Saint George’s Anglican Church (Aramac, Central West Queensland)
Anglican clergymen in Aramac:
In 1883, the Rev John Alldis, recently arrived from England, came to work in the Aramac-Muttaburra district. He was the first Anglican clergyman to serve in Queensland’s central west. Rev Alldis conducted services and provided pastoral ministry not only in and around Aramac and Muttaburra (in the north), but as far south as Blackall. There were no church buildings, a widely scattered “flock”, and few converts. He was constantly on the go, with no fixed church base. Rev Alldis laboured in this seemingly impossible role for two years (1883 - 1884).
In the meantime, Anglican laypersons continued to conduct weekly Sunday evening services at Aramac’s courthouse. It is not clear how many people came to these services. “Religion does not seem to be a strong point on the Aramac” wrote one commentator in 1887 in relation to these services.
Rev George L Lester (1886 - 1889) followed Alldis. During his tenure, Rev Lester performed “remarkable self-denying work” in the ever-expanding Mitchell District of Queensland’s central west. Like Alldis before him, Rev Lester had no fixed church base. He travelled extensively and tirelessly throughout the district.
Saint George's Church:
Aramac’s first church building, Saint George’s (1889), served the people of Aramac for more than 20 years. However, members of the Anglican community at Aramac looked forward to the time when they could afford a new, larger, and more suitable building than the one they had. It took years for them to raise sufficient funds. In fact, by the time the new church building became a reality in 1913, many of those who initiated the project had either left the district or been gathered to their fathers.
Messrs Sam Clelland & Co of Barcaldine erected the new building alongside the old one. Mr A J H Elliott (architect) designed the structure, complete with chancel, vestry and vestibule. The building stands on four-foot (approximately 1.2 m) blocks and the roof overhangs two feet (approximately 0.6 m). The windows are gothic-headed lancet, frosted, and open on a pivot. There are six on either side, which helps cool the interior when all six are open. All the windows have mouldings, which are varnished. The walls are hardwood, the timber’s colour giving the appearance of age. Inside, the ceiling is made of Maryborough pitch pine. There is an arched opening to the sanctuary, which is carpeted. The font is a large clam shell set in an iron stand, a novel addition to the new church. The ladies of the church made the altar frontals and other linen items that adorn the interior of the building. The building was completed entirely debt-free.
The church is still in use today (2019).
Aramac, Queensland:
Aramac, a rural town, is 530 km west of Rockhampton and 70 km north of Barcaldine, central Queensland. It was the administrative centre of the former Aramac Shire.
William Landsborough explored the Aramac district in 1859 in his first expedition. Discovering a creek, which flowed south-west into the Thomson River, he named it Aramac, after a former pastoralist, Robert Ramsay Mackenzie (hence 'R. R. Mack'), who was also Queensland's first colonial treasurer. Pastoral occupation began in 1862 on the Bowen Downs station on Reedy Creek (north of Aramac) and the Aramac Station (1863).
In 1867 an employee of Aramac Station, John Kingston, opened a bark-hut store at an outlying point on the Aramac Creek. Enlarged two years later to include a hotel, Kingston's settlement was declared a town site in 1869 and surveyed as a town in 1875. It was the region's first town, and the centre of the first local-government division (see Aramac Shire). A post office was opened in 1874, a school in 1878 and a hospital in 1879.
By 1880 the western railway line from Rockhampton was half way to Aramac, and its further westerly extension was surveyed in an almost straight line, in a compromise alignment between Aramac and Blackall. Aramac missed the benefit of the railway, while the new railheads of Barcaldine and Longreach prospered.
From 1885 the Bowen Downs station was progressively partitioned for closer-settlement, and the Aramac township steadily increased in population. Bore water was brought to the surface for reticulated town supply and use in public baths by 1899.
Barcaldine's former shire hall (an attractive colonial timber building) was relocated by the council and re-constructed as Aramac's first shire hall in 1913. More famously, the shire financed a narrow gauge railway – the Aramac Tramway – joining the town with Barcaldine. Although well patronised by passengers and freight, throughput was seldom enough to generate good revenues. State assistance was needed after 1930 until the railway's closure in 1975, but the project stood as a celebrated example of local self help. The tramway station in Aramac was re-opened as a museum in 1994, and appears on the Queensland heritage register.
Rural roads absorbed most of the shire's funds until the 1960s, when at last the town's drainage, road surfaces, kerbs and channels were properly constructed. The primary school was extended to include a secondary department in 1965, and sewerage was connected in 1966.
Yet Aramac's population had peaked by the early 1960s. The end of the postwar wool boom and the reserve price scheme, and years of sagging demand for wool all contributed to a halving of the population by the early years of the twenty-first century. Low house prices (average $10,000) contributed to a small population increase in the early 2000s.
Aramac has a hotel, caravan park, local shops, primary-secondary school, Catholic and Uniting churches, and the former shire hall and offices. There are also swimming, bowling and tennis facilities and the Aramac Tramway Museum. A new ambulance station (2008) replaced the facility built in 1956. The 10-bed hospital closed in 2010 and was converted to a 'primary health care centre'.
The annual Harry Redford Cattle Drive begins in Aramac and partly traces the 1870 footsteps of renowned cattle duffer Harry Redford, known as Captain Starlight.
Primary source: All information of St George's Church was extracted from Judith Salecich’s blog Love in a little black diary, article Easter at St George’s Church Aramac (1889, 1913) posted April 11, 2020 by Judith Salecich (judithsalecich.com/easter-st-georges-church-aramac-1889-1...)
11. Rayner, Keith & The University of Queensland. (1962). The History of the Church of England in Queensland.(Thesis). Keith Rayner, p. 250.
12. (1883). Western Champion (Blackall/Barcaldine, Qld. : 1879 – 1891), Friday 27 July, page 2. Online: Retrieved on 7 April 2020.
13. (1883). Western Champion (Blackall/Barcaldine, Qld. : 1879 – 1891), Wednesday 21 November, page 3. Online: Retrieved on 7 April 2020.
14. Rayner, Keith & The University of Queensland. (1962). The History of the Church of England in Queensland.(Thesis). Keith Rayner, p. 250.
15. (1887). Western Champion (Blackall/Barcaldine, Qld. : 1879 – 1891), Tuesday 24 May, page 2. Online: Retrieved on 7 April, 2020.
16. Rayner, Keith & The University of Queensland. (1962). The History of the Church of England in Queensland.(Thesis). Keith Rayner.
37. Church of England, Aramac. Dedication of St George’s Church. An imposing Funciton (1913). Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central-Western Districts (Barcaldine, Qld. : 1892 – 1922), Saturday 5 April, page 11. (trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/79744495)
Secondary Source: Queensland Places (queenslandplaces.com.au/aramac).
Saint George’s Anglican Church (Aramac, Central West Queensland)
Anglican clergymen in Aramac:
In 1883, the Rev John Alldis, recently arrived from England, came to work in the Aramac-Muttaburra district. He was the first Anglican clergyman to serve in Queensland’s central west. Rev Alldis conducted services and provided pastoral ministry not only in and around Aramac and Muttaburra (in the north), but as far south as Blackall. There were no church buildings, a widely scattered “flock”, and few converts. He was constantly on the go, with no fixed church base. Rev Alldis laboured in this seemingly impossible role for two years (1883 - 1884).
In the meantime, Anglican laypersons continued to conduct weekly Sunday evening services at Aramac’s courthouse. It is not clear how many people came to these services. “Religion does not seem to be a strong point on the Aramac” wrote one commentator in 1887 in relation to these services.
Rev George L Lester (1886 - 1889) followed Alldis. During his tenure, Rev Lester performed “remarkable self-denying work” in the ever-expanding Mitchell District of Queensland’s central west. Like Alldis before him, Rev Lester had no fixed church base. He travelled extensively and tirelessly throughout the district.
Saint George's Church:
Aramac’s first church building, Saint George’s (1889), served the people of Aramac for more than 20 years. However, members of the Anglican community at Aramac looked forward to the time when they could afford a new, larger, and more suitable building than the one they had. It took years for them to raise sufficient funds. In fact, by the time the new church building became a reality in 1913, many of those who initiated the project had either left the district or been gathered to their fathers.
Messrs Sam Clelland & Co of Barcaldine erected the new building alongside the old one. Mr A J H Elliott (architect) designed the structure, complete with chancel, vestry and vestibule. The building stands on four-foot (approximately 1.2 m) blocks and the roof overhangs two feet (approximately 0.6 m). The windows are gothic-headed lancet, frosted, and open on a pivot. There are six on either side, which helps cool the interior when all six are open. All the windows have mouldings, which are varnished. The walls are hardwood, the timber’s colour giving the appearance of age. Inside, the ceiling is made of Maryborough pitch pine. There is an arched opening to the sanctuary, which is carpeted. The font is a large clam shell set in an iron stand, a novel addition to the new church. The ladies of the church made the altar frontals and other linen items that adorn the interior of the building. The building was completed entirely debt-free.
The church is still in use today (2019).
Aramac, Queensland:
Aramac, a rural town, is 530 km west of Rockhampton and 70 km north of Barcaldine, central Queensland. It was the administrative centre of the former Aramac Shire.
William Landsborough explored the Aramac district in 1859 in his first expedition. Discovering a creek, which flowed south-west into the Thomson River, he named it Aramac, after a former pastoralist, Robert Ramsay Mackenzie (hence 'R. R. Mack'), who was also Queensland's first colonial treasurer. Pastoral occupation began in 1862 on the Bowen Downs station on Reedy Creek (north of Aramac) and the Aramac Station (1863).
In 1867 an employee of Aramac Station, John Kingston, opened a bark-hut store at an outlying point on the Aramac Creek. Enlarged two years later to include a hotel, Kingston's settlement was declared a town site in 1869 and surveyed as a town in 1875. It was the region's first town, and the centre of the first local-government division (see Aramac Shire). A post office was opened in 1874, a school in 1878 and a hospital in 1879.
By 1880 the western railway line from Rockhampton was half way to Aramac, and its further westerly extension was surveyed in an almost straight line, in a compromise alignment between Aramac and Blackall. Aramac missed the benefit of the railway, while the new railheads of Barcaldine and Longreach prospered.
From 1885 the Bowen Downs station was progressively partitioned for closer-settlement, and the Aramac township steadily increased in population. Bore water was brought to the surface for reticulated town supply and use in public baths by 1899.
Barcaldine's former shire hall (an attractive colonial timber building) was relocated by the council and re-constructed as Aramac's first shire hall in 1913. More famously, the shire financed a narrow gauge railway – the Aramac Tramway – joining the town with Barcaldine. Although well patronised by passengers and freight, throughput was seldom enough to generate good revenues. State assistance was needed after 1930 until the railway's closure in 1975, but the project stood as a celebrated example of local self help. The tramway station in Aramac was re-opened as a museum in 1994, and appears on the Queensland heritage register.
Rural roads absorbed most of the shire's funds until the 1960s, when at last the town's drainage, road surfaces, kerbs and channels were properly constructed. The primary school was extended to include a secondary department in 1965, and sewerage was connected in 1966.
Yet Aramac's population had peaked by the early 1960s. The end of the postwar wool boom and the reserve price scheme, and years of sagging demand for wool all contributed to a halving of the population by the early years of the twenty-first century. Low house prices (average $10,000) contributed to a small population increase in the early 2000s.
Aramac has a hotel, caravan park, local shops, primary-secondary school, Catholic and Uniting churches, and the former shire hall and offices. There are also swimming, bowling and tennis facilities and the Aramac Tramway Museum. A new ambulance station (2008) replaced the facility built in 1956. The 10-bed hospital closed in 2010 and was converted to a 'primary health care centre'.
The annual Harry Redford Cattle Drive begins in Aramac and partly traces the 1870 footsteps of renowned cattle duffer Harry Redford, known as Captain Starlight.
Primary source: All information of St George's Church was extracted from Judith Salecich’s blog Love in a little black diary, article Easter at St George’s Church Aramac (1889, 1913) posted April 11, 2020 by Judith Salecich (judithsalecich.com/easter-st-georges-church-aramac-1889-1...)
11. Rayner, Keith & The University of Queensland. (1962). The History of the Church of England in Queensland.(Thesis). Keith Rayner, p. 250.
12. (1883). Western Champion (Blackall/Barcaldine, Qld. : 1879 – 1891), Friday 27 July, page 2. Online: Retrieved on 7 April 2020.
13. (1883). Western Champion (Blackall/Barcaldine, Qld. : 1879 – 1891), Wednesday 21 November, page 3. Online: Retrieved on 7 April 2020.
14. Rayner, Keith & The University of Queensland. (1962). The History of the Church of England in Queensland.(Thesis). Keith Rayner, p. 250.
15. (1887). Western Champion (Blackall/Barcaldine, Qld. : 1879 – 1891), Tuesday 24 May, page 2. Online: Retrieved on 7 April, 2020.
16. Rayner, Keith & The University of Queensland. (1962). The History of the Church of England in Queensland.(Thesis). Keith Rayner.
37. Church of England, Aramac. Dedication of St George’s Church. An imposing Funciton (1913). Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central-Western Districts (Barcaldine, Qld. : 1892 – 1922), Saturday 5 April, page 11. (trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/79744495)
Secondary Source: Queensland Places (queenslandplaces.com.au/aramac).