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Celebrating 140 years’
1863
– 2003
Greenwith Church
began as a Primitive Methodist Chapel in 1863.
Before the chapel was built services were held in the cellar of
the home of Thomas and Hannah Roberts.
One of the early settlers of Golden Grove was George Robinson
who was associated with the Salisbury Primitive Methodist
Church.It was the people of that church who were the instigators
of building a church in the Golden Grove area.
The first meeting of the Trustees of the Greenwith Primitive
Methodist Chapel was held on the 9th of June 1863. Paul Roberts
of Greenwith Farm, son of Thomas and Hannah, donated ½ an acre
of land and it was agreed to build a chapel with inside
measurements of 30 feet long x 18 feet wide and 14 feet in
height; two Gothic windows on the east and the west and a
door to face north. The Roberts family named their farm after
Greenwith in Cornwall U.K. which is still pronounced Green-with..
Hannah Roberts laid the foundation stone at a service and tea
meeting on Tuesday 30th June 1863
Unfortunately this stone was never written on..
The tender by George Robinson of 2/6d per yard for the masonry
work was accepted.
He carted stone for the walls from nearby creeks and members of
the Salisbury Church carted bricks for the quoins by bullock
dray at 2 pounds per 1000.
Although unfinished, opening services for the church were held
on 15th and 22nd of November 1863. The total cost to this
time was 173 pounds. It was over twelve months before the
church had a ceiling. The building wasn’t completed
until 1868, which was the reason for that year being written on
the front of the church. (This date was changed to 1863
some time ago.) The church was used as a school from 1864
– 1869.
The chapel experienced hard times in the 1880s and was closed
for some years, re-opening in 1893. This was a period of growth
with the church being full and at times over flowing.
Greenwith was part of the Salisbury Primitive Methodist Circuit
until Methodist Union in 1901 when it became part of the Modbury
Methodist Circuit.
The centenary was held on the 29th September 1968. Around
this time it was discovered that the church actually began in
1863.
For some years attendance was small with services being held
quarterly. From May 1980 monthly services were held, from
February 1981 there were fortnightly services and regular weekly
services commenced in the mid eighties.
The original slate roof was replaced in September 1930 with an
iron roof at a total cost of 10 pounds 15 shillings and 4 pence.
The iron was replaced in December 2002 with the help of a
Heritage Grant from the City of Tea Tree Gully Council.
On 22nd June 1977 the inauguration of the Uniting Church took
place and in January 1979 the Greenwith Congregation was
welcomed into the Golden Grove Uniting Church Parish.
The building has been well preserved and remained almost
unchanged until the nineteen eighties when a meeting
room and toilet block were added and also the front porch.
During this period the local people showed their characteristic
foresight by purchasing additional land.
People saw the benefit of being a separate congregation for
mission in the area, so on the 26th of October 1998 Greenwith
became an independent congregation with a part time minister.
Morning services began in September 1999 and a Sunday school
commenced in May 2000 with two children. The Sunday school
soon outgrew the back room so a tent was used until a
transportable building was erected. This room has been
very useful for other functions as well as the Sunday school.
For most of it’s life Greenwith was a small rural church in a
farming area. It is now a growing church in a fast growing
suburban development.
Thank you to the Greenwith Uniting Church for the above
information.
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