By Tyler Wright
Olinda’s St Matthew’s Anglican Church will mark 120 years since its dedication on Sunday 9 July.
Parish councillor Peter Adams said the church was erected in 1903, and is one of the earliest remaining timber churches on its original site in the Dandenong Ranges.
“Being a very old church, we have recently had a restoration project and spent some money in a number of things,” Mr Adams said.
“A lot of the foundations were not in very good condition, so the renovation has included restumping it and levelling the church.”
St Matthew’s Anglican church was erected by a ‘small but determined’ congregation of a Olinda pioneers.
Archdeacon A.W. Handley celebrated the dedication of the church on 9 July 1903.
Early services were conducted by Lay Reader W.R. Newton.
After his ordination in 1904, Reverend Newton continued to travel from Clergy House in Ferntree Gully; the base from which lay readers and the clergy lived.
The Parish in Olinda had its first resident Vicar in 1931, when it could afford to build a Vicarage.
The hall which sits next to the church was originally the former Mernda Methodist Church; the first church in the district built in 1901.
It was purchased by St. Matthew’s in 1935 and brought to the church site by horse drawn cart to become the Parish Hall.
Since its dedication, Mr Adams said the church, alongside St Michael’s and All Angels’ Anglican Church in Kalorama, has become an “integral” part of the local community by outreaching to locals and organising events in charitable work.
“For instance, we have a pantry at St Michael’s and on a Tuesday afternoon we have a drop in centre; so people donate non perishable goods, we store them in the church hall and people can come along on a Tuesday afternoon and pop in and grab a cup of tea or a cake,” he said.
“St Matthew’s actually holds an Autumn fair once a year. St Michael’s holds a cup day fair.”
Under current Vicar, Reverend Andrew Smith, the congregation will celebrate the church’s 120th anniversary by gathering for a light lunch.
“There will, no doubt, be mixed feelings as this will also be the last day of Rev. Smith’s tenure as he is moving to take up a position at Panton Hill,” Mr Adams said.
St Matthew’s underwent an extensive renovation, completed in 2022, to bring it back to its original glory.
“I have put out a note to a couple of local historians to find out if there’s any further information that we can add,” Mr Adams said.
Services are held at St Matthew’s every Wednesday at 10am and Sunday at 9am.
St Matthew’s is located at 17 Monash Avenue in Olinda.
