Helensburgh Anglican Church

Rev. Joseph Bosworth, 1891-1896

The original Rectory to the right of the church -

Rev. Taylor had broken the ground during turbulent and exciting years, but now the new Archbishop, Saumarez Smith, moved to create the Mission district of Helensburgh. To the task he appointed Rev. Joseph Bosworth in 1891 to the Provisional District of Helensburgh. The financial support for this ministry came from the Church Society (the forerunner of the Home Mission Society). His area of oversight was Sutherland, South to Stanwell Park.

As well as all his duties he had to set about building suitable places of worship. We usually shudder at the thought of supervising one project, but he had a vast area that would need many church buildings. So they were built, 1892 the Church of the Holy Redeemer Helensburgh, still the only church in the Sydney diocese with this name. it simply means "the Church of Jesus our Saviour." Next came Christ Church Heathcote, 1893. The building was situated on the Old Illawarra Rd. (Princes Highway) close to the existing Heathcote hotel. It was later moved to its present site and extended when highway was widened. Next came St. John the Baptist Sutherland, dedicated on 4th March 1894.

The Helensburgh church was built by George Ricketts, a local builder. It was the normal construction of the day, weatherboards, stud framing on wooden piers with an iron roof. He was later to add the stage and kitchen to the "School Hall" in 1928/9. In later years George moved from Helensburgh to Stanwell Park where he built a two story home for himself three blocks down from St. George's Church of England. He also built St. George's in 1914, specially braced with wings to withstand the Southerly busters.

The original Helensburgh church went through a number of changes during its lifetime. The porch and vestry were the earliest additions. In 1925 electric light was installed and in 1927 the acetylene lamps, now made redundant, were removed. In 1931 the belfry started to disintegrate and so it was dismantled and a timber framed bell tower erected behind the vestry. The coloured pink, green and white glass lead light were installed in 1932. A door was added to the porch in 1935 after some of the local lads attempted to light a fire in the porch one evening. The memorial stained glass windows were added in 1949. They were memorials to Mr. Pell and Mr. Dorey. Mr. Pell's window was paid for by the congregation in appreciation of his service to the church, while Mr. Dorey's window was donated by his wife. In 1954 a new vestry was added at the rear of the church and the old vestry turned into a Baptistry. The final alteration was the addition of double doors to the front of the porch.

The opening service at the Church of the Holy Redeemer was taken by the Archbishop on 29th May 1892. There were two services, both full houses. The Helensburgh Anglican community now had a permanent home.

Bosworth's established three geographical centers of worship with Helensburgh as his home base. At Helensburgh services were held weekly, while Heathcote and Sutherland had two services a month. The arrival of a minister and now new church buildings, was a great boon to prospective marriages. Up till 1892 the Paragon hotel (built 1889) or private homes, were the main venues for marriages, but now the church buildings became the popular venues for weddings.

Rev. Bosworth's Sunday duties were mainly taken up by travelling. The horse and sulky was the main means of transport for the local ministers until the arrival of Rev. Creighton and his motor car in 1924. Of course, the horse may not have been as fast as a car, but it was more reliable. Rev. Smee probably would not have agreed entirely with this view when on April 3rd, 1921, his horse bolted from the church yard and he had to cancel the service up north.

Two external factors from the earliest times affected the congregation. First, there was the weather. A year would not go by without a service being cancelled due to a fierce storm. Second, there was the mine dispute and strikes. As early as 1894 strikes by the mine workers affected the offertories. The mine slow down from 1929 through to the end of the Great Depression also had a marked affect upon finances. Helensburgh as a mining town and all suffered together when the mine was not working at full capacity.

Rev. John Wilson, 1896-1909

Rev. Bosworth left the Parish in 1896, and for six months services were taken by Rev Joseph Cook and Rev. J. Ollis. Toward the end of the year the Archbishop appointed the then curate of St. Stephen's Newtown, Rev. John Wilson, as mission curate to the Provisional District of Helensburgh. Rev. Wilson arrived with his large family and soon settled in to the district. His boys were particularly good at sport and joined the Illawarra Australian Football Club. The club were the premiers in 1906. John had gained his MA in Belfast and on coming to Australia was ordained in 1889 in Bathurst. His stipend was 175 pounds p.a.

From the centers now established by Rev. Bosworth, Rev. Wilson moved to set up outlying mission churches at Waterfall, Otford, Lilyvale, Cawley and Darkes Forest to the South, and Miranda, Cronulla and Audley to the North. These meetings were usually held in private homes. For example, Miranda Anglicans met in a home on the cnr. Wandella Rd and the Kingsway.

The original St.Luke's Anglican Church, Miranda

Development work continued. Under Rev. Wilson the Miranda Anglicans began a building fund in 1889 with a social. The present site for St.Lukes was obtained on lease from the Holt-Sutherland Land Co. at 1 pound per annum. On 3rd April, 1899 a foundation stone was laid by the Archbishop Saumerez Smith with Rev. Wilson leading the service. A loan of 60 pounds was gained from the Church Loan Building Society for the construction of the new Mission Hall by Mr. J. Paton, cost 92 pounds. The Archbishop again visited for the service of dedication, 4th November, 1899. The offertory was 2 pounds 1/6.

It was obvious that the mission area was oversized and so the Sutherland Provisional District was formed in 1901 with Rev. Bowers as the Missionary Curate. Sutherland was to became a parish in 1920. Heathcote remained linked with Helensburgh.

Rev. Wilson used Lay Readers from Sydney to lead the many Sunday services now running regularly in the Parish. They travelled by train and were able to deduct their travelling expenses from the collection (if it was large enough). The total collection in the Parish during this period amounted to around one pound per week. In 1899 the first Confirmation service was held in the district at the Church of the Holy Redeemer. There were 40 communicants present and archbishop Saumaraz confirmed 6 males and 13 females.

Rev. Wilson retired to his home at Hurstville, but spent weekends at his holiday cottage, Flavian Court, at Heathcote. He was die at Flavian Court. It was a beautiful local home, but was destroyed in the Black Friday bushfire of 1939.

Helensburgh & District Historical Society
P.O. Box 150 Helensburgh N.S.W. Australia - Email: info@historichelensburgh.org.au