St Thomas' Church Brief Heritage History

BRIEF HERITAGE HISTORY

St Thomas' Church was built by convict labour under military supervision in the reign of King George IV - when Australia was still part of the Diocese of Calcutta, and Port Macquarie was a Penal Settlement.

The foundation stone was laid in 1824 and the first service held in 1828. The worshippers in those days consisted of the Chaplain, Camp Commandant, a detachment of British Infantry and Prisoners. The latter, well guarded, stood at the west end of the nave.
By 1840, the population was more diverse, including free settlers, farmers, merchants and government officials. The congregation continued to grow, erecting for themselves and occupying the box type pews peculiar to that period of Church architecture, and for which parishioners continued to pay rent until the system was abolished in l905. Beneath the floor of the front pew is the grave of Captain Rolland, who died of sunstroke and was buried a month before his 2nd in command laid the foundation stone during a service conducted by the Reverend Thomas Hassall.

It is perhaps of interest to note that 365,000 hand bricks were used to construct the walls which are three feet thick in the nave, and considerably more in the tower. Finger marks may be seen on some exterior bricks to indicate the progressive tally.

The mortar made from oyster shell was transported from Limeburners Creek on the North Shore of the Hastings River. The original floor was of rammed earth, but 9-inch paving bricks were laid in 1846. Except for the 40-foot bearers in the ceiling, roof trusses and so on, all timber is of locally hewn cedar. The original lath and plaster ceiling was replaced by cedar boards in 1856. The shingle roof was replaced by corrugated iron in 1883, and by terra cotta tiles in 1923 - when of necessity the roof was re-pitched 4 feet higher than before.

Extensive use was also made of local cedar for the furnishings, including the pulpit and altar as well as the box pews. Among later additions is the splendid stained glass window of St. Thomas the Apostle, gifted in 1906 as a memorial to Police Magistrate E. D. Day, who was appointed Trustee of St Thomas' Church in 1854. Visitors will also admire the exquisite workmanship of the altar rail kneelers, replaced in 2000 with a needlepoint design created and carried out by the local ladies of The Friendly Threads of St Thomas.

The open-string circular stairway, which leads to the organ loft, muniments room and upper floors of the tower, was built in 1970 by a local craftsman to harmonise with an era now past, as intended by the Parochial Council, Government Architect and the National Trust.

The 1856 Walker Pipe Organ is the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere. It has a mechanical action containing 33 tunes on 3 studded barrels, which when rotated operate the organ stops. Its landed cost in 1857 was 161 pounds sterling, and it was housed in the gallery built in 1844 to accommodate the Seraphine (early harmonium) and choir.
The muniments room contains historic documents, photographs, records, old Bibles and Prayer Books, even musical instruments once used in our worship. These include a historically significant 1828 wooden Schaeffler clarinet, restored in 1999 by international virtuoso Deborah de Graaff. From the roof of the castellated tower an excellent view of the town, river and coastline may be obtained.

The Church is open for inspection on weekdays from 9.30am to 12 noon, and 2pm to 4pm. For more detail about historical aspects, please ask the Parish Office for a Church history booklet. This will be supplied free of charge on request to all those donating at least $A5.00 to the Restoration Fund.

If you would like to know more about the history of settlement in Port Macquarie, you are invited to contact the Port Macquarie Historical Society.

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