Purga United Church

General

Classification

State Heritage

Register status

Entered

Date entered

6 September 2005

Type

Religion/worship: Church

Theme

8.1 Creating social and cultural institutions: Worshipping and religious institutions

Construction period

1922, Purga United Church (1922 - 1922)

Historical period

1919–1930s Interwar period

Location

Address

68 Purga School Road, Purga

LGA

Ipswich City Council

Coordinates

-27.71240318, 152.73231113

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Significance

Criterion AThe place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland’s history.

The Purga United Church is important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland's history. The community at Purga developed during the 1860s, opening its first school in 1871. The church was built as a non-denominational church in late 1922. Union churches were more typical in earlier Queensland rural communities. They were built as a means of dealing with the challenges of a small population of mixed religion and a shortage of clergy. The construction of a union church at Purga at such a late stage in the development of Queensland is unusual.

Criterion BThe place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland’s cultural heritage.

The church demonstrates an uncommon aspect of Queensland's cultural heritage. It is a rare, intact example of a purpose built union church that continues to function as such. The church was built and maintained by voluntary contributions from members of several denominations in the district and clergy from different religions led combined services. Though no longer held weekly, multi-denominational religious services continue to be held on special occasions.

Criterion DThe place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.

The building demonstrates the principal characteristics of a multi-denominational church. It has many design features that are typical of simple rural churches including a steeply pitched roof and a pulpit. There is a notable absence of religious symbols or icons that would link it to a particular denomination. Most of the existing features of the building, including the church organ are reputedly original.

Criterion GThe place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

The building has a strong association with the community at Purga for social and spiritual reasons. It has been valued by the Purga community and has functioned as its spiritual centre for over eighty years. Multiple generations of families still living in the district have worshipped at the church. After changed circumstances rendered its tenure less secure, the Friends of Purga Association moved the church to its present location in 1995 because they feared its loss.

History

The Purga United Church has played an important and valued role in the community at Purga, a rural district south of Ipswich, for over eighty years. Designed to serve people of all religions in the district, it was erected in late 1922 on a site facing Ipswich-Boonah Road. In 1995 it was moved to its current location on Purga School Road where the building continues to function as a multi-denominational place of worship. A long-standing member of the Purga community has described the church and nearby school (1871) as local 'landmarks'.

The first recorded non-indigenous settlement of the area occurred in the 1840s when William Wilson took up a pastoral run in the Mount Flinders area. Following the declaration of the Ipswich Agricultural Reserve in 1860, the Purga area was opened to closer agricultural settlement. During the American civil war (1861 — 1865) a shortage of cotton on the world market created opportunities for cotton farming in Australia. Cotton growing provided an impetus for development in the Purga area and by 1868 virtually all farmers in the district were cultivating this crop.

From the 1860s, a small community developed at Purga. In 1871, a State School opened and by 1894, the community had a post-mistress. Roman Catholic services reputedly were held in the home of John Dwyer a settler who had arrived from Ireland in 1862 or 1863. It seems likely that church services for other denominations also were held in homes or in the school building. The Methodist church had traveling ministries in the Ipswich area before and after the turn of the century.

In 1922, the community decided to build a church that served all religions. As a descendant of one of the original church trustees noted: 'it was built for the people of Purga, it wasn't built for a separate religion'. This practice was a common response in early Queensland rural communities to the challenges of a scattered population and a shortage of clergy. What is unusual about the Purga Church is that it was erected comparatively late in the pattern of settlement of southeast Queensland.

The reason for this decision at such a late stage of the development of the community is unclear. When reporting on the stump capping ceremony for the new church, the Queensland Times (12 December 1922) noted only that the need for a church had 'long been recognised' by the community. A range of denominations were represented in the small community. Six religious denominations were distributed between 23 families at the Purga State School in 1922. It is probable that there were insufficient members of any single denomination to justify the construction of a church building dedicated to one of these churches. In addition, at a national level, a spirit of cooperation had developed between three of the denominations represented in the district: the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational churches. The Ipswich newspaper, the Queensland Times had been reporting the efforts of these churches to form a union during 1922 and 1923. One of the points in favour of such a union was stated to be the more efficient use of church resources.

Construction of the Purga church commenced in late 1922 on portion 58 on C155913, fronting the Ipswich-Boonah Road. On 9 December a stump capping ceremony was held. The gathering included ET Bell, MLA and Rev. GK Kirke (Moderator of the Presbyterian Church). When welcoming the guests, Cr TR Morgan, the chairman of the union church building committee, noted that it was intended to build the church by voluntary labour. The building committee secretary, M Dick, gave the projected cost of the building as about f170. It is believed that the labour, money and building materials were donated by the local community. The church was built on land owned by the Harding family. In late December 1922, a fifty year lease was formalised between the Harding family and the trustees of the church. The Hardings received a nominal rent of one shilling per annum which a descendant of the family believes was returned to the collection plate.

The church continued to function as a cooperative venture supported by members of all religions represented in the community. All denominations contributed to maintaining the building. According to a local resident, in the mid-1950s when the church was painted for the first time, members of different churches represented in the district volunteered to work on the project. Visiting ministers from a range of religions led the weekly combined services. A photograph in the church, dated 1924, shows a small multi-denominational Sunday School. The marriage of Thomas Forsyth to Hannah Hodgson in 1925 was reputedly the first to be held in the church.

The increasing secularization of Australian society in the late 20th century led to falling church attendances everywhere and from about the late 1960s, weekly religious services at the Purga church ceased due to lack of attendance. The Sunday School probably ceased soon after 1971. Despite this, the church continued to be valued by the community. In the late 1970s or early 1980s, the roof was replaced. Religious services continued to be held in the church for all denominations in the district but not as frequently as before.

In 1989 the Purga Friends Association was formed to foster community spirit and local awareness of the district's history. The Association's first project was to move the church to its present location. After the lease of the land occupied by the church expired in the 1970s, the community's ownership of the church had become less secure. The Association successfully negotiated for the use of Crown land adjoining the former Purga State School and in 1995, the church was moved to its present site. The following year, the land was gazetted as a Reserve for Historical purposes under the control of the Purga Friends Association as trustees.

In 2005, weddings, funerals and multi-denominational church services at Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day continued to be held in the church at its new location. Most of the church fittings reputedly are original. This includes the church organ, which was recently refurbished and continued to be used at services.

Description

The Church is a small building set about 13 metres back from the front of an open grassy block, comprising 1746 square metres, facing Purga School Road. It is positioned about five metres from the western boundary. A second building, the Purga Federation Community Cultural Centre (opened in 2001) is located at the rear eastern corner. Access to the block is gained through a gate facing Purga School Road or from a gate into the adjoining school property.

The form of the church is very simple. It is a small building, rectangular in plan, about eight metres long and five and a half metres wide. The design is functional; there is an absence of external decorative features. The lack of any obvious Christian iconography is notable. Concrete stumps have been used to replace the original timber and elevate the building to a height of approximately one metre. The space between the floor of the church and the ground is in filled with horizontal planks. The structure is timber framed and clad with weatherboard. All of the windows are tall pivoted sash windows. Each of these is divided into two frames, one on top of the other. Each frame is divided into four lights made of clear glass. The bottom frame of each window pivots about a horizontal axis in the middle of the frame. Access at the front of the building is via a porch and a set of double, ledge and brace timber doors. At the rear access is via a simple wooden door. It has an unpainted, corrugated iron, gabled roof pitched at about 45 degrees. The church is finished in white paint.

One of the narrow sides of the building faces the street. The entrance porch is located on this side. It is raised to the same height as the rest of the building and projects from the center of the elevation. Access to the porch is gained through two openings on either side, each with a set of steps. It has a gabled roof pitched at about 45 degrees. A window opens on each side of the porch. It is unlined and has a fibro floor.

The two side elevations are identical. Each has windows spaced equally along its length. Rear access is via a wooden ledge and brace door at the left end of the rear elevation. A set of steps lead to the door. The only window in the rear wall opens slightly to the right of center. Unlike the others, this window has a red corrugated iron awning. A green corrugated iron water tank and tank stand is positioned at the right end of the rear elevation.

The interior of the church comprises a single room that is unlined and unpainted with the exception of the window frames, which are finished in coloured varnish. The timber floor is bare, except for a long narrow carpet extending the length of the room along the center. A small wooden platform and pulpit are against the wall opposite the main entrance. The central part of the pulpit is about one and a half metres high. It consists of two square section posts joined with timber paneling. The bottom section of paneling comprises two vertical recessed panels. The top half consists of a single panel extending the full width of the central part of the pulpit. This panel is decorated with fretwork depicting an elliptical radiant sun motif surrounded by a floral pattern. Blue felt fabric is fixed to the rear of the panel and shows through the openings in the fretwork. On top of this is a book rest inclined at approximately twenty degrees and finished in blue felt fabric. Two shorter square section posts are set back from the front of the platform about one metre from each side of the central section of the pulpit. Each of them is joined to the central section by two wooden rails.

The church is furnished with rows of plain wooden pews. The old wooden organ reputedly dates from the opening of the church. The white glass light fittings are also reputedly original. A more recent fluorescent light is fitted along a beam above the pulpit. Framed historic photographs and a clock of recent manufacture are hung on the walls.

There are three gardens in the grounds. At the front western corner of the block, there is a memorial garden dedicated to Helen Kay Aquilina. There is a small landscaped garden, edged with concrete, in front of the church porch and another garden near the entrance to the Purga Federation Community Cultural Centre at the rear of the block. Two benches are positioned along the western side of the church and another next to the memorial gardens. A chain wire fence surrounds the grounds.

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