St Philip's Anglican Church established in 1858 and opened 1862, at Belvidere near Marrabel. Mid North South Australia
St Philip’s, Belvidere, was also carried on towards completion: but through hindrances common in the bush, it was not formally opened for divine service until after the commencement of the present year. Ref: South Australian Register (Adelaide SA) Tuesday 13 May 1862.
Belvidere May 1
The vestry meeting of the Church of St Philip, Belvidere, near Marrabel, was held on the 25th ult particulars of which have already been published.
The Church of St Philip, Belvidere is pleasantly situated on an eminence about two miles and a half from Marrabel, in the vicinity of a number of Episcopalian residents. In its establishment there was much praiseworthy zeal shown. Mr Levi Broadbent not only gave a handsome donation of £100, but an acre of ground on which the church stands. The church, though still requiring to be plastered, and sundry other little matters, is comfortable and of adequate size. Its floor is of brick, and it is furnished with neat cedar sittings. There is an elevated deal platform for administering the service, enclosed with neat cedar railing.
The church is also used for a school which is much needed in this quarter: the distance either to Marrabel or Hamilton being too far for the children to walk. The number of children now in attendance is not so large as it was a short time since owing to ploughing and sowing. The parents regret keeping them away, being extremely satisfied with their progress under the present teacher. The intention of the Rev J B Titherington was to conduct the Church service every alternate Sunday, but as that gentleman has to attend Auburn, Chingford, Riverton (in the latter service morning and evening) and here it is more than he could do to attend personally each time, so he was obliged to appoint lay readers to assist him. Ref: South Australian Register (Adelaide SA) Monday 6 May 1867.
Stained-glass window in St Philip's Church, Belvidere, South Australia, was installed as a memorial to the district's pioneers who built the church nearly 100 years ago.
Granddaughter of pioneer Levi Broadbent, 84-year-old Mrs John Rowett was prevented by illness from attending the dedication ceremony at the church, so a special call was made by the rector, the Rev Phillip Smith, at her home in Marrabel township. Mrs Rowett enjoyed telling her callers the story of the building of the church which she had heard from her mother. She described how the pioneers erected it themselves without help of an architect or trained builders.
Names of many members of the congregation who attended the dedication of a new stained-glass window and stone altar at little St Philip's Church of England, Belvidere, SA, on a recent Sunday morning matched those on the tombstones in the spick and span cemetery in the church grounds.
It was as though those named on the tombstones - Levi Broadbent, Hannah Sheppard, Mally Gill, James Hyde, John Dart, Samuel Dorrington. the Bradshaws, the Penneys, and others who founded, built, and supported the little church in the middle of last century - still directed its affairs.
But in place of Samuel Dorrington, the first warden and donor of the first 2000 bricks to build the church, there is his great-great-grandson, Colin Dorrington, as warden today. And the great-great grandson of Levi Broadbent, who gave the two acres of land and many building materials m 1856, is the other young warden, Stan Rowett.
In records dated 1861 Samuel Dorrington's gift of bricks is valued at £5. Today it would be worth about £35.
Octogenarian Robert Gill, who gave £100 to the fund for the window and another £100 for church renovations, is a son of Mally Gill and grandson of Levi.
Mrs P M Murray, who with her husband gave the altar as a memorial to Mrs Murray's parents, Mary and James Hyde, is a granddaughter of William and Elizabeth Bradshaw.
Most of the congregation of more than 200 are related-and are descendants of those pioneers.
The descendants of the pioneers love their church. They revere their antecedents. So when it was suggested five years ago that the white-anted, isolated little church, set on a hilltop among undulating farmlands, about 65 miles north of Adelaide, should be moved to the nearest township of Marrabel, the plan was resisted strenuously.
Set in Scrub Oaks on a hilltop, St Philip's Church of England was renovated and freshly painted for the special service to dedicate its new stained-glass memorial window and stone altar. The window was made in Brisbane.
A committee discussed the cost of renovations, and before long the required sum was raised. Then it was decided to install a stained-glass window as a memorial to the district's pioneers. Within a few days the £400 needed was in hand.
In many ways the church is now not quite as Levi Broadbent and his co-workers built it. White ants, weather, and time have made replacements necessary through the years. It is still an architect's nightmare with its queer angles and crooked lines.
But new paint, plaster, and loving hands have made it fresh, clean, and whole.
It has been transformed with a gay red roof, cream exterior and interior walls, a colourful carpet runner, and freshly varnished pews. The new window and altar have given it added dignity.
The window, a beautiful piece of Australian craftsmanship, from Brisbane, is full of rich colour and has as its main design the figure of St Philip, patron saint of the little church. Eleven feet high and five feet wide, it surmounts the altar, which is made of handsomely marked stone from the Mount Lofty ranges.
An informal luncheon was to have been served under the scrub oaks surrounding the church after the dedication service, but because of a heatwave and high bushfire hazard this plan was abandoned and dozens of cars drove off to Marrabel for a buffet luncheon in the decorated local hall.
Well-known identity Mrs John Rowett (mentioned earlier) who is aged 84 and is a granddaughter of Levi Broadbent, could not attend because she was ill, so many callers stopped at her home on their way to the hall.
Mrs Rowett, who has a long memory and a clear voice, enjoyed telling them the story of the building of the church which she had heard from her mother.
Hannah Broadbent, she said, carted all the water required in the building of the church. Hannah took it in a cask on a one-horse sledge up the hill every day to the masons, who were three brothers, George, Tom, and Charlie Sheppard.
Hannah and Charlie Sheppard fell in love and theirs was the first marriage in the church. Their son Charlie, who died recently aged 89, was the first child christened there.
Although the church and a house or two are all that is left of the old settlement people of the district still refer to them as being "at Belvidere". But Marrabel is the community's township.
Organist for half a century, Mrs P M Murray was at her seat at the harmonium in St Philip's Church at Belvidere, with her husband beside her. Mr and Mrs Murray gave the new stone altar at a memorial to Mrs Murray's parents, James and Mary Hyde. The Murray's home is the nearest to the church and it about a quarter of a mile distant. They have a farm and grazing property, like many other members of the congregation. Ref: Australian Women's Weekly Wednesday 8 April 1953.
Link with a Founder of Church at Belvidere. Mrs Gus Wurst, of Gawler East, attended the dedication of a stained-glass window and stone altar at little St Phillip's Church of England, Belvidere (near Marrabel) recently. She is a great grand-daughter of Levi Broadbent, one of the pioneers responsible for the erection of the church in the middle of the last century. Members of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh generations of the family were present at the ceremony. The 'Women's Weekly' of 8th April devoted two pages including pictures, to the ceremony at the little church. Ref: Bunyip (Gawler SA) Friday 17 April 1953.
St Philip's Anglican Church established in 1858 and opened 1862, at Belvidere near Marrabel. Mid North South Australia
St Philip’s, Belvidere, was also carried on towards completion: but through hindrances common in the bush, it was not formally opened for divine service until after the commencement of the present year. Ref: South Australian Register (Adelaide SA) Tuesday 13 May 1862.
Belvidere May 1
The vestry meeting of the Church of St Philip, Belvidere, near Marrabel, was held on the 25th ult particulars of which have already been published.
The Church of St Philip, Belvidere is pleasantly situated on an eminence about two miles and a half from Marrabel, in the vicinity of a number of Episcopalian residents. In its establishment there was much praiseworthy zeal shown. Mr Levi Broadbent not only gave a handsome donation of £100, but an acre of ground on which the church stands. The church, though still requiring to be plastered, and sundry other little matters, is comfortable and of adequate size. Its floor is of brick, and it is furnished with neat cedar sittings. There is an elevated deal platform for administering the service, enclosed with neat cedar railing.
The church is also used for a school which is much needed in this quarter: the distance either to Marrabel or Hamilton being too far for the children to walk. The number of children now in attendance is not so large as it was a short time since owing to ploughing and sowing. The parents regret keeping them away, being extremely satisfied with their progress under the present teacher. The intention of the Rev J B Titherington was to conduct the Church service every alternate Sunday, but as that gentleman has to attend Auburn, Chingford, Riverton (in the latter service morning and evening) and here it is more than he could do to attend personally each time, so he was obliged to appoint lay readers to assist him. Ref: South Australian Register (Adelaide SA) Monday 6 May 1867.
Stained-glass window in St Philip's Church, Belvidere, South Australia, was installed as a memorial to the district's pioneers who built the church nearly 100 years ago.
Granddaughter of pioneer Levi Broadbent, 84-year-old Mrs John Rowett was prevented by illness from attending the dedication ceremony at the church, so a special call was made by the rector, the Rev Phillip Smith, at her home in Marrabel township. Mrs Rowett enjoyed telling her callers the story of the building of the church which she had heard from her mother. She described how the pioneers erected it themselves without help of an architect or trained builders.
Names of many members of the congregation who attended the dedication of a new stained-glass window and stone altar at little St Philip's Church of England, Belvidere, SA, on a recent Sunday morning matched those on the tombstones in the spick and span cemetery in the church grounds.
It was as though those named on the tombstones - Levi Broadbent, Hannah Sheppard, Mally Gill, James Hyde, John Dart, Samuel Dorrington. the Bradshaws, the Penneys, and others who founded, built, and supported the little church in the middle of last century - still directed its affairs.
But in place of Samuel Dorrington, the first warden and donor of the first 2000 bricks to build the church, there is his great-great-grandson, Colin Dorrington, as warden today. And the great-great grandson of Levi Broadbent, who gave the two acres of land and many building materials m 1856, is the other young warden, Stan Rowett.
In records dated 1861 Samuel Dorrington's gift of bricks is valued at £5. Today it would be worth about £35.
Octogenarian Robert Gill, who gave £100 to the fund for the window and another £100 for church renovations, is a son of Mally Gill and grandson of Levi.
Mrs P M Murray, who with her husband gave the altar as a memorial to Mrs Murray's parents, Mary and James Hyde, is a granddaughter of William and Elizabeth Bradshaw.
Most of the congregation of more than 200 are related-and are descendants of those pioneers.
The descendants of the pioneers love their church. They revere their antecedents. So when it was suggested five years ago that the white-anted, isolated little church, set on a hilltop among undulating farmlands, about 65 miles north of Adelaide, should be moved to the nearest township of Marrabel, the plan was resisted strenuously.
Set in Scrub Oaks on a hilltop, St Philip's Church of England was renovated and freshly painted for the special service to dedicate its new stained-glass memorial window and stone altar. The window was made in Brisbane.
A committee discussed the cost of renovations, and before long the required sum was raised. Then it was decided to install a stained-glass window as a memorial to the district's pioneers. Within a few days the £400 needed was in hand.
In many ways the church is now not quite as Levi Broadbent and his co-workers built it. White ants, weather, and time have made replacements necessary through the years. It is still an architect's nightmare with its queer angles and crooked lines.
But new paint, plaster, and loving hands have made it fresh, clean, and whole.
It has been transformed with a gay red roof, cream exterior and interior walls, a colourful carpet runner, and freshly varnished pews. The new window and altar have given it added dignity.
The window, a beautiful piece of Australian craftsmanship, from Brisbane, is full of rich colour and has as its main design the figure of St Philip, patron saint of the little church. Eleven feet high and five feet wide, it surmounts the altar, which is made of handsomely marked stone from the Mount Lofty ranges.
An informal luncheon was to have been served under the scrub oaks surrounding the church after the dedication service, but because of a heatwave and high bushfire hazard this plan was abandoned and dozens of cars drove off to Marrabel for a buffet luncheon in the decorated local hall.
Well-known identity Mrs John Rowett (mentioned earlier) who is aged 84 and is a granddaughter of Levi Broadbent, could not attend because she was ill, so many callers stopped at her home on their way to the hall.
Mrs Rowett, who has a long memory and a clear voice, enjoyed telling them the story of the building of the church which she had heard from her mother.
Hannah Broadbent, she said, carted all the water required in the building of the church. Hannah took it in a cask on a one-horse sledge up the hill every day to the masons, who were three brothers, George, Tom, and Charlie Sheppard.
Hannah and Charlie Sheppard fell in love and theirs was the first marriage in the church. Their son Charlie, who died recently aged 89, was the first child christened there.
Although the church and a house or two are all that is left of the old settlement people of the district still refer to them as being "at Belvidere". But Marrabel is the community's township.
Organist for half a century, Mrs P M Murray was at her seat at the harmonium in St Philip's Church at Belvidere, with her husband beside her. Mr and Mrs Murray gave the new stone altar at a memorial to Mrs Murray's parents, James and Mary Hyde. The Murray's home is the nearest to the church and it about a quarter of a mile distant. They have a farm and grazing property, like many other members of the congregation. Ref: Australian Women's Weekly Wednesday 8 April 1953.
Link with a Founder of Church at Belvidere. Mrs Gus Wurst, of Gawler East, attended the dedication of a stained-glass window and stone altar at little St Phillip's Church of England, Belvidere (near Marrabel) recently. She is a great grand-daughter of Levi Broadbent, one of the pioneers responsible for the erection of the church in the middle of the last century. Members of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh generations of the family were present at the ceremony. The 'Women's Weekly' of 8th April devoted two pages including pictures, to the ceremony at the little church. Ref: Bunyip (Gawler SA) Friday 17 April 1953.