homes for some classes. Attendances peaked in 1969 when there were 278 pupils on the roll, with an average of 158 attending.
Over the years
In the days when the minister came from Heidelberg, the Sunday School would meet at 2:00 pm in the church prior to the church service at 3:00 pm. In the 1950s and 1960s, Sunday School met at 10:45 am after church at 9:30 am. The more recent practice was for children to participate in the first part of worship as an introduction, then meet together to develop the theme and finish around the same time as the adults. This required two groups of leaders serving for six weeks at a time, to allow them to participate in at least some services of worship.
Since early 1994, Sunday School has been replaced by Link-Up, an all-age Christian education program that meets monthly from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm on Sundays.
Harvest Festivals
In the Presbyterian Church, Harvest Festivals (Harvest Homes) were great days, as most members were growing fruit - cases and cases of the best would be displayed in front of the pulpit in the church and there would be special singing and visitors to rejoice that the harvest was again in. Often there would be 30 to 40 twenty kilogram cases of fruit, as well as
Harvest Festival 1919
jam, pumpkins, eggs, flowers, corn and all produce of the garden. These would be divided between the Babies’ Home, Austin Hospital, Deaconess College, and Homes for Children and would be delivered by some generous givers.
The Harvest Festival tradition continued until about 1966.
PWMU
Mission support
The Templestowe branch of the Presbyterian Womens Missionary Union commenced in March 1915. Its main aim was to raise funds to support missionaries in the Pacific area. Its long-serving office-bearers included Isabella Aumann, Emmie Mundy, Emma Ross, Mary Smith, Lexi Camochan, Irene Smith, Joyce Hawtin and Win Petty. Meetings were initially held every second month, although by 1943 they had increased to monthly. Membership varied between 11 and 16 over the 58 years of its existence.
Other missions
While the PWMU principally supported missionary work overseas, it also supported many projects locally. These included children’s and babies’ homes and a Deaconess fund, as well as various church-related causes such as charities and the piano fund.
Activities
The format of meetings consisted of an opening hymn followed by a prayer and scripture read by the president, organ playing, the business of the day, a guest speaker, benediction, and afternoon tea. This was the format set out in the church’s missionary publication The Chronicle. The guest speakers were mostly missionaries who had worked in Korea, China, India, and the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), although other speakers on youth and drinking, the work of a Deaconess, and the work of various church charities, also addressed the meetings.
The PWMU organised the annual church fete for many years, at least from 1951 to 1974.
Although the PWMU continued officially until 1977 when Church Union came, members have continued to meet since that time as the Templestowe Friends.
Girls, Clubs
PGF (Presbyterian Girls Fellowship)
The PGF operated in Templestowe from 1930 to 1945 as a result of the caring concern of Dorothy Aumann. It had a consistent membership of eight to 10 members. The aim of the PGF was ‘Every girl for Christ’ and it sought to meet the deeper needs of all the girls in any way connected with the congregation. The PGF met monthly and, as well as their own fellowship and fun, contributed to the congregational life through donations to church funds, the Babies’ Home, Christian Education in State Schools and the Fellowship Service Fund. They raised money by subscriptions and by stalls at the Scottish Fair, from lantern lectures and from donations.
PGA (Presbyterian Girls’ Association) and Girls’ Club
Templestowe PGA was formed in 1967 and although the name was changed to the Girls’ Club at Church Union in 1977, the group functioned virtually continuously until 1989 when the KUCA Club was formed. The aims were to provide positive Christian learning experiences through fun and fellowship for girls of ages 10 to 14.
The group often had over 20 members, and between 1970 and 1972 it met in two groups because of the large numbers.
The leaders included Margaret Howard, Win Parsons, Gwen Gray, Pam Jenkins, Leslie Heslop, Kit Watson, Jan Hitchcock, Dawn Poole, Ailsa Lewis, Isobel Telford, Joan Heath, Judy Port, Jan Serpell, Jodie Serpell and Joan Walker.
Annual events included parents' night, badge service (PGA), cooking for others, and visits to patients at Lumeah at Christmas.
Youth Groups
Bible Study Groups
The first group specifically catering for young people over Sunday School age in the church was the Bible Class, which commenced in 1932. Although it only operated for four years at that time, Bill Ramsay recommenced it in 1956 and it has functioned virtually ever since. Other names for this Sunday group have been Youth 1, Youth 2, Unreal Group, and Youth Bible Study Group. It would be impossible to name all the faithful leaders of the youth groups, but Judy Port has been a leader of several of these groups for over 10 years.
PFA (Presbyterian Fellowship of Australia)
A young people’s group was formed in 1948 and out of this the PFA group was formed in 1949 with nine members under the guidance of the Rev Coledge Harland. They met fortnightly for scripture, study, games and learning experiences until 1951.
The PFA restarted in 1967 and operated until 1972.
Combined youth group
In an era of notable co-operation, during the 1960s, a combined youth group served both Anglican and Presbyterian parishes.
TYG
Templestowe Youth Group (TYG) was started by Pat and Jim Potter and Nola and Lyle Douglas in 1973 and has continued until today. TYG caters for secondary-age young people although it has at times been divided into more specific age groups. It has been seen as complementing the traditional Bible Study groups and has provided a range of recreational, cultural and service activities. Ron and Jan Higgins were long-serving leaders of TYG, and Noelene Barker was a leader in TYG, The Cave and other youth activities over a considerable period. The church owes a substantial debt to the leaders of the past 10 years, who have come mainly from dedicated ex-members of TYG.
The Cave
In 1965 Cliff Morris, an elder of the church, had a vision of the youth of Templestowe coming together regularly to share one another’s company, experiences and faith. He saw the-potential for a room to be built under the church and it was largely due to his perseverance that inspired others to create The Cave. The name has applied to both the basement and to the group that meets there.
John Reid designed the interior of The Cave, whilst Bruce Crow supervised its construction. On 23 October 1966 The Cave was officially opened and dedicated.
It began as a drop-in centre with teams of adults supervising and serving coffee, but by February 1968 The Cave was being advertised on radio and attracting between 60 and 100 young adults. They travelled from suburbs as far as Williamstown, Broadmeadows and Coburg. It was an enormous success. But the Cave became controversial within the congregation, with differing views as to its purpose and value.
In late 1968, The Cave as it stood had to be discontinued because of the noise and lack of control. There was a lot of loud music (bands often played live), which neighbours complained about. It became impossible for meaningful talk even in the adjacent lounge, which John Howard in particular wanted to encourage.
Over the past 29 years, as the needs of the youth has changed, so has the purpose of The Cave. In May 1972 The Cave recommenced, providing not only a place for Youth Group, but also a local youth drop-in centre. In 1974 a study group emerged for youth from Years 11 and 12 to support one another and do homework. It has been a meeting place for groups such as TYG, Cave, 18+, Unreal Group and Sunday School and still serves as a useful youth area today.
Waripana
Beginnings
Early in 1961 Joy Merritt realised the need in the community for an evening group catering for young mothers who were unable to attend the PWMU or other day-time groups. The first discussions were held at the manse between Joy, Peggy Jones, Julia de Waart, Edna Smith and Dorothy Gibson, when the aims of the group were drafted. Alison Watson was another key person in the formation of the Group. The first general meeting was held in May 1961 with a large attendance. The name Waripana Group (Waripana is aboriginal for refreshing) and the following aims were adopted:
1. Provide opportunities for fellowship and recreation, for group discussion and the development of new interests; to promote deeper understanding of the Christian faith and its implications in our lives; and
2. Offer service to the church and, on behalf of the church, to others.
Projects
Each year, various projects were targeted. In 1962, for example, the principal projects were to aid migrant families and to support the Freedom From Hunger Campaign.
From 1965 to 1968, four teen-age aboriginal girls, Myra Atkinson from Horsham West, Cheryl King from Orbost, Eileen Alberts from Condah in Western Victoria and Cheryl Mullett from Jindivick in West Gippsland were given financial assistance with their schooling for up to two years by Waripana.
During the 1970s, guest speakers gave presentations on crocheting, enamelling, jewellery, Christmas decorations, consumer affairs, and the Foster Parents Plan. One project financed was the improvements to the kitchen in the upper hall. Gifts were made to the Para/Quadriplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Force 10, Lone Parent Family Camp, and Box Hill and District Hospital.
In 1979 Waripana changed its name to Waripana Ladies Fellowship.
By the late 1980s, ongoing projects included sponsorship of aborigines, migrants, Kew Cottages, Doncare, Lifeline, and Wesley Central Mission, to name a few.
Speakers
The range of speakers engaged was similarly broad. Topics ranged from deportment (in the 1960s), to cancer in women, and the meaning of women’s liberation (in the 1970s); living with
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Huntington's disease, mental illness, and music therapy (in the 1980s); and overseas cultural experiences (in the 1990s).
Fund-raising events included apron parades, doll-dressing competitions, cake stalls, fetes, supper dances and progressive dinners.
Waripana has been a most successful organisation within the life of the Templestowe parish.
Boys' Clubs
PBA (Presbyterian Boys Association) and Boys' Club
The Boys’ clubs sought to provide interesting experiences in a Christian environment for boys aged 10 to 14 years. The main activities were games and outings, camps, speakers, and barbecues, which the boys particularly enjoyed.
The first Boys’ Club was established in 1949 by Wally Affleck and was led in the early 1950s by Bill Ramsay and Neil and Peter Aumann.
A PBA functioned from 1970 to 1977 as a group that met fortnightly to offer fun and games. From 1979 to 1982 it operated as the Boys’ Club. Leaders since 1970 have included Peter McQuie, John Every, Malcolm Cock, Terry Clift, Barry Gray, Fred Tuininga, Barry Reynolds, Ken Thompson, David Powell and Laurie Stephens.
Couples' Club
Ecumenical Action
The Templestowe Protestant Churches Couples’ Club, sponsored by the Anglican and Presbyterian Churches, was aimed at ... bringing the Protestant engaged and married couples in Templestowe closer to their churches.
From August 1960 it was a successful venture between Christ Church Templestowe and Templestowe Presbyterian Church for six years during a period when there was significant contact and co-operation between the two churches.
The Couples’ Club had a monthly program of games and talks, slides and films on faith and experiences, parenting, and education.
KUCA Club
When the Girls’ Club reviewed operations at the end of 1988, Jan Serpell and Joan Walker decided to start up a KUCA Club (Kids of the Uniting Church in Australia). With Jodie Serpell and Tim Edwards they drew up a fortnightly program and started in 1989. The KUCA Club has operated as an outreach program to provide wholesome experiences to older primary school-age children, especially welcoming those from outside the church family. Meetings have been generally held after school twice a month and aim to develop the children’s spiritual, physical, social and intellectual attributes. In 1994 two sections were created: one for boys and one for girls.
Other leaders have been Rohan Wheeler, Les Stokes, Naomi Serpell, Noelene Stevens, Jeremy Turnham, Callum Malin, Matthew McGivern, Jenny Bartlett, Natalie Thomas, Ramsay McKay and Frank Fisher. As well, members of the congregation have shared their skills with KUCA members.
Many children have joined in the state-wide annual KUCA Campout at Queenscliff and at times, joint activities have been held with other KUCA clubs.
Friendship Circle
People in the Templestowe congregation enjoy being together. The Friendship Circle was begun on 19 June 1987 to provide opportunity for fellowship additional to attendance at worship. The spirit of meetings is light-hearted, recreational and social in character.
Gatherings every two months attract 25 to 90 members, who sometimes bring friends. Expert speakers, travelogues, auctions, games, an annual dinner, and a Christmas party have become typical activities. Surplus funds have supported local and Uniting Church outreach activities.
Newsletter
For the entire period that the congregation has been an independent parish it has had a news sheet. David Merritt commenced a news sheet in 1960 to inform the congregation of events in the parish. It acquired the name Newsletter and he edited it monthly until he left at the end of 1963.
John Howard too, regarded the Newsletter as a vital means of communication and took on its editorship as soon as he was able, in December 1964. After a year in the job, he persuaded Alan and Barbara Dun to be editors until the birth of their second child Peter in 1966. A list of all the editors before and after 1977 can be found in the Appendixes.
As printing technology has changed and editors have come and gone, the shape, printing, colour, and overall presentation has altered but the Newsletter has remained true to its charter.
Because of the large number of people involved in producing the Newsletter monthly - from writers to typists, the editor to the dispatch team - the congregation has developed a proprietary ‘ownership’ of the Newsletter. It takes pride in the publication, believing that by its subject matter and its up-to-date presentation the Newsletter reflects the active, outgoing and involved attitude of the congregation.
As the Newsletter is regarded as a means of outreach, it is mailed to members and friends of the church and to the local newspaper.
Church Fetes
Long tradition
The church and its organisations have held fetes for a long time: there is a record of fairs being held around 1910. Records are not sufficiently complete to discern the degree of involvement of any particular organisation prior to 1950, but it is clear that the PWMU ran fetes from 1951 until the 1970s, when other organisations joined in to organise them. After Church Union, the Parish Council took full responsibility for the Fete.
Purpose and location
Sometimes the fetes have been held at the church halls and at other times, at the Memorial Hall/ Mechanics Institute.
Even from the earliest days, the proceeds have been split between local needs and wider church mission.
The Fete in 1975 was an art and craft fair, while the 1977 Fete supported Nungalinga College in Darwin.
The Fetes have enriched the life of the parish by providing group fellowship activities and by contributing funds to important social programs, complementing the personal participation of members.
Dodger advertising the Caledonian Fair 1910
Church Camps
Tradition established
For the past twenty years there have been weekends away for study and fellowship which * have generally been called Church Camps. They were not under canvas nor sufficiently basic to be regarded as camping but the name has stuck. Camps were held more often than not from 1974 to 1995, the common destinations being Mt Martha, Healesville and Monbulk. Some members went along for a relaxing time and said they came home exhausted, it being imperative to participate in everything that was organised.
Children and adults
There was usually a study theme, a concert on the Saturday night, plenty of recreation, and periods of quiet reflection alone or in groups. Activities generally catered for both children and adults in the same groups. Quite often the methods used were experimental. Folk always came away with a better feeling of community, generally knowing a few more people and quite often knowing children much better.
Personal growth
The basic purposes of such Camps are to further our Christian education and for us to to experience personal growth and true fellowship - aims usually achieved in full measure.
Island Bay Ranch camp 1976
Christian Drama
The Westside Players, a young Christian Drama group mainly from the northern and western suburbs, staged several plays at the church, mainly on Sunday evenings. They were:
1965 Christ in the Kitchen
1965 They Won’t Lie Down
1966 Christ in the Concrete City
1966 Christ in the Market
1967 The People Versus Christ
1970 Donkey in the Thistle Field
1971 2+3=7
1972 A Christmas play (title unknown)
1974 Oldenberg
Alastair Pritchard produced three plays with the young people: “Rice Bowl Nativity” (1966, at a church camp), “Hair’s Breadth” (1970), and “Fattypuffs and Thinifers” (1977), as well as two short films one of which was our own version of “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1976).
The story of the Good Samaritan “SAM” was produced by the Discovery Groups led by Margaret Howard in 1980.
In latter years, Christmas and Easter dramas have been produced by Gloria Mahvjenkins. They were:
1985 A Christmas Carol
1986 Nicholas’s Adventures in Australia
1987 The Witnesses
1987 Santa Sees a Shrink
1988 A Funky Night
1989 A Carol for Christmas
1990 The Country Christmas
1991 The Man Who Wouldn’t Go to Heaven
1992 Christmas Attitudes
1993 The Rented Christmas
1994 Santa Claus Goes on Strike
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In addition, Judith Watkins and Stephen Amos produced “Godspell” in 1990 in conjunction with Doncaster and Deep Creek parishes. In 1991, puppet plays were presented by the KUCA Club and the Puppet Group as aids to worship.
Music
The singing in worship at Uniting Church Templestowe has always been supported by organ music. Until the new church was built, the organ was an harmonium. A German electronic Lipp and Son organ was purchased when the new church was opened and served until 1995 when a digital electronic organ was purchased. A list of organists is included in the Appendixes.
Pianos were used for Sunday School and other groups from 1962. A new Yamaha piano was purchased for use in worship in 1985. A concert presented substantially by members of the congregation to raise funds for this piano, filled the church to capacity.
The modern music services of the 1960s were supported by a small group consisting of Colin Sarll on electronic organ, Stephen Hengeveld on clarinet, and Don Blackie on drums.
Bulleen and Templestowe Orchestra Folk Communion 1982
Dodger advertising the Old-Time Tea Meeting and Concert 1936
An orchestra was formed jointly with Bulleen in 1982 to present Geoffrey Beaumont’s “Folk Mass” at Templestowe and Bulleen. The Templestowe orchestra has provided music for two or three services each year since that time.
Special Youth Services have been supported by a variety of music groups ranging from duos to large bands.
A Choir led by Malcolm Ward was formed at the time of the opening of the new church but lasted only for one or two years. A Junior Choir led by Kath Every and Margaret Howard was formed in the late 1960s and operated for a similar period. The Singing Group of 1990 led by Judy Greenhill and later by Judith Watkins presented items at monthly services until 1991.
From time to time, special groups have been formed or soloists employed in worship to add variety and depth to the experiences.
Church Union 1977
Landslide vote
The vote in favour of Church Union was a staggering 93 per cent. This was a result of several factors. First, there were a significant number of members who had come from other denominations, many from outside the denominations uniting, who appreciated the common-faith elements. Second, there had been a thorough education of the parish through the Newsletter and discussion groups. Third, the parish leadership was solidly behind Church Union.
A small number of members decided conscientiously not to enter the Uniting Church. Although they left after Union, personal relationships with them continued to be positive and respectful. Church Union was a natural extension of the growth paths of the three denominations and for that reason raised few problems for most members of the Templestowe Presbyterian Church.
Single-congregation parish
The union of the churches made very little difference locally because Templestowe parish remained a single-congregation parish. Having discussed with our neighbouring parishes, Bulleen and Doncaster, the alternative parish structures, each decided to remain single. But the Uniting Church beyond Templestowe had a much wider mission and population, the extent of which is increasingly being noticed.
The vote which carried union into effect was taken initially in June 1972, with a clarifying vote being ordered later that year. The union of the churches had been discussed for many years and finally happened on 22 June 1977. There was an ineffectual vote on Church Union on 1 September 1920 when, by coincidence, the Templestowe congregation recorded a 93 per cent vote in favour.
A plaque on the rear wall of the narthex beneath a rough-hewn tree cross records the event:
THIS CONGREGATION FORMED IN 1895 AS A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH TODAY JOINS WITH THE UNITING CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA AT ITS INCEPTION 22.6.77
The New Church Building
Heritage significance
The new church building was completed on 18 November 1962 and opened that day by the presbytery of Melbourne North. It is considered to be of State Significance in the City of Doncaster and Templestowe Heritage Study, which describes it as being ...
a particularly early and finely detailed neo-brutalist building - a simple rectangular pavilion beautifully built of rough clinker bricks, further textured on the west wall by setting some forward. The north elevation has panels of brickwork rising to parapets between full-height windows with projecting fascias. There is a broad steel-framed verandah facing the view and extending as an entry canopy, all very carefully detailed. The east end is all glass. There is a freestanding cruciform-section steel cross.
The internal layout of pews has been altered from facing the long to the short axis (i.e. to the south) and a crypt [basement] created under.
The architects were the office of Keith Reid. The foundation stone was laid on 17 March 1962. The late D & I Irvine were [the] builders.
Design concept
As a recent graduate in architecture, John Reid, son of Keith Reid, the architect of the church, had been involved in the early stages of the design. Following a stint overseas, he was again involved in the project during the final building phase, when he designed the church furniture. Of the design concept and its execution, he recounts:
In accordance with the church's brief, our first proposal was for curved walls. It was a radical proposal, and we built a model. However, it became evident that the cost of the building to this design would exceed the budget, so a simple rectangular building was designed and constructed.
The whole east end was glazed to flood the chancel with light in the way the chancel ends of English cathedrals do when the building is of Perpendicular Gothic style. The concept is to draw the visitor towards the divine mystery. For Templestowe church, the ideal would have been to have the whole wall as stained glass but, again, it was apparent that the cost was prohibitive. Clear glass and a view over Templestowe would not have been possible because of the aspect to the morning sun, so grey, heat-absorbent glass was used. There was also the understanding that should the congregation expand sufficiently, this glass cur tain-wall could be dismantled easily and the building extended towards the east.
The side walls were designed as massive clinker brick piers with slit windows between each pier to provide an even light down the nave. This solidarity was a reflection of traditional Gothic architecture built in stone, but was detailed in what was then a thoroughly modem, hi-tech manner, in steel.
The ceiling was designed to float clear of the walls, with skylights down each side, separating walls and roof.
Because of the importance the congregation attached to drama and performance in worship, the church was equipped with a particularly large, full-width, raised sanctuary at the chancel end.
Valuable additions
In 1966 a basement called The Cave was created for youth activities by excavating a rough-cast space under the building.
The traditional layout of the pews was altered in 1970 to improve participation. The narthex was enlarged by moving the glass wall separating the nave and narthex eastwards in 1981.
A new sanctuary, full carpeting, acoustic panels, and lowering of the floor at the eastern end were part of a refurbishment carried out in 1989. At that stage the cross was moved and placed centrally above the sanctuary on the south side of the nave, and the pulpit was converted to a free-standing unit matching the lectern in size. The building has an audio loop for the hard of hearing and is wheel-chair accessible.
Bright interior
The building now seats 240 people in light-stained pews made of Victorian Ash. The communion table, lectern, and pulpit furniture are of the same timber, with striking carvings designed by John Reid depicting basic Christian symbols. Hendrick Zwart Sr, a member of the church and a Templestowe resident, crafted the carvings. The blond furniture perfectly complements the vibrant blue-and-red carpet which matches the clinker bricks of the internal wall surfaces. The main furniture items including the Lipp organ were the gifts of members.
The liturgical seasons and special occasions are highlighted by floral arrangements and by banners appropriate to the occasion, thoughtfully designed and crafted by a group from within the congregation.
New church 1962
The lower level contains a vestry and a lounge as well as The Cave. The balcony houses the organ and seating for a choir or congregation. The plaque in the narthex indicates the very significant role played by Joseph Smith in the building of this church.
Outlook
The view from the cloister across the valley to the distant hills is most attractive. The church can be seen from parts of Templestowe, and the massive 10 metre^high cross lit to enhance its visibility.
Comparison with Horsham church
Similarities can be found if this church building is compared with a later K Reid construction - St Andrews Uniting Church, Horsham, Victoria - the most notable being the style of the furniture, and the sanctuary^area carving executed by Mr Hendrick Zwart Sr.
The Future
The fruit of the spirit in the Uniting Church Templestowe depends on how we respond to God’s love and how that love is shown to the community in which we live. We have a great deal to be thankful for. It has often been difficult, but a hundred years’ corporate life is a significant achievement.
We must continue with the activities which encourage growth in our congregation and find new ways of expressing God’s love for each other and the local community.
We value our worship and fellowship times, discussion groups, study and prayer times and we want them to grow more meaningful.
We appreciate the use of drama, music, and art in worship and hope to develop these aspects of our local ministry.
Our pastoral care and visitation network is important in the life of the congregation and needs to be kept high on our priorities.
Church interior 1962
Doncaster / Templestowe Historical Society LIBRARY
Church interior 1994
Strong support for young people is a great need in our society and we seek to provide groups of substance where Christian care is uppermost and the individual person is highly valued. It is our aim to provide Christian education opportunities for young people, children and for adults, using Camps and other multi-age group activities wherever possible.
The challenges of the presence of Retirement Villages in our area need to be addressed as much as possible. As well, the challenges of loneliness, homelessness, desertion, and abuse are before us.
As we have in the past, we are hopeful of strongly supporting the Share Appeal, the annual Christmas Bowl Appeal, Red Cross and other outreach services both local and further afield. Support for chaplains in Shoppingtown, Templestowe College and Community Care centres will demand our attention, as will social justice, wider community services, and global needs.
The challenges of the future seem to be no less than those of the past. Translating the love of Christ into meaningful action in our own area will always be a significant challenge. We cannot fail our Lord or our forefathers who established our church in Templestowe and we pray that we may continue to bear useful fruit.
Parish Council 1994
Back row - Helen Bartlett, Ray van Leuvan, Sharon Hyne, Elaine Dodds, Rob Serpell, Rohan Wheeler, Lois Mateer
Front row - Marie Mackrell, Jan Serpell, Janet Mathias, David Beswick, Ken Thompson, Joan Frye
Elders Council 1994
Back row - George Wheeler, Jill Barbour, Peter Fishley, June Charlesworth, John Hyne Front row - Beryl Richards, Dorothy Aumann, David Beswick, Noelene Stevens, Andrew Browne, Jan Higgins
Appendixes
Elders prior to 1977
From To
Wally Affleck 1949 1950
Dorothy Aumann 1971 1977
Jack Aumann 1954 1966
Howard Belcher 1976 1977
Bill Brain 1966 1976
Don Carter 1967 1968
Rae Cock 1968 1972
Rae Cock 1976 1977
Bruce Crow 1967 1969
Lyle Douglas 1973 1977
Alan Dun 1967 1977
John Every 1968 1977
Kath Every 1976 1977
Hetty Gondos 1972 1977
John Gow 1968 1977
Frederick Grass 1939 1961
David Hastie 1966 1974
Graeme Jenkins 1966 1973
Cliff Morris 1960 1965
Ian Port 1974 1977
Jim Potter 1970 1977
Frank Powne 1963 1969
Aiastair Pritchard 1970 1977
Alan Ramsay 1954 1973
Bill Ramsay 1960 1966
Robin Ramsay 1973 1976
Hume Reid 1964 1969
John Reid 1968 1973
Eric Richards 1957 1960
Alex Ross 1911 1946
William Ross 1903 1938
Bill Sawyer 1973 1974
Diana Sawyer 1973 1976
Gordon Serpell 1961 1968
Dan Simmons 1966 1972
Joseph Smith 1911 1956
Thomas Smith 1903 1911
Wally Stent 1955 1962
Rene Sullivan 1968 1977
Bruce Thomson 1963 1968
Pauline Ward 1968 1974
Session Clerks (in chronological order):
William Ross 1903 1938
Alex Ross 1938 1946
Joseph Smith 1947 1956
Alan Ramsay 1956 1966
Hume Reid 1967 1968
Dan Simmons 1968 1971
Alan Dun 1971 1974
John Every 1974 1977
Elders from 1977 on
From To
Dorothy Aumann 1977
Jack Baker 1984 1989
Jill Barbour 1990
Howard Belcher 1977 1981
Bob Bradshaw 1982 1985
Andrew Browne 1987
June Charlesworth 1993
Rae Cock 1977 1982
Matthew Dodds 1989 1994
Alan Dun 1977 1989
John Every 1977 1984
Kath Every 1977 1984
Peter Fishley 1982
Ron Gaudion 1988 1993
Hetty Gondos 1977 1980
Graeme Greenhill 1989 1990
Jan Higgins 1991
Cathy Howard 1980 1983
John Hyne 1987
Liz McKay 1989 1994
John Moore 1988 1993
Carol Newnham 1982 1987
Louise Pollard 1988 1993
Charles Poole 1984 1988
Andrew Port 1989 1994
Ian Port 1982 1987
Judy Port 1980 1987
Andrew Potter 1980 1981
Jim Potter 1977 1981
David Powell 1977 1981
Aiastair Pritchard 1977 1987
Gail Pritchard 1980 1989
Beryl Richards/Matthews 1977 1981
Beryl Richards 1994
Noelene Stevens 1991
Bruce Tonge 1977 1987
Judith Watkins 1989 1994
Andrea Waugh/Dodds 1984 1986
George Wheeler 1989 1994
Chairman of Council of Elders:
John Hyne 1994
Secretaries to the Council of Elders (in chronological order):
Beryl Matthews 1977 1981
No specific elder 1981 1984
Bob Bradshaw 1984 1985
No specific elder 1985 1988
John Hyne 1989 1994
Andrew Browne 1994
Note: Women were eligible to be elders from 1968
Board of Management
(records incomplete prior to 1943)
From To
Wally Affleck 1946 1949
Rob Alexander 1964 1966
Alexander Aram 1961 1963
Carl Aumann 1910 1953
Jack Aumann 1943 1954
Neil Aumann 1951 1960
Peter Aumann 1954 1956
Howard Belcher 1975 1976
Edgar Berry 1956 1960
Mr Bowden 1909 1910
Bill Brain 1953 1967
Daryl Brooks 1966 1968
Stan Browne 1972 1976
David Burke 1960 1962
James Camochan 1923 1923
Ron Chambers 1967 1969
Ray Chapman 1963 1967
W Chisholm 1903 1905
Arthur Chi vers 1899 1905
Ewen Colson 1966 1968
Eric Cox 1957 1964
Bruce Crow 1963 1967
E Davies 1949 1949
Karl De Waart 1967 1969
Max Didier 1969 1977
Alan Dun 1966 1967
John Every 1967 1968
Henry Finger Sr 1899 1905
Ted Garnham 1965 1968
Dorothy Gibson 1962 1977
Imre Gondos 1970 1976
Frederick Grass 1923 1939
Max Greenall 1972 1976
Louis Grouix 1899 1900
Marie Haines/Berry 1961 1977
Alec Hand 1965 1967
Alec Hand 1969 1972
David Hastie 1965 1967
Joyce Hawtin 1951 1963
Les Heath 1961 1970
Eric Henshaw 1943 1948
Ian Heslop 1963 1972
Robert Hillhouse 1923 1953
Ivan Hitchcock 1972 1975
Graeme Jenkins 1964 1966
Bob Jenkins 1962 1968
Geoff Kidd 1970 1976
Robert Martin 1899 1905
Mr McCullough 1965 1967
From To
Bruce Manuell 1962 1964
Janet Mathias 1974 1976
Bob Millard 1952 1956
Alf Miller 1943 1954
Cliff Morris 1952 1960
Roy Mundy 1945 1962
John Myers 1969 1977
Arnold Noble 1966 1968
Neil Parsons 1967 1974
Albert Petty 1966 1968
Alex Pirie 1967 1970
Ian Port 1971 1974
Alan Ramsay 1953 1955
Bill Ramsay 1956 1960
John Reid 1966 1968
Mr Rhodes 1909 1910
Alex Ross 1899 1911
Eric Ross 1955 1959
William Ross 1903 1903
Bill Sawyer 1972 1974
Frederick Schuhkraft 1899 1905
Gordon Serpell 1961 1961
Irene Sewart/Hawthom 1969 1972
Dan Simmons 1963 1967
James Smith (Done) 1899 1905
John Smith 1899 1905
Howard Smith 1943 1947
Fred Smith 1909 1910
George Smith 1903 1923
Gilbert Smith 1903 1923
Thomas Smith 1899 1903
Wally Stent 1955 1955
Bob Stewart 1964 1968
Rene Sullivan 1953 1968
James Svanborg 1948 1951
Alan Telford 1972 1974
Bruce Thomson 1960 1962
Ken Thompson 1974 1977
Bert Tomlin 1961 1965
Fred Tuininga 1972 1976
Malcolm Ward 1961 1968
John Watson 1945 1949
Ken Wilks 1966 1970
Doug Wilson 1976 1977
John Wilson 1974 1976
Glenn Wotherspoon 1972 1976
Neville Wright 1975 1977
Cliff Wyatt 1961 1963
Hendrick Zwart 1960 1963
Note: Elders were ex officio members of the Board of Management
Parish Council From To
John Anderson 1983 1985 .
Valda Baker 1987 1990
Don Bartlett 1977 1983
Helen Bartlett 1994
David Beavis 1989 1994
Max Brewer 1977 1982
Max Browne 1981 1982
Max Didier 1981 1984
Elaine Dodds 1994
Joan Frye 1992
Ron Gaudion 1983 1988
John Gow 1983 1990
Marie Haines 1977 1983
Les Heath 1988 1992
Sharon Hyne 1992
Philip Jones 1990 1992
Marie Mackrell 1994
Lois Mateer 1990
Janet Mathias 1992
John Milne 1990 1993
John Moore 1985 1988
John Myers 1977 1983
Win Parsons 1985 1992
Dawn Poole 1983 1987
Ian Port 1979 1983
Beryl Richards/Matthews 1983 1990
Jan Serpell 1990
Rob Serpell 1993
Ken Thompson 1981
Ken Tumham 1988 1991
Ray van Leuvan 1986 1990
Ray van Leuvan 1992
Rohan Wheeler 1992
Len Williams 1983 1988
Peter Young 1990 1993
Office-Bearers (1899 to 1977)
Treasurer:
Alex Ross cl899-42
Jack Aumann 1943-59
Bruce Thomson 1960-68
Neil Parsons 1968-71
Ian Port 1971-74
Stan Browne 1974-76
Neville Wright 1976-77
Secretary:
Alex Ross cl899-c30
Joseph Smith cl930-43
Eric Henshaw 1943-47
John Watson 1947-49
James Svanborg 1949-51
Jack Aumann 1951-63
Frank Powne 1963-66
Alex Hand 1966-67
Ken Wilks 1967-68
Alex Pirie 1968-70
John Myers 1970-72
Dorothy Gibson 1972-77
Chairman:
Alan Ramsay 1971-72
Neil Parsons 1972
Max Didier 1973-75
John Myers 1976-77
Newsletter Editor:
David Merritt 1960-63
John Howard 1965
Alan & Barbara Dun 1966
John Howard 1967
Margaret Bevage 1968-69
Pauline Heslop 1969-74
Irene Sewart 1974-77
Sunday School Co-ordinators:
Discovery Group Executives:
William Ross cl 895-36
Ivy Miller cl938-50
Dorothy Aumann 1950-51
Peter Aumann 1951-56
Bill Ramsay 1956
Cliff Morris 1957-64
David Hastie 1965-69
John Gow 1970-76
Pat Potter 1976
Kath Every 1976-87
Organists:
Emma Ross c< 1912-20
Rene Smith cl920-35
Ivy Miller 1936-55
Doris Beale 1955-62
Mrs Hengeveld 1962-63
Kay Sarll 1963-64
Bill Ramsay 1964
Marie Haines/Berry 1964
Office-Bearers (1977 on) Treasurer:
Neville Wright 1977-79
Ian Port 1979-83
John Anderson 1983-85
Ray Van Leuvan 1986-90
Philip Jones 1990-92
Ray Van Leuvan 1992
Secretary:
Don Bartlett 1977-83
Beryl Matthews 1984-87
Ron Gaudion 1987-90
David Beavis 1990-93
Ken Thompson 1993
Chairman:
Alastair Pritchard 1977-82
Alan Dun 1982-87
John Gow 1987-90
Les Heath 1991-92
Joan Frye 1992-94
Lois Mateer 1994
Newsletter Editor:
Howard Belcher 1977-82
Peter Fishley 1982-90
Judith Watkins 1990
Ron Gaudion 1991
Marie Mackrell 1992
Catherine Beavis 1993-94
Sunday School Superintendent:
Discovery Group Co-ordinator:
Kath Every 1976-80
Carol Newnham 1981-83
Ken Thompson 1984-85
Adele Gaudion 1986-89
Jean Amos 1992
Jan Serpell 1992-93
Organist:
Marie Haines/Berry 1964
Doncaster / Templestowe Historical Society LIBRARY
List of Ministers
TEMPLESTOWE: PART OF HEIDELBERG
Years Term Minister
1843-45 2 yrs Rev Peter Gunn
1853-54 1 yr Rev D McDonald
1853-69 16 yrs Rev David Boyd
1869-95 26 yrs Rev Duncan Fraser
TEMPLESTOWE WITH ITS OWN CONGREGATION
1895-96 lyr Unknown
1896-98 2 yrs Lay Preachers Association
1898-1902 4 yrs Rev George M Macdonald (Heidelberg)
1902-07 5 yrs Rev Stewart Byron (Heidelberg)
1907-24 17 yrs Rev Alexander Hardie (Heidelberg)
1924-25 lyr Rev A H Tolhurst (Warrandyte)
1925-27 2 yrs Mr Collins (Home Missioner)
1927-29 2 yrs Mr W H Meredith Mathers (Home Missioner)
1929-30 1 yr Mr Reid (Home Missioner)
1930-34 4 yrs Rev David S Jones (Heidelberg)
1934-51 17 yrs Rev Coledge Harland (Heidelberg)
1952-60 8 yrs Rev John W P Gillan (Heidelberg)
TEMPLESTOWE PARISH WITH ITS OWN MINISTER
1960-63 4 yrs Rev Dr David Merritt
1964-86 22 yrs Rev John Howard
1987-93 7 yrs Rev David Walker
1994- Rev Dr David Beswick
Land and Buildings
The church owns four blocks which were the whole of two original allotments of the Township of Templestowe survey of 1853. The four blocks are shaded on the drawing below.
Block A is the original block donated by Mrs Emma Smith in 1895 on which the original church was built in 1896.
Block B was purchased on 1.8.1945 for £25.
Block C (two blocks) was purchased on 17.12.1953 for £500.
The original church was opened on 24 May 1896.
The Sunday School (Upper Hall) was approved by the congregation on 4.7.1954 and was built as a Health Department-approved kindergarten in 1955 at a cost of £2,500. It was a regular school building design built as a shell, then lined by voluntary labour and a porch was added. The Sunday School building was dedicated and officially opened by the Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, the Rt Rev F W Rolland, on Saturday, 28 May 1955 at 2:30 pm. On 30.4.1958 approval was given to add two rooms to the Sunday School.
The building of the manse was approved by the Board of Management on 26.11.1959 at a cost of £7,120 with furnishings a further £703. The manse was completed in July 1960. A meeting room/study was added in 1973.
The construction of the new church building was approved by the congregation on 20.8.1961 at a cost of £24,000. Furnishings and fittings were partly donated and valued at £3,000. The new toilet block was constructed as an extra £1,000 to the church contract. Heating was added to the cost of the church at £241. The building was completed and opened on 18 November 1962.
Map of Templestowe
Smith Family Tree
John Smith & b 1805 Scotland d 14.12.1889 Left Liverpool, England August 1857
1. Thomas 1831 - 2. David 1832 - 3. John 1833 - 4. George 1836 - 5. Margaret 1838- 6. James 1839-
28.12.1903 m 16.12.1893 m 3.12.1902 m 13.11.1914 m 19.1.1914 m 23.3.1920 m
13. Ann Moffat 14. Anne Ferguson 15. Emma Hewish 16. Isabella Duncan 17. Alexander 18. Elizabeth Hicks
19.12.1828 - 1842 -1935 1838-1919 McDonald d 1885 1850- 1920
8.12.1895
1 Jane 7 David 16 John 18604 874 29 Alexander D. 38 Elizabeth M. m 41 Freer
18514922 m 8 Anne 17 James 18614863 30 John D. Harry White 42 Florence
William Horn 9 William 18 James 1863- m 31 George D. 39 John M. 43 Robert
2 Robert 10 Frank Sarah Jane Fox 32 Isabella D. 40 Alexander M. 44 Beatrice
18534933 m 11 Christina 19 Thomas 1864- 33 Archibald D. 45 Albert
Elizabeth Fox 12 Gilbert m Mary 1912 m Mary 34 Jessie D. 46 Lena
3 Elizabeth d 27.11.62 20 George 1866- 35 Ruby D. 47 Henrietta Bertha
18554929 m 13 Alice 1867 36 Douglas D. b1881d1883
Timothy Creighton 14 Edith 21 Agnes 18684942 37 IvyD. 48 Charles 1883-
4 John 15 Emma 22 Emma 1870 m 1966 m Mina Maba
18594923 m Janet William Ross Sullivan
Cockerell 23 George H 1872- 49 Victor Colin
5 Ann 1946 m Margaret 50 Colin Victor
1860?d 1862 24 Robert 1874- 51 Alexander
aged 16 mths 25 Elizabeth 1876 m
6 Thomas Charles Henshaw
18644926 m 26 Janet Rebecca
Anne Young 1878 m Fred Grass
27 Jane 1879 m
Timothy Fox
28 John W? 1881
Note: Based on information supplied by Eleanor Sumner, January 1995
Elizabeth Freer b 1807 Dolphington d 2.2.1867 Arrived Victoria on “Morning Light” 2.11.1857
7. Jane 1841' 16.10.1924 m 19. Alexander Hall 1836'1935 8. Joseph 1843 -20.8.1902 m 20. Ellen Phillips 1847'1913 9. Samuel 1846' 5.11.1926 m 21. Janet Todd 1883 aged 32 yrs 22. Susan d 1887 no live issue 23. Sarah no live issue 10. Agnes 1849 -8.6.1884 m 24. Thomas Hicks 1845'1920 11. Elizabeth 1851' 22.7.1939 m 25. Charles Creighton 1846-1916 12. Robert 1855 ' 1871 accidently killed
no live issue 52 John 1874 d aged 8 mths 53 Jessie 1877'1948 54 Joseph 1879 ' 1956 55 Walter 56 Robert 57 Millie 58 Annie 59 Loma 60 William 61 James died as a boy 62 Colin killed in action in Dardanelles 63 Blanche m Walter Mann 64 Mabel 65 Evelyn 66 Elsie 67 Tyson 68 Gordon
Bibliography
Aumann, D.M. 1989 Just Reminiscing. Lower Templestowe, Victoria, unpublished speech notes, 1989
Aumann, D.M. Pioneers. Lower Templestowe, Victoria, unpublished speech notes, 1989 City of Doncaster and Templestowe. Heritage Study. Doncaster, Victoria, Context Pty Ltd with Richard Peterson and Brian Stafford, 1991
Green, I. Templestowe - A Short History. Donvale, Victoria, Doncaster Templestowe Historical Society, 1982
Keogh, G. The History of Doncaster and Templestowe. Doncaster, Victoria, City of Doncaster and Templestowe, 1975
Poulter, H. Templestowe - A Folk History. Templestowe, Victoria, Jim Poulter, 1985 Wright, L.M. Sing For Joy - A Brief History of the Uniting Church at Doncaster, Victoria, (and its forerunner, the Joint Parish) 1967-1992. Doncaster, Victoria, Doncaster Uniting Church, 1992
________. From a Bam in Bulleen to Scots Church Heidelberg and the Younger Congregations
1843-1963. Heidelberg, Victoria, Scots Church Heidelberg, 1963
________. Scots Church Heidelberg - Centenary Souvenir Historical Sketch 1843-1943.
Heidelberg, Victoria, Scots Church Heidelberg, 1943
________. Scots Church Heidelberg Annual Reports 1895 to 1924.
Heidelberg, Victoria, unpublished, various
________. Scots Church Heidelberg Membership Rolls 1895 to 1920.
Heidelberg, Victoria, unpublished, various
________. Scots Church Heidelberg Session Minute Books 1895 to 1930.
Heidelberg, Victoria, unpublished, various
________. Presbyterian Girls’ Fellowship Treasurers Book 1930 to 1944 Templestowe Presbyterian
Church. Templestowe, Victoria, unpublished, 1944
________. Presbyterian Fellowship of Australia Minute Book 1949 to 1951
Templestowe Presbyterian Church. Templestowe, Victoria, unpublished, 1951
________. Templestowe Presbyterian Church Annual Statistical Returns 1953 to 1977.
Templestowe, Victoria, unpublished, 1977
________. Templestowe Presbyterian Church Annual Reports 1959 to 1977 (incomplete).
Templestowe, Victoria, unpublished, 1985
________. Templestowe Presbyterian Church Communicants’ Roll Book 1943 to 1963.
Templestowe, Victoria, unpublished, 1963
________. Templestowe Presbyterian Church Minutes of Board of Management Meetings 1944 to
1975. Templestowe, Victoria, 3 volumes, unpublished, 1962, 1969, 1975
________. Templestowe Presbyterian Church Minutes of Congregational Meetings 1930 to 1977.
Templestowe, Victoria, 2 volumes, unpublished, 1959, 1977
________. Templestowe Presbyterian Church Minutes of Session Meetings 1947 to 1977.
Templestowe, Victoria, 3 volumes, unpublished, 1964, 1971, 1977
________. Templestowe Presbyterian Church Newsletter I960 to 1977. Templestowe, Victoria, 3
volumes, published monthly, 1964, 1970, 1977
________. Templestowe Presbyterian Church Presbyterian Womens Missionary Union Minutes
1919 to 1951. Templestowe, Victoria, 3 volumes, unpublished, 1929, 1941, 1951
________. Templestowe Presbyterian Sunday School Treasurers Book 1932 to 1954. Templestowe,
Victoria, unpublished, 1954
________. Templestowe Protestant Churches Couples' Club Minute Book 1960 to 1966.
Templestowe, Victoria, unpublished, 1966
________. Uniting Church Templestowe Annual Reports 1978 to 1985 (incomplete).
Templestowe, Victoria, unpublished, 1985
________. Uniting Church Templestowe Minutes of Congregational Meetings 1977 to 1993.
Templestowe, Victoria, 2 volumes, unpublished, 1980, 1993
________. Uniting Church Templestowe Minutes of Council of Elders 1977 to 1992.
Templestowe, Victoria, looseleaf, unpublished, 1992
________. Uniting Church Templestowe Minutes of Parish Council 1977 to 1992.
Templestowe, Victoria, 2 volumes, unpublished, 1980, 1992
________. Uniting Church Templestowe Newsletter 1977 to 1994.
Templestowe, Victoria, 2 volumes, published monthly, 1987, 1994
________. Walk into History...an introduction to the original Templestowe Village.
Templestowe, Victoria, Rotary Club of Templestowe & City of Doncaster and Templestowe,
1994
________. Waripana (Ladies Fellowship) Minute Book 1961 to 1987.
Templestowe, Victoria, Templestowe Presbyterian Church and Uniting Church Templestowe, unpublished, 1987
Note: The church records listed above are to be lodged for safe keeping in the Synod Archives of the Uniting Church, Melbourne, Victoria
Doncaster / Templestowe
Fmit of the Spirit Historical Society
library
Notes
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