St Andrew's Church Hall is a heritage-listed

church hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church, generally for community and charitable use. In smaller and village communities, it is often a separate building near the church, while on more restricted urban sites ...

at Mangerton Street, Toogoolawah,

Somerset Region The Somerset Region is a local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, northwest of the City of Brisbane. The region is centred on the town of Esk, which also serves as the council seat. Somer ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It was built in 1906 by A D Menzies. 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 ...

on 21 October 1992.

History

This small weatherboard hall was erected in 1906 for the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

congregation in Toogoolawah, on land in Mangerton Street owned by

Mary Elizabeth McConnel Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

of Cressbrook. This site is now the vacant block to the south of the rectory, the hall having been moved to its present location beside the church. The town of Cressbrook Creek (later Toogoolawah) was founded when Mary McConnel's husband, JH McConnel, subdivided a large section of the Cressbrook estate in the late 1890s, and established a condensed milk factory on Cressbrook Creek in 1898. The town expanded when the

Brisbane Valley railway line The Brisbane Valley railway line was a railway connection in Queensland, Australia connecting Ipswich, Queensland, Ipswich, west of Brisbane, to the upper Brisbane River valley. Progressively opened between 1884 and 1913, the railway provided ...

was completed in 1904 providing a connection to Ipswich. It is believed Mary McConnel paid for the construction of the hall. Probably the builder was AD Menzies, who erected most of the buildings in Toogoolawah until the mid-1920s. The hall was opened by the Archbishop in September 1906, and Anglican services were held there until St Andrew's Church was erected in 1911–1912. Subsequently the building became the

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

hall, and in 1920 the church purchased from Mrs McConnel both the hall and the site, for the sum of £100. The building has been moved since to its present location beside the church, and has undergone a number of alterations.

Description

This single-storeyed timber building is set amongst mature trees on a corner site forming the northwestern boundary to McConnel Park. St Andrew's Church is located on the northern side of the building and St Andrew's Rectory, Toogoolawah, St Andrew's rectory and its grounds are to the south. The building has a

corrugated iron Corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America), zinc (in Cyprus and Nigeria) or ...

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d roof with a

skillion roof A shed roof, also known variously as a pent roof, lean-to roof, outshot, catslide, skillion roof (in Australia and New Zealand), and, rarely, a mono-pitched roof,Cowan, Henry J., and Peter R. Smith. ''Dictionary of Architectural and Building Te ...

to the rear kitchenette and a gabled roof to the front

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

. The exterior is dark painted weatherboard, matching St Andrew's Church, and sits on timber stumps. The front porch has a solid

weatherboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of those terms, is wooden siding (construction), siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Cla ...

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

and a decorative timber front

with a metal

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

. The windows now have glass louvres and the timber trim is painted white. Internal walls and ceiling are lined with fibrous cement sheeting.

Heritage listing

St Andrew's Church Hall was listed on the

on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. St Andrew's Church Hall, erected in 1906, is significant historically in illustrating the establishment of the Anglican Church in Toogoolawah. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. It exhibits aesthetic characteristics valued by the community, in particular the aesthetic contribution of building and grounds to the Toogoolawah townscape. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. The place has a strong association with the Toogoolawah community, being an integral part of an historic, visually cohesive and picturesque precinct comprising St Andrew's church, church hall, and rectory and adjacent McConnel Park (containing the Toogoolawah War Memorial). The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. St Andrew's Church Hall has a special association with the McConnel family and their contribution to the development of social and religious life in Toogoolawah.

References

Attribution

External links