St Andrew's Church Hall

The St Andrew’s church hall is the oldest of the three buildings in this precinct. It was used for church services from the time it opened in September 1906 until the church was completed in 1912. The town of Cressbrook Creek (later Toogoolawah) was founded when James Henry McConnel subdivided a large section of the Cressbrook estate in 1898 and established a condensed milk factory. The town was named after his parents (David and Mary’s) Bulimba property, Toogoolawah, where they lived from 1849 until 1853. The McConnel family were proactive in the development of the township. The region’s success was further enhanced by the completion of the rail connection to Ipswich in 1904. The hall, thought to have been financed by JH McConnel’s wife Mary, was built on a site, now vacant, to the south of the rectory and later relocated. After the completion of the church, the hall was used for Sunday school. The church purchased the property from Mary McConnel in 1920.