City Congregational Church was a

church building A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

of the

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

at 407 Adelaide Street,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

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, which replaced the

Wharf Street Congregational Church, Brisbane The Wharf Street Congregational Church was a Congregational church built in 1860 on the corner of Wharf Street and Adelaide Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The church was demolished in 1928. It was the first Congregational church in Br ...

History

Church hall

Construction commenced in 1927 while Sunday services were temporarily held in the Constitutional Club rooms and His Majesty's Theatre. On Saturday 14 January 1928, the church hall at 409 Adelaide Street was opened. Costing £19,000, it had two floors. The ground floor had shops, offices and social rooms, while the upper floor was a large hall. On 27 May 1928 the new pipe organ was used in services for the first time. The intention was to use the hall for services while funds were raised over the following two to three years to enable the construction of the church itself on the Queen Street side of the property. However, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the funds to build the church were not raised and services continued to be conducted in the church hall.

World War II and Wickham Terrace

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began, and in September 1941 evening services at the City Congregational Church were shifted to the late afternoon to accommodate the black-out. In January 1942, the church hall was commandeered by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

Department of Munitions and Supplies. The

Albert Street Methodist Church Albert Street Uniting Church is a heritage-listed church at 319 Albert Street (on the corner of Ann Street), Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by George Henry Male Addison and built from 1888 to 1889 by ...

offered their church as a venue for services for the Congregational community. In October 1942, the congregation found a new home in a former Presbyterian church on

Wickham Terrace Wickham Terrace is one of the historic streets of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is known as the street of private medical specialists. Geography Wickham Terrace commences at the western corner of the intersection of Ann Street and Whar ...

. This church had been acquired in 1905 for extensions to Brisbane's Central Railway Station (the Presbyterian congregation established St Andrew's Presbyterian Church to replace their Wickham Terrace church). As the extensions to the railway station did not take place immediately, the railways used the building as for storage of records until 1929, after which they leased it out as a

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

nasium until 1941. The Congregational community leased the Wickham Terrace church building from 1942 to 1960, after which the church was demolished for road works.

Ministers

The initial minister was Rev.

Percival Watson Percival Watson (1881 – 1959) was an English Congregationalist who had a considerable career as a minister in South Australia and Queensland. History Watson came from Birmingham, where he was associated with the Rev. Dr. John Henry Jowett and ...

, who had transferred with the congregation from the former Wharf Street church. He served (at Wharf Street, Adelaide Street and Wickham Terrace) for 22 years until he left in May 1947 to take up the ministry of the Pitt Street Congregational Church in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

T. Rees Thomas Thomas "Tom" Rees Thomas MBE (1910–1993), generally referred to as T. Rees Thomas, often Rees-Thomas, was an Australian Congregationalist minister. History Rees Thomas was born in Pontardulzus (perhaps Pontarddulais), Wales, and with his paren ...

was minister from 1947 to 1981. He was inducted in February 1948 by his old principal Rev. E. S. Kiek and distinguished wife Rev.

Winifred Kiek Winifred Kiek (; 1884-1975) was the first woman to be ordained in the Christian Ministry in Australia. She was ordained on 13 June 1927 in South Australia to the Congregational Union of Australia (now part of the Uniting Church in Australia). ...

.{{cite news , url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49647571 , title=News of the Churches , newspaper=

The Courier-mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...

, issue=3496 , location=Queensland, Australia , date=7 February 1948 , accessdate=20 October 2016 , page=4 , via=National Library of Australia

References

Former churches in Brisbane Former Congregational churches Adelaide Street, Brisbane

1927 establishments in Australia 1960s disestablishments in Australia Church halls in Queensland