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St Andrews Uniting Church is a heritage-listed church at the corner of Maryborough and Woongarra Streets, Bundaberg, Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Lange Leopold Powell and built from 1931 to . It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 August 2004. == History == St Andrews Uniting Church, Bundaberg was erected in 1932 as St Andrew's Presbyterian Church and replaced an earlier Presbyterian church erected on the site in 1882. The land had been purchased in 1881 and was held in trust by three senior members of the congregation on behalf of the Presbyterian Church in Bundaberg.〔 The 1932 church was built largely with funds generated by the Bundaberg Presbyterian community. In 1925, the Bundaberg Presbyterian Women's Guild opened a New Church Fund and over the next six years worked with other Church organizations including the Committee of Management and the Girls Auxiliary to raise £3,500. Additional fund raising generated another £2,000 over a six-month period in 1931. The final funds were obtained through a loan of £3,500 through the Grand Trustees of the Protestant Alliance Friendly Society.〔 The ability of the Presbyterian congregation of Bundaberg to quickly raise such large sums highlights the relative prosperity of the district's sugar industry during the 1920s, which was sustained into the 1930s. However, construction of the church in the early 1930s was also a local work-generating scheme during a time of economic depression. The Church adopted a deliberate policy to ensure that funds for the construction of the church were spent on local labour and materials; by completion it was estimated that 75% of the construction budget had been spent locally.〔 Prominent Brisbane architect Lange L. Powell designed St Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Powell had designed a number of important structures in Queensland including the Brisbane Masonic Temple and was highly regarded by the time he designed St Andrew's. Powell described St Andrew's as being designed in "broad free gothic style that was reminiscent of the Fourteenth Century", moderated to allow for the sub-tropical climate. All the windows in the bays could be opened and the eaves were carried clear of the main supports to ensure adequate circulation of air.〔 The design and orientation of the church was also developed to maximize the location and setting. On a corner block directly across the road from Buss Park and the Anglican Church, Powell orientated the Church along Maryborough Street rather than facing it. This maximized the view of the lateral facade and ensured that the Tower on the Eastern side dominated.〔 The design was well received by the community and local headlines on the day on which the Church was dedicated read "Latest Addition to Bundaberg Architecture". The local press also emphasized that Powell had spent some of his childhood in Bundaberg while his father had served as the town's Methodist Minister. The Queensland Moderator of the Presbyterian Church set the foundationstone during St Andrew's golden jubilee celebrations on 24 October 1931. Powell supervised the construction of the church, which was undertaken by building contractor Cornelius Johannes Vandenberg. The Church was opened and dedicated on 3 September 1932. The total cost was reported as more than £12, 000.〔 Lange Powell designed some of the furniture for the Church and a drive was launched to obtain sponsors for the various pieces and fittings. Many of the internal furnishings were made from silky oak. The three rows of seats on the dais were designed for comfort and a number of variations were considered before the final version was selected. There are also two elaborately carved chairs, one for the Moderator at Communion Services, the other at the pulpit. The communion table and the pulpit itself were also of elaborate design and included panels that bore carved emblems of the Presbyterian Church. The baptismal font had been previously gifted to the community and was transferred from the 1882 Church.〔 The carillon tower was dedicated as a memorial to those members of St Andrew's community who died during the First World War. Such memorials were an important feature of the interwar era as communities came to terms with the loss of significant numbers of young men. This loss was compounded by the absence of graves to visit and at which to commemorate.〔 The Tower contains a "Peal of Bells", the largest of which (the tenor bell) bears the symbol of the burning bush. The tower bells were manufactured in Maryborough, England, and were donated by Miss Amy Ethel Maud Peirson in memory of deceased members of her family. At the time of its construction St Andrew's reputedly was the first Presbyterian Church in Australia, and one of only seven Presbyterian Churches in the world, to have a carillon. It was also believed to be the first Presbyterian Church in Australia to have a bell that bore the Presbyterian symbol of the burning bush. The bells have since become a local feature and their ring can be heard throughout the central business district and surrounding suburbs.〔 In the early 1970s the congregation of St Andrew's Presbyterian Church at Bundaberg considered whether to join the Union of Churches that was to become the Uniting Church in Australia. After some debate, the majority of parishioners voted in favour of the proposal, with the official Church Union taking place in 1977. A contingent of the congregation voted to continue as Presbyterian. Lacking sufficient numbers to retain St Andrew's, they relocated to a smaller former Methodist Church.〔 In 2004, the church was sold to the Seventh Day Adventist Church. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St Andrews Uniting Church, Bundaberg」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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