St Ann's Church - 1865 - Aldinga, SA, Australia
S 35° 16.213 E 138° 29.016
54H E 271107 N 6094086
The date is obtained from a plaque in the stone foyer of this beautiful Gothic-styled, stone Church, about 40 km south of Adelaide.
Waymark Code: WMZ4BP
Location: South Australia, Australia
Date Posted: 09/07/2018
Views: 1
Inside the foyer of the St Ann Church is a brass plaque for the 150th anniversary, in 2015. The Church website still has a link to when the local school came along to help celebrate the 150th anniversary. The plaque reads:
The Foundation Stone of this Church
was laid on 2 October 1865 by
Mrs Millecent Short
wife of Augustus Short
Bishop of Adelaide
In commemoration
this plaque was unveiled by
Mrs Bridget Ford
wife of John Ford, Bishop of The Murray
4 October 2015
An undated newspaper clipping, found in Bishop Short's scrapbook has an account for the Opening of St Ann's, as follows:
“For several years the inhabitants of Aldinga have felt the need of a church because of the distance from Willunga, and state of the roads in winter. In October 1865, Mrs Short laid the foundation stone on the gift of an acre of land by the South Australian Company, eligibly situated in a line with the cluster of buildings comprising the Aldinga stores, Post Office, and on the Main South Road. It had a slate roof, and was built of local stone. The Rector was the Rev’d EK Miller of Willunga.”
[ex-Church website: St Ann's
It is understood from that website that the Church was consecrated and blessed in 1868, four years after the first burial in the Churchyard Cemetery. The square Bell Tower was added in 1911.
While, the Australian Heritage Database gives only a very short account, and even then gives the year of 1866, it is as follows:
"In 1866 residents of Aldinga called a meeting to consider the advisability of erecting a Church. An acre of land was presented by the South Australian Company and the foundation stone was laid by Mrs Short. Total cost was 785 pounds. Building opened for service by Dean Farrell and was consecrated. Mrs. Short presented a handsome communion service."
[ex-Australian Heritage Database: St Anne's, Aldinga, SA]
Address: 7 Stonehouse Lane, Aldinga, SA, 5173, Australia
Visited: 1220 - 1235, Monday, 28 May, 2018