St Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney, is a large suburban church in the

Anglican Diocese of Sydney The Diocese of Sydney is a diocese in Sydney, within the Province of New South Wales of the Anglican Church of Australia. The majority of the diocese is evangelical and low church in tradition. The diocese goes as far as Lithgow in the wes ...

, located in

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is listed on the local government heritage register and the (now defunct)

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

History

Following the development of the north shore of

Sydney harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

from the 1820s onwards, land was set aside for an Anglican church in

(then called St Leonards), which was designed by

Conrad Martens Conrad Martens (21 March 1801 – 21 August 1878) was an English-born landscape painter active on second voyage of HMS Beagle, HMS ''Beagle'' from 1833 to 1834. He arrived in Australia in 1835 and painted there until his death in 1878. Life ...

and opened in 1846.St Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney: history
Retrieved 24 October 2024. Martens himself carved the

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

, which is still in use today. As well as Martens, early members of the church included

Alexander Berry Alexander Berry (30 November 1781 – 17 September 1873) was a Scottish-born surgeon, merchant and List of explorers, explorer who was given in 1822 a land grant of 10,000 acres (40 km2) and 100 convicts to establish the first European set ...

James Milson James Milson (25 November 1783 – 25 October 1872) was an early settler on the North Shore of Sydney, Australia. He was born on 25 November 1783 at Grantham, Lincolnshire, England and died at the age of 88 on 25 October 1872 at Milsons Point ...

and

George Barney Lieutenant Colonel George Barney (19 May 1792 – 16 April 1862) was a military engineer of the Corps of Royal Engineers and became Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of North Australia. Early life George Barney was born in Wolverhampton, Sta ...

. As well as a memorial to Barney, the church also has a stained-glass window in memory of

James Graham Goodenough Commodore James Graham Goodenough (3 December 1830 – 20 August 1875) was an officer in the Royal Navy who went on to become Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station. Early life and family He was born at Stoke Hill near Guildford in Surrey, ...

. Both Edward Wollstonecraft and

Owen Stanley Captain Owen Stanley FRS RN (13 June 1811 – 13 March 1850) was a British Royal Navy officer and surveyor. Life Stanley was born in Alderley, Cheshire, the son of Edward Stanley, rector of Alderley and later Bishop of Norwich. A brother wa ...

are buried in the church cemetery. A plaque commemorating the church's founders was unveiled by the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

, Lord Wakehurst, in 1938. As the population of North Sydney grew, a larger building became necessary. The cornerstone of the new

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

church, designed by

Edmund Blacket Edmund Thomas Blacket (25 August 1817 – 9 February 1883) was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and Goulburn Cathedral (St. Saviour), St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulbu ...

, was laid in 1881 by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

(later George V), and construction was completed in 1886.Sydney Anglicans, "Guess who's coming to church"
20 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024. At a length of 160 feet, it is the longest Anglican church is

. In 1904 a three-manual

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

, built by William Davidson of Sydney, was installed - the largest tracker organ in New South Wales at the time. It was later removed, and parts were reused in the current Norman and Beard organ installed in 1974.Sydney Organ, St Thomas' Anglican Church
Retrieved 25 October 2024. On Sunday 20 October 2024, during their tour of Australia,

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East ...

attended a church service at St Thomas. The sermon was preached by the Most Rev. Kanishka Raffel, Archbishop of Sydney. The Church by the Bridge is a church plant of St Thomas.Church by the Bridge website
Retrieved 24 October 2024.

Rectors

Rectors of St Thomas have included:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney

Religious organizations established in 1846 Thomas's 1846 establishments in Australia Gothic Revival church buildings in Australia Anglican Diocese of Sydney Edmund Blacket buildings in Sydney Edmund Blacket church buildings North Sydney, New South Wales New South Wales places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate Sandstone churches in Australia