ST. MARY'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Local stone was used in the construction of the church which was funded entirely by local business and families.  It was consecrated on 17 July 1930 and dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch, reputedly the daughter of a pagan priest of Antioch, who became a Christian and was persecuted for her faith.  She was martyred in 306AD and is recognized as the patron saint of women in childbirth. 

The first services were conducted by priests who travelled from Katanning until 1952 when the first permanent Rector, Rev. R. J. Cook, was appointed to Gnowangerup. 

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The first record of an intention to build an Anglican Church is found in the minutes of a meeting from 1913 which states: 

'All present were unanimous in their desire that whatever it was decided in the matter of building it should be financed if possible by adherents of the Anglican Church without inflicting on the general public any more than was absolutely necessary.  The opinion was freely expressed that although we may be a small community, the pleasure of feeling that we built the Church without outside assistance and that we had not inflicted our wants on those that would not be interested would be worth a great deal of self sacrifice and self denial.  The gentlemen present undertook to give £2 per quarter with hope of raising a loan.'

However, such good intentions were put on hold when World War I intervened in 1914 and essential goods and services, bank credit and labour became extremely difficult to obtain. 

Work began in 1922 when local parishioners formed a Building Committee and began fund raising in earnest.  The Government had already granted a block of land as a site for the church but in 1925 the Building Committee negotiated a better block a few blocks away and purchased the adjacent block, deciding that the church should be built across both lots.  

The opinion was freely expressed within the church that although they may be a small community, the pleasure of feeling that they built the Church without outside assistance and that they had not inflicted our wants on those that would not be interested would be worth a great deal of self-sacrifice and self-denial.  It was always a source of pride that the building was wholly funded from within the community.  

Architect Herbert Parry designed the Church.  The son of a former Bishop of Perth, he designed many churches and hotels in Western Australia and was also responsible for the design of Gnowangerup’s Agricultural and Memorial Halls.  The church is built in the Inter-War Romanesque style and the design is derived from that of English country churches in the shape of a Cross.  Other architectural features that are typical of English country churches are the light-coloured stone in the exterior, the arched heads of the windows and doors, the high raking ceiling and internal pitch of the ceiling exposed trusses. 

Built of local granite gneiss rock with a terracotta tiled roof, the church was built by Giovanni Caratti, an Italian stonemason who arrived in Gnowangerup, with his son Michael, in 1929.  While building the church he lived on site in a tent and built the church single-handed with assistance only to erect the roof trusses and lay the flooring.  The church was completed in 1930 after which Giovanni returned to Italy although his son remained in the district and became a successful businessman with extensive interests in land and earthmoving equipment. 

All of the timber used in the construction is jarrah.  Over the years various additions have been made, all funded by local parishioners.  In 1966, a Parish Hall was constructed adjacent to the church.  The money was raised through donations to the Hall Fund including three local farmers who set aside areas of land to be cropped and harvested with all monies raised from the sale of wheat going to the fund. 

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Copyright : Gordon Freegard 2023