All Saints Church, Henley Brook
Encyclopedia
Henley Brook, Western Australia
Henley Brook is an outer rural suburb of Perth, Western Australia, part of the Swan Valley wine region. The Ellen brook and Swan River meet in the northeastern corner of the suburb. This is also the farthest upstream Captain Stirling's 1827 exploration reached before deciding on the settlement...
is the oldest church in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It was built by Richard Edwards between 1838 and 1840 with the first service taking place on 10 January 1841. The site is on a small hill overlooking the Swan River
Swan River (Western Australia)
The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Its lower reaches are relatively wide and deep, with few constrictions, while the upper reaches are usually quite narrow and shallow....
and near the conjunction of the Swan and Ellen Brook. This site was where Captain James Stirling camped during his 1827 exploration of the area.
1827 Expedition
On 13 March 1827, Stirling's expedition of the Swan River finished in the area but was unable to venture further upstream due to lack of navigable water. The party made camp on the high bank overlooking the river. He wrote in his diary:
"...the richness of the soil, the bright foliage of the shrubs, the majesty of the surrounding trees, the abrupt and red colour banks of the river occasionally seen, and the view of the blue mountains, from which we were not far distant, made the scenery of this spot as bieutiful [sic] as anything of the kind I have ever witnessed..."
Religious services
Early services had been regularly held in the area since 1830. The acre of land where Captain Stirling had camped was donated by Frederick Irwin and William Mackie, and in 1838 Reverend William MitchellWilliam Mitchell (Reverend)
William Mitchell was a Church of England priest who was the first ordained person to provide religious services in the Swan Valley area of the Swan River Colony...
was appointed Rector. Richard Edwards, Irwin's manager at Henley Park and a master bricklayer
Bricklayer
A bricklayer or mason is a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The term also refers to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. In British and Australian English, a bricklayer is colloquially known as a "brickie".The training of a trade in...
, under took the building of the church.
With the assistance of local residents who donated both labor and materials, the church was completed in 1841. The flagstones of the church came from the ballast of ships that had sailed from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The first service was held on 10 January 1841. Bishop Augustus Short
Augustus Short
Augustus Short , was the first Anglican bishop of Adelaide, South Australia.- Early life and career :Born at Bickham House, near Exeter, Devon, England, the third son of Charles Short, a London barrister, offspring of an old English county family, and his wife Grace, daughter of Humphrey Millett...
of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
consecrated All Saints Church in November 1848.
Services have been regularly held in the church since it was built. The Anglican Church holds services here every Sunday with additional services on significant occasions. All Saints Church is in the Anglican Parish of Swan. Prior to the establishment of the Perth Diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
in 1872 churches in the Swan River Colony were part of the Adelaide diocese.
Cemetery
The cemetery that surrounds the church includes the graves of a number of individuals who were significant to the development of the colony: William MackieWilliam Mackie
William Henry Mackie was an early settler of the Swan River Colony holding a number of public positions including that of the first Judge of the colony. Mackie was born at Cochin, India and as a child returned to live in Derry before attending school in Twickenham, Middlesex...
, Frederick Irwin
Frederick Irwin
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Chidley Irwin was acting Governor of Western Australia from 1847 to 1848.Born in 1788 in Enniskillen, Ireland, Frederick Chidley Irwin was the son of Reverend James Irwin. In 1808, he was commissioned into the 83rd Regiment of Foot...
, John Connolly
John Connolly (prospector)
John Francis Connelly was an Australian prospector and mine owner. Born in Victoria, he prospected and owned mines in New South Wales. He discovered a platinum field at Fifield before joining the gold rush to Cossack, Western Australia in 1889...
and Richard Edwards are all buried in the graveyard. There is a memorial to George Fletcher Moore
George Fletcher Moore
George Fletcher Moore was a prominent early settler in colonial Western Australia, and "one [of] the key figures in early Western Australia's ruling elite"...
inside the church.
In 1929 to mark the centenary of settlement
Centenary of Western Australia
In 1929, Western Australia celebrated the centenary of the founding of Perth and the establishment of the Swan River Colony, the first permanent European settlement...
a Lynch Gate was erected to mark the farthest point inland that Captain James Stirling's 1827 expedition reached. During 1974 a memorial wall was built in the south west corner of the cemetery. As part of the WAY 1979
WAY 1979
WAY '79, also referred to as WAY 79 and WAY 1979, was the official 1979 sesquicentennial celebration of the colonisation of Western Australia by Europeans.-Planning:...
celebrations the West Australian chapter of the Australian Institute of Builders restored the lychgate
Lychgate
A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, or as two separate words lych gate, is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard.-Name:...
. Wrought iron gates completed the boundary fence in 1991; the gates are decorated with the words All Saints and Ellen's Brook.