All Saints Anglican Church is a heritage-listed
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
at
Darnley Island
Darnley Island or ''Erub'' in the native Papuan language, Meriam Mir, is an island formed by volcanic action and situated in the eastern section of the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the Torres Strait Islands and is loc ...
,
Torres Strait Island Region
The Torres Strait Island Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering part of the Torres Strait Islands. It was created in March 2008 out of 15 autonomous Island Councils during a period of statewide local gove ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia. It was built from 1919 to 1938. It was added to the
Queensland Heritage Register
The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...
on 21 October 1992.
History
Coming of the Light
The first Christian missionary, representing the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...
(SPG), arrived at the newly established settlement of
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
,
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
, on 15 March 1867. Rev F.C. Jagg came with his family. A young English schoolteacher, W.T. Kennett, funded by the
Queensland Government
The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...
to establish a school at Somerset, accompanied Rev Jagg and started a mission school on 1 October 1867. A lack of funding, lack of support from the government administration, and dismay at the brutality of the police resulted in the mission being closed by June 1868.
[
In 1871 representatives of the ]London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...
(LMS) arrived in the Torres Strait
The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...
s on the schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
''Surprise'', which had been chartered by the LMS, after the French Government
The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
had demanded their removal from the Loyalty Islands
The Loyalty Islands Province ( French ''Province des îles Loyauté'') is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island (french: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of ...
and New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
in 1869. They decided to expand into the Torres Straits and New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
.[ They were represented by two Englishmen, Revs S. Macfarlane and A.W. Murray,] and eight Lifu
Lifou Island, historically spelt Lifu or Lefu in English, and known as Drehu in the local language, is the largest, most populous and most important island of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of F ...
(Loyalty Islander) evangelists: Tapeso, Elia, Mataika, Guchong, Kerisidui, Wauaded, Sevine and Josaia, and their wives.
The missionaries reached Erub (Darnley Island
Darnley Island or ''Erub'' in the native Papuan language, Meriam Mir, is an island formed by volcanic action and situated in the eastern section of the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the Torres Strait Islands and is loc ...
) on 1 July 1871, an event that came to be known as the "Coming of the Light". Dabad, one of the tribal elders of the island, met them at Kemus Beach. Dabad befriended the missionaries and introduced them to Amani, another tribal elder, and the rest of the Erub Islanders. His role in the bringing of Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
to the Torres Straits is memorialised by Dabad's Monument at Badog. The inscription reads "In loving memory of Dabad 1871: A man who denied his tribal laws and accepted the good news of salvation".[
]South Sea Islanders
South Sea Islanders are the Australian descendants of Pacific Islanders from more than 80 islandsincluding the Oceanian archipelagoes of the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Gilbert Islands and New Ireland (island), New Ire ...
had an important role working in the beche-de-mer
Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea. They can be used as food, in fresh or dried form, in various cuisines. In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value.
The creature and the food product ...
and pearl farming
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...
industries in the Torres Straits and had established trading relations with the islanders long before the arrival of ''Surprise''. Rotuma Island
Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a large and unique Polynesian indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognisable minority within the population of Fiji, known as ...
ers working there, who had encountered Christian missions at Rotuma and believed the missionaries to be cruel, evil and capable of selling people into slavery, reportedly warned the people of Erub against them.
Thorngreen, a European man, was living on Erub and accompanied Darnley Islanders on board ''Surprise'' the following day. As it was a Sunday, the missionaries held a service in Lifu language. This was the first recorded service in the Torres Straits (although Rev Jagg would have undoubtedly held services during his 12 months at Somerset). Two native evangelists, Mataika and Guchong, and their wives, were left on Erub on 5 July.
''Surprise ''went on to Tudu (Warrior) Island.The missionaries were welcomed at Tudu by Captain Banner, who had an established pearl shell fishery on the island. John Joseph, one of his employees, travelled with the missionaries as an interpreter to Dauan Island
Dauan Island is an island in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia; it is also known as Cornwallis Island. Dauan Island is also a town and locality in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Dauan Islan ...
on 6 July.
Expansion of Christianity
Finding that most of the islanders were away on Saibai Island, they were taken to Saibai by Nudai, the chief of Dauan. Two Lifu evangelists, Josaia and Sevine, were left at Saibai and Dauan, respectively. It was 1881 before the first substantial building for Christian worship was constructed at Saibai. In the early 20th century, it was replaced by the Holy Trinity Church, on which construction began about 1919 and was completed by about 1938.[
Additional Lifu evangelists were left on Yorke and Yam Islands. With the English clergy still aboard, ''Surprise'' sailed to the newly established settlement at Somerset.][
The London Missionary Society (LMS) established temporary headquarters at Somerset, from where they could expand their operations into other ]Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total land ...
and the mainland of New Guinea. Between 1871 and 1878 at least 131 Pacific Islander teachers, mainly from the Loyalty Islands, Cook Islands
)
, image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, capital = Avarua
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Avarua
, official_languages =
, lan ...
, Niue
Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...
, Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...
and Rurutu, taught in the Torres Straits and New Guinea, along with their wives and families. Only four European missionaries taught in the same period.[
In 1872 the LMS revisited selected islands in the Torres Straits. They reported that the missionaries who had been left on Dauan and Saibai had been accepted into the local tribes and had been given land by the local chiefs. They reported weekly services were being held at Erub (Darnley), and were conducted in a pidgin form of the local language, ]Kala Lagaw Ya
''Kalau Lagau Ya'', ''Kalaw Lagaw Ya'', ''Kala Lagaw Ya'' (), or the ''Western Torres Strait language'' (also several other names, see below), is the language indigenous to the central and western Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia. O ...
.[ Eventually a full creole language developed in the Torres Strait Islands.
The Queensland Government annexed the islands of the Torres Straits within of the mainland in 1872, followed by the remainder of the islands in 1879. It feared that rival colonial powers could take control of what had become an important shipping route. Annexation also gave the government control over the increasingly lucrative beche-de-mer and pearl shelling economies and, in particular, regulating the use of ]Torres Strait
The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...
and South Sea Islander labour in these industries.
The government moved its administration centre from Somerset to Thursday Island
Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately north of Cape ...
in 1877. But the lack of government resources, such as a regular patrol boat, meant that effectively administration of the islands was conducted by the London Missionary Society.[
The Society established the Papuan Institute on the island of Mer as a theological facility to train ]Torres Strait Islanders
Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...
as Episcopal priests. The Society selected the students. It closed the Institute in 1888, but by then a number of local priests had been trained who were familiar with both formal missionary teaching and the local Islander customs.[
]
LMS moves on
By 1890 the London Missionary Society began to reduce its operations in the Torres Straits. Conversion on the islands had been successful, and they considered Papua their next area of endeavour. A full-time superintendent on the islands was no longer deemed necessary. The incumbent priest, Rev J Chalmers, moved to Saguane in the Fly River
The Fly River is the third longest river in the island of New Guinea, after the Sepik River and Mamberamo River, with a total length of and the largest by volume of discharge in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its catc ...
in New Guinea. The Queensland Government appointed teacher/supervisors on various islands. In 1904 the Protector of Aborigines
The role of Protector of Aborigines was first established in South Australia in 1836.
The role became established in other parts of Australia pursuant to a recommendation contained in the ''Report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Abori ...
assumed comprehensive control of Islanders' lives under the Queensland .[
Worship on various islands was led by the Islander priests who had been trained at the Papuan Institute. Annual inspections were made by LMS representatives travelling from New Guinea.][
In 1914 the secretary of the London Missionary Society requested that the ]Bishop of Carpentaria
The Anglican Diocese of Carpentaria was an Anglican diocese in northern Australia from 1900 to 1996. It included most of northern Queensland, the islands of the Torres Strait and, until 1968, all of the Northern Territory. The see was based at ...
, Gilbert White
Gilbert White FRS (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a " parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist, ecologist, and ornithologist. He is best known for his ''Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne''.
Life
White was born on ...
, take over the missionary work in the Torres Strait due to financial pressure. The Australian Board of Missions
The Anglican Board of Mission - Australia (ABM), formerly Australasian Board of Missions and Australian Board of Missions, is the national mission agency of the Anglican Church of Australia. In its earliest form, it was established in 1850. ...
in November 1914 accepted this and the Anglican Church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
assumed responsibility for the Torres Strait Mission. All the leases granted to the LMS, including the buildings, were transferred to the Anglican Church.
Soon after this transfer, the Anglican Church instituted annual "Coming of the Light" celebrations, as a tribute to the London Missionary Society and perhaps as a way of ensuring continuity of worship. This anniversary continues to be celebrated annually by Torres Strait Islanders, both in the Strait and in Torres Strait Islander communities on the Australian mainland. Kemus Beach, on Erub, is a particularly important center for these Coming of the Light celebrations. This was the site of the first contact between Torres Strait Islanders and representatives of the London Missionary Society. That event is memorialised by a ''Coming of the Light'' monument, consisting of a high white cross standing in a ship named ''Surprise'' as its base.[ ''Coming of the Light'', an episode in the 2013 documentary television series '' Desperate Measures'', features the annual event.]
All Saints construction
In 1919 the All Saints Church was constructed at the former site of the original London Missionary Society mission house and school. Locally produced lime from burnt coral and basalt was used and the work was done under the direction of Manai, an Erub Islander, and Ware, a South Sea Islander
South Sea Islanders are the Australian descendants of Pacific Islanders from more than 80 islandsincluding the Oceanian archipelagoes of the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Gilbert Islands and New Irelandwho were kidnappe ...
. It was originally known as the Ziona church.
In 1963 the Church of England, now the Anglican Church, remodelled this building with limestone from surrounding coral reefs. The roofline was raised and internal walls extended. Erosion of the beach over time has threatened the preservation of the building. In 1976 a stone sea wall was constructed approximately from the building in an effort to protect it from erosion from the strong tides.[
]
Description
All Saints Church is a mass concrete structure with a timber framed red corrugated asbestos cement and galvanized steel roof, located from Badog Beach on the south west side of Erub (Darnley) Island in the Torres Straits.[
The area of the building is about , featuring a central ]nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
with side wings. Walls, constructed of concrete, vary in thickness from and are plastered internally and externally. Internal walls between the nave and the wings of the building are rendered white and feature columned arches. The floor is concrete.[
The facade of the building, facing east, is decorated with a ]niche
Niche may refer to:
Science
*Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development
*Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species
*Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...
, projecting columns
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
and beams, frieze
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
and other architectural features. The main entrance is on the southern side of the side of the building, through one of the side wings. External walls of the side wings are buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
ed at the corners and intermediary points. The sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
is at the western end of the building with a vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
extending to the southern side of it.[
The building is located on a small level area between the beach and the north east headland of Badog Beach. The vegetation includes mature coconut palms and a natural forest setting.][
]
Heritage listing
All Saints Anglican Church was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register
The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...
on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.[
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
All Saints Church, Erub (Darnley) Island, survives as important evidence of the development of missionary activity in the Torres Straits and serves as a focus for the annual July 1 "Coming of the Light" festival that celebrates the arrival of the London Missionary Society in the Torres Straits in 1871.][
The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.
The substantial building, constructed in 1919 mainly of locally acquired materials including burnt coral and basalt, forms a prominent landmark in the architecture of Erub (Darnley) Island. It has aesthetic significance through its prominent siting on Badog Beach and as an example of the vernacular architectural style of churches in the Torres Straits that includes projected corners and beams and buttressed corners and cement construction material.][
The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
Erub (Darnley Island) has a strong and special religious significance with Torres Strait Islander Christians as the first place of contact between Torres Strait Islanders and London Missionary Society missionaries.][
]
Footnotes
References
Attribution
External links
{{Anglican Church of Australia
Queensland Heritage Register
Darnley Island (Queensland)
Anglican churches in Queensland
Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register