St Johns Anglican Church Mona Vale

Jesus said “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest!”   Matthew 11:28

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PITTWATER

(The First 60 Years)

In the early part of the 19th Century, the district of Pittwater, which extended from Narrabeen Lagoon to Broken Bay, formed part of the ecclesiastical Parish of Ryde. In 1843 a new church was erected at the North Shore and named St. Thomas in the ecclesiastical Parish of Willoughby. This Parish stretched from the foreshores of Port Jackson to Broken Bay.

During the year 1863 the inhabitants of the small village of Manly Beach assembled together and decided to erect a temporary church. This church was opened on the 8th November 1863, the first Clergyman being the Rev. G. Burney of Jamberoo. The foundation stone of St. Matthews, Manly Beach, was laid on 6th July 1864 and the extent of the Parish was described as follows:

Commencing at the North Head of Port Jackson thence by the coast line in a northerly direction to Barrenjoey headland, thence in a westerly direction by Broken Bay to Cowan Creek. thence by that creek to its source, thence by an imaginary line to the source of Middle Harbour, thence by the eastern foreshore of Middle Harbour to the waters of Port Jackson, Hence by the foreshores of North Harbour, Manly Cove and Spring Cove, thence to North Head, the point of commencement. In 1869 the Rev. C. Gurney resigned as Incumbent and was succeeded by Rev. E. Smith, formerly of Canberra.

Because at the scattered settlements springing up in the 100 square mile Parish, it became necessary to erect churches in outlying parts. The first of these was a Chapel at Ease in the district of Pittwater.

On Thursday! the 21st September 1Q71, the little church at Pittwater, called St. John the Baptist Church was opened in the presence of about 100 people. Visitors from Manly Beach were conveyed by drags which Left St. Matthew Church at 8.30 a.m.

The service was read by the Incumbent, Rev. E. Smith, and the license was read by Mr. Joseph Cook! Churchwarden and Lay Reader of the Parish. The sermon was preached by the Rev. Cave Brown Cave, Incumbent of St. Thomas! Church! Willoughby (now North Sydney) from St. John 1st Chapter and the 29th Verse. After the address an offertory was taken up, and this amounted to £910.10. The choir of St. Matthews, Manly, conducted the musical portion of the service.The church was a neat weatherboard building 30 feet long by 16 feet wide, and it was in a commanding situation with an extensive view of the ocean. The land was given by Mr. Edward Darley. The following is an abstract of records of that date:

“This small church being situated quite in the wilderness, and being the first erected in that part of the Colony, Es appropriately named after John the Baptist, and it is the earnest prayer of those through whose efforts the building has so far been brought to completion, that whosoever may officiate, may like the Baptist preach repentance, and may also like him, and as the preacher did on that occasion, point always to The Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. Those who have contributed to this good work have conferred incalculable benefits upon a locality where until recently, before a service was commenced there by late Incumbent, the Rev. Fl. Gurney - lamentable to say, were to be found adults who had never heard the word of God.”

On Wednesday the 21st May 1873, the Bishop of Sydney (the Most Rev. Frederick Barker,DD.) Arrived at Manly Beach on an official visit and be remained in the Parish until the following Tuesday. On the Monday morning the Bishop and nine others on horse- back, and three ladles and Mrs. Barker in a spring cart, journeyed to Pittwater to pay an official visit to that end of the Parish. On their arrival at the beautiful spot surrounding the church of St. John the Baptist, the Bishop and Clergy robed in a cottage close by. The service was then held in the Church, the Bishop being assisted by the incumbent, and the Rev. W F clay. The Bishop preached an eloquent sermon from St. John Ch. 10 V. 27. After the service, a luncheon was partaken of in the open, and during the afternoon the party journeyed back to Manly. The debt of St. Johns Church, Pittwater was paid off during the year 1873.

After the opening of the present Barrenjoey Lighthouse on 1st August 1861! Occasional services were held either at the keepers collage, or at the Customs House on the peninsula below. During the erection of the Lighthouse two workmen were killed; William Stark and George Cobb, both of whom were buried alongside the original St. Johns Church of England, Pittwater. The Rev. H S Willis and his successor, the Rev. A 0 Stoddard, had to make the journey to the Lighthouse along sandy roads that led through miles of bush either on horseback or by horse and sulky.

Because of the inhabitants moving away from the vicinity of St. John’s Pittwater, in 1888 the church was removed from the hillside near the 11 mile post to a new site in Bay View Road. The church was placed on wheels and drawn by a team of bullocks, and when nearing its destination the wheels became bogged, and there the church remained for a fortnight. in the meantime the service was held in the church while it was still on wheels.

During the years 1893- 1894, the Churches at Greendale (Brookvale) and Pittwater were transferred to the new conventional district of St. John’s, Pittwater, and the Lower Hawkesbury, Bar island and Greendale. The Curate in Charge of this district was the Rev. Arthur Gailey, who resided at Greendale. In 1895 the Conventional district lapsed and it was again attached to the Parish of Manly! Making the Parish larger, because of the additional territory of the Lower Hawkesbury.

On 1 8th October 1905, the Government made provision for a General Cemetery in Lane Cove Road, Mona Vale! or rightly termed the ! Turrimetta Cemetery’. The Church of England portion consisted of two acres, and it was dedicated by the Crown on 18th October 1905, and vested in trustees on 19th September 1906. The

Trustees were Rev. A Stoddard, J Blackwood, C W Browne, S Stringer! S Grey and W Boulton.

Owing to the state of disrepair of the old weatherboard church and its position on low lying land, it was decided to purchase a new site nearer the village of Turimetta (Mona Vale). A new stone church with a temporary east end was erected on the third and present site and opened by the Rev. J H Mac Lean, the Rural Dean, on the 4th February 1907. The aid church was sold for the sum of £60.0.

The Synod in 1920 gave approval to a petition to create Narrabeen and Mona Vale into a Mission District! And the Archbishop appointed the Curate! Rev. F C Greville, as the first minister to this new district, which embraced all the area from Long Reef to Barrenjoey headland. It was later elevated to a Parochial district and the Rev. N M Lloyd became Rector in 1925

List of Rectors from the past until the present time

	St.Matthews Manly 1863 G. Gurney 1869 E. Smith (1st St. Johns) 1875 T. Tress 1876 R. Willis 1895 AG. Stoddart (New St. Johns) (1892-5 Conventional District of Pittwaler: Rev.A.Gailey) Narrabeen Parish 1920 Rev F. Greville 1925 Rev N Lloyd 1931 Rev T.Knox 1914 Rev HGS Begbie 1938 Rev H. Standen 1942 Rev A. Pattison 1946 Rev R. Walker 1950 Rev WA. Osborne Brown	Pittwater Parish 1952 Rev K. Short 1955 Rev B. Richardson 1958 Rev N Keen Mona Vale Parish 1961 Rev. U. Townend 1964 Rev. VR. Cole 1968 Rev. DE. Langshaw 1977 Rev. RL. Coleman 2000 Rev. JS. Reid

Ministry Staff: John Reid - Matthew Elkin - Heather Robinson - Brian Dunn - Matthew Baines