St. Mary's Church, Middle Swan

St. Mary's Church is an Anglican church on Yule Avenue in the suburb of Middle Swan, Western Australia. St. Mary's was built in 1868 on the site of an earlier church built there in 1838.[1] The church is part of the Anglican Diocese of Perth. The church and graveyard overlook the Swan River in the Swan Valley district.

St. Mary's Church
St. Mary's Church
General information
TypeHeritage listed church building
LocationMiddle Swan, Western Australia
Coordinates31.859931°S 116.006009°E / -31.859931; 116.006009 (St. Mary's Church)
TypeState Registered Place
Designated8 October 1996
Reference no.2496

The church can seat 150 people and is open by appointment only.[2]

History

On 5 August 1839 the foundation stone for the original church was laid, and opened fifteen months later by Governor John Hutt on 29 November 1840. It was built on land owned by the Church Mission Society and in memory of Lucy Yule, the wife of Magistrate T.N. Yule who died and was the first person buried on the site in 1838.

The land was believed to be the site of a landing during James Stirling's expedition in 1827. The church was built with an octagonal layout and could hold about 100 people. It was consecrated in 1848 and remained in use until 1869.

Rev. William Mitchell was the first Minister to attend the church.

A new (and the current) rectangular church was built in 1868-69 immediately adjacent to the old octagonal church.[3] It was designed by Richard Roach Jewell and consecrated by Bishop Matthew Hale on 10 March 1869.

The adjoining graveyard includes graves of many notable European settlers of the Swan River Colony from 1838.

References
  1. "St. Mary's Anglican Church, Middle Swan, Western Australia". Medievalism in Australian Cultural Memory. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  2. "St. Mary's Church". Anglican Parish of Swan. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  3. "St Mary's Church and Graveyard". Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
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