St Peters Anglican Church
The Anglican Parish of St Peter at East Maitland is one of the oldest in Australia, commencing with the appointment of the Revd George Rusden in 1834. Prior to that date, the only religious instruction available to settler and convict alike was from the Chaplain attached to the penal settlement at Newcastle. Rusden’s Parish was huge and encompassed all of the Hunter, the New England and even Morton Bay in south eastern Queensland. Today, the Parish boundaries are by comparison miniscule and include the suburbs of Ashtonfield, East Maitland, Metford and Tenambit. The Revd Michael Davies is the 14th Rector of the Parish, being commissioned in August, 2007.
The Church itself is the 2nd St Peter’s and came about when the firm of Blackett Brothers won the tender for a new church in 1884. The Australian Churchman, printed at the time, stated that All Saints Church at Woollahra was the handsomest church in Sydney and that St Peter’s East Maitland, “was to be an improvement on that Church”. Even in its unfinished state (the tower and spire has never been built), it remains one of the finest parish churches in New South Wales. The Foundation Stone was laid on 12th December, 1884 by the newly appointed Primate of Australia, the Most Revd Alfred Barry and the Church was dedicated for divine service by the Bishop of Newcastle, the Rt Revd JB Pearson 29th September, 1886. St Peter’s was consecrated, debt free, by Bishop Stretch on 2nd December, 1908.
In style, the building is described at decorated gothic, 14th century work. The eastern end of the building is an apse, the semi-circular recess usually placed at the eastern end of the choir or chancel of a Romanesque, or what is commonly called in England, an Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Norman church.
The church contains a plethora of artistic and beautiful furnishings. The most striking are the pulpit, the font, the reredos, the lectern and the Henry Willis pipe organ. Additionally, there is a substantial amount of beautiful stained glass, collectively in the sanctuary, the nave and the narthex.
Regular services at St Peter’s are at the following times:
Sunday 7.30am and 9.30am (Sung Eucharist).
Wednesday 7.30am.
Saturday 6.00pm.
During January, a single Sunday service is held at 8.00am.
Weddings, funerals and baptisms are by arrangement.
The Rector, the Revd Michael Davies may be contacted on 02 4934 5303 and via e-mail.
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Phone: 02 4933 5408 Fax: 02 4933 5408 |
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