Augustine Congregational Church, Hawthorn – exterior
(photograph by John Maidment [8 March 2022])
Historical and Technical Documentation by John Maidment
© OHTA, March 2022
Augustine Congregational Church, Hawthorn – exterior
(photograph by John Maidment [8 March 2022])
Historical and Technical Documentation by John Maidment
© OHTA, March 2022
The Augustine Congregational Church was the largest of the churches erected by this denomination in suburban Melbourne. Constructed in polychrome brick (purple Hawthorn, cream and red bricks), it consists of a nave with transepts and an impressive façade with flanking tower and spire, all in the Gothic style. It remains a landmark in Burwood Road, Hawthorn.
The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new Congregational Church at Hawthorn took place yesterday afternoon, in the presence of a large number of spectators. Mr. W. J. Clarke, M.L.C., laid the stone, and afterwards a statement of the history of the church was read by one of the officers. It appeared that the church originated in services held in the local town hall during the year 1863. A small wooden building and land were purchased the following year, which was occupied by the congregation as a place of public worship until the present bluestone and brick building was erected. The desirability of building a new church was recently considered, and a site was purchased for the sum of £450. Designs by Mr. James Wood, architect, were accepted, and a contract to carry this out for the sum of £2233 was entered into with Mr. Robert Wright, of Emerald-hill, contractor. The new building is to be called the Augustine Congregational Church. The body of the building is to consist of a nave, vestibule, and tower. The length of the nave will be 60 feet, its width 40 feet, and it is expected to accommodate 400 persons. The foundations are of bluestone, and the walls are to be of dark-red bricks, with stone dressings. The roof will be of slate, supported by arched principals springing from stone corbels. The vestibule is 9 feet in width, and the floor when completed will be of a sloping design. When the tower has been quite completed it will have a spire reaching to a height of 100 feet.1
The building was opened on 26 February 1881.2
Special services were conducted yesterday at the Augustine Congregational Church, Hawthorn, the occasion being the opening of the new transept. This church was erected in the early part of 1881, when the Rev. A. Gosmans accepted the pastoral charge, and since then the congregations have increased so rapidly that in August of last year it was found necessary to build a new transept at the rear of the old building at a cost of £3200. Extra seating accommodation is provided by the additions for over 300 persons. Besides a spacious organ chamber, several new vestries are attached, and the pulpit is much improved.3
The building, after being vacated as a church, was later used as a theatre and is now occupied by the firm Qanstruct (AUST) Pty Ltd. The fabric has been splendidly preserved, with a new slate roof, and surrounded by delightful gardens.
Augustine Congregational Church, Hawthorn – organ before enlargement
(photograph from the Geo. Fincham & Son catalogue [1902])
The organ was built by George Fincham at a cost of £551. It was opened by George Peake on 25 February 1888.4
The Swell Vox Humana, placed on a clamp, enclosed Choir Organ and Pedal Bourdon were all later additions.
Augustine Congregational Church, Hawthorn – organ
(photograph by W.G.S. Smith [c.1970])
Augustine Congregational Church, Hawthorn – console
(photograph by W.G.S. Smith [c.1970])
| GREAT Open Diapason Claribel Dulciana Principal Wald Flute Fifteenth Mixture 17.19.22 Trumpet Swell to Great Sub Swell to Great Swell to Great Super |
8 8 8 4 4 2 3 rks 8 |
||
| SWELL Bourdon Open Diapason Gedact Keraulophon Gemshorn Piccolo Oboe Vox Humana Tremulant |
16 8 8 8 4 2 8 8 |
grooved bass 1898 |
|
| CHOIR Harmonic Flute Gamba Celeste Clarionet Swell to Choir |
8 8 8 8 |
(enclosed) 1906 – five slides on windchest grooved bass TC |
|
| PEDAL Open Diapason Bourdon Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Choir to Pedal |
16 16 |
1906 |
Compass: 56/20
Tubular-pneumatic action
Detached drawstop console
3 thumb pistons to Great
3 thumb pistons to Swell
Lever swell pedals to Swell and Choir5
The organ remained in this state until 1974 when it was removed to the church hall by Roland Cropley and later extensively rebuilt and enlarged.
Full details of this work are available at: https://www.habitatforspirituality.org.au/about/history
Augustine Congregational Church, Hawthorn – interior from the rear gallery
(photograph from Hawthorn Past and Present [1929])
2 The Argus, 26 February 1881, p.6
3 The Age, 28 March 1887, p.4
4 E.N. Matthews, Colonial Organs and Organbuilders (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 1969), p.136, citing information from the from the Victorian Independent
5 Specification noted John Maidment 1966