The Churches in the 1840's

THE CHURCHES IN THE 'FORTIES'
by W.J. Goold
In the 'forties' of the 1800's, the Episcopalian churches in Maitland and near the district, were St. Mary's at West Maitland, St Peter's at East Maitland, St James' at Morpeth, St. Paul's at Paterson, and St. John the Evangelist at Wollombi.

One of the historic old churches which are surrounded with memories of the early pioneers was St. Mary's in West Maitland, where in the late forties the Rev. R. Chapman was the rector. We learn from a meeting of the pew holders held in 1849, that the receipts for that year had been £118 and that the expenses had totalled £98. The churchwardens were Mr. Peter Green (for the trustees), Mr. E. Hungerford (for the clergy), and the Rev. R. Chapman and Mr. E.P. Capper for the pew holders.

About this time the parishioners were agitating for a suitable burying ground in West Maitland which was badly needed. A meeting was held at St. Mary's Schoolhouse on November 19, 1850, to arrange for the collection of £100 for the purchase of the necessary ground. A committee was appointed consisting of the following gentlemen:- Rev. R. Chapman, E.P. Capper, Peter Green, E. Hungerford, Dr. C.M. Doyle, Risby, J. Hungerford, G. Yeomans, Forster, Weller, Wright, Kerrigan Ledsam, E. Lough, and H. Slack. These gentlemen set to work and secured a piece of land at the rear of the old White Swan Inn on Campbell's Hill, being part of Campbell's grant. The area was six acres and the cost including stumping, fencing, etc. £130.00.

Rev. G.K. Rushden was the rector of St. Peter's, East Maitland, another of the old churches, and in '48 the church wardens were Mr. E.C. Close (for the trustees) Dr. Wilton (for the Clergy) and the Rev. G.K. Rushden and Mr. C. Cathew for the pew holders. In 1847 the old church was in debt to the amount of £225, which three years later was turned into a credit balance of £23.

The church of St. John the Evangelist at Wollombi, which had recently been erected from designs drawn by Mr. Edmund Blackett of Sydney, was consecrated on February 10, 1849 by the Bishop of Newcastle who was assisted by the Rev. C.P.N. Wilten (Newcastle), Rev. G.R. Boodle, Rev. H.O. Irwin, Rev. T.R. Bolton, Rev. C. Spencer, Rev. R. Chapman, Rev. J. Cooper, Rev. J. Rodwell, Rev. E. Williams, and the Rev. J.F.R. Whinfield. The burial ground in Maitland road was also consecrated the same day. This was the first church that was consecrated by the new Bishop of Newcastle (Dr. Tyrrell).

The foundation stone of St. James' at Morpeth was laid on January 2, 1837 by Captain Edward Close and it was consecrated on December 31, 1840 by Rev. W.G. Broughton, the Bishop of Australia. The ground and the cost of erecting the church was given by Mr. Close, and the organ was donated by Mr. James Campbell of Sydney. The old church which measured 70 x 30, was solidly constructed and is stated to have cost £1441.

THE R.C. CHURCHES
The Roman Catholic churches in the district at this time were St. John the Baptist at West Maitland, St. Joseph at East Maitland, St. Michael's at Wollombi, St. Patrick's at Black Creek. The Guardian Angels at Paterson and at Hinton.

The church at Black Creek was a wooden building and the one at Hinton was constructed of brick, but the others were solidly built of stone and were constructed as were most of the old churches that were erected by the old pioneers, to stand the ravages of time.

The Roman Catholic community were under the guidance of the Rev. Dean Lynch, who took a keen and active interest in all matters of local importance. He was instrumental in forming a number of temperance societies in the Hunter River District, these were formed on the model of Father Mathew's Societies in Ireland. Owing to the lamentable frequency of accidents of serious nature, some fatal, plainly traceable to drunkenness, the formation of these teetotal societies met with general approbation throughout the district.

The first was formed in 1841 under the title of the St. John's Total Abstinence Society and was in connection with St. John the Baptist Church at West Maitland. They used to hold their meetings in a building known as the 'The Temple of Concord' situated in Horseshoe Bend (or Port Maitland). The St. Patrick's Library at St. John's Church was founded by Dean Lynch, and it was during his term that the churches at Wollombi and Hinton were erected.

THE PRESBYTERIANS
The old 'Scots Church' was the home of the Presbyterians of Maitland, It was a wooden building 20 x 40, built on a block of land with 101 feet frontage to High Street and at depth of 441 feet. It was capable of seating about 150 persons and was stated to have cost £150 to build.

However, on August 4, 1847, the foundation stone was laid of a new Presbyterian Church in High Street (nearly opposite Dr. Liddell's surgery), where the committee had purchased three acres of land extending from High Street to the river. The foundation ceremony was attended by about 50 persons. The Rev. W. McIntyre, the Presbyterian minister in Maitland, laid the stone under which was placed a sealed bottle containing the names of the trustees, viz., James Dickson, D.M. Sinclair, W. Zuill, A. Dodds, and H. Rae, a few numbers of the 'Voice in the Wilderness', and the last number of the 'Maitland Mercury' together with some of the current coins of the realm. The church was built of brick with stone foundations, and was 61 feet by 39 feet 6 inches. It was capable of seating 400 persons and cost £1000, £200 of which was subscribed at the first meeting.

Another Presbyterian Church was at Paterson (St. Ann's Scots Church) where the Rev. Christopher Eppie was the minister. Temporary churches were also established at Ahalton, Morpeth, Black Creek, and other parts of the district. Rev. W. McIntyre used to officiate at Ahalton, and it is interesting to note that he used to preach in Gaelic at 11 a.m. and in English at 1 p.m., also, that when a worthy Scots of Paterson were seeking a teacher for St Ann's school in 1848, it was stipulated that preference would be given to one who could speak and teach Gaelic grammatically.

On March 24, 1851, a new church was opened at Bolwarra by the Rev. Alexander Salmon, of Sydney

THE METHODISTS AND OTHERS
The Wesleyan Methodists had their chapels in West Maitland, East Maitland, Morpeth, Paterson and Wollombi.

In 1847 they enlarged their chapel in High Street, West Maitland at a cost of £300. Rev. Lewis was the Wesleyan minister and some of the prominent workers in Church matters were Jeremiah Ledsam, S. Owen, J. Nott and T.J. McClelland. The opening sermon in the enlarged church was preached by the Rev. W. B. Boyce (General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Missions in Australia) on May 23, 1847.

The Rev. R.T. Blain was in charge of the chapel at Morpeth, and on September 2, 1849, a chapel was opened at Woodville, erected upon ground given by Dr. Scott. The opening sermon was preached by the Rev. S. Wilkinson.

The old Scots Church in High Street, mentioned above, was in December, 1848 placed in the hands of Jeremiah Ledsam, the auctioneer, for sale (by this date the Presbyterians had taken possession of their new church). It is not known whether the worthy auctioneer effected a successful sale or not but in the latter portion of 1851 we find that the old church was taken over by the Congregational Church, or Independent Denomination of Christians, whose pastor in Maitland was the Rev. J.F. Walker (late of Tooting, Surrey). Mr. John Fairfax, the editor of the 'Sydney Morning Herald' (who was a pillar of the old Pitt Street Congregational Church) presided at the opening ceremony.

On April 2, 1848 the Primitive Methodists opened in place for divine worship in Abbott Street, West Maitland, the Rev. J. Wilson being their minister. Prior to that date services used to be held in the open air at the corner of Elgin Street, or else at the residence of one of the members of the congregation.

We have briefly touched upon some of the old places of divine worship that existed in the Maitland District in the 'forties' and in that connection it might prove of interest to note that at that time the population of Maitland (East and West) were divided by their religious belief as follows:- Church of England 2127, Roman Catholic 1206, Church of Scotland 379, Wesleyan 375, other Protestants 57, Jews 36, Mahommedans 5, others 45. What creed the 'others' professed is left to the reader's imagination.