The Early Years
St. Luke’s Church in Vermont had its beginnings in the early 1900s when the original church, now referred to as ‘St. Luke’s Pioneer Church’, was constructed from timber and dedicated on September 3rd, 1907. The Church was originally situated on the corner of Mitcham and Canterbury roads until it was later relocated to its present position at the rear of the more recently constructed, ‘St. Luke’s Peace Memorial Church’, in 1961. The original church had a capacity of 120 people (Nethercote, 2000). |
St. Luke's Church. Source: (Richardson, 2010). |
Interior of St. Luke's Pioneer Church. Source: H. Kielnhofer, 20th August 2021.
Up until 1860, the land on which the St. Luke’s Church now stands, was referred to by Indigenous Australians as ‘happy hill’ and served as a camping area when they journeyed to ceremonial grounds (Shambrook, 2010). Prior to the construction of the St. Luke’s Pioneer Church in 1907, services were conducted at the Vermont State School (Shambrook, 2010). The site of the St. Luke’s Pioneer Church is thought to have previously been home to the former (incomplete) Church of St. Clement established c. 1872 (Shambrook, 2010).
Prior to the 1920s, services at St. Luke’s were routinely conducted by lay members of the congregation or occasionally, by vicars from the Parish of Ferntree Gully who would travel to Vermont on horseback or bike (Nethercote, 2000; St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 2020). St. Luke’s remained part of the Upper Ferntree Gully Church District until 1920 (Nethercote, 2000; St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 2020). Frances Warren recalls ‘St. Luke’s was a lovely church, and they had a lovely lot of festivals. Harvest festival to which all the orchardists would send up boxes of apples, pears and vegetables” (Banks, 2000). |
Commemorative plaque on St. Luke's Church commemorating its dedication in 1907. |
Rev. Thomas McKeon: The First Vicar of St. Luke's Vermont
In 1920, St. Luke’s Vermont appointed the Reverend Thomas McKeon as its first vicar (Nethercote, 2000; St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 2020). He was an Irishman who had served bravely in World War 1 but had unfortunately sustained injury from a gas attack (Nethercote, 2000). He served the Parish of St. Luke’s for four years during which time, he resided in Vermont with his wife Stella and their children Arthur and Loma (Nethercote, 2000). Rev. McKeon, who was relatively young at the time, had a positive impact on the Vermont community, and established the 1st Vermont Scout Troop (Shambrook, 2010). Joan Livermore, the daughter of Stanley Livermore, who with his family operated a successful orchard over many years off Morack road, recalls she was one of the first children christened by Rev. Thomas McKeon (Nethercote, 2000). Thomas sadly passed away on 10th November 1924 from tuberculosis (Nethercote, 2000; St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 2020). However, the Vermont community soon rallied support for Thomas’ widow and young children, and soon men from the Parish of St. Luke’s constructed a home for the family close to the church in nearby Frances Avenue, Vermont (Nethercote, 2000). |
Rev. Thomas McKeon. Source: (Shambrook, 2010) |
St. Luke's Sunday School
A Sunday school was regularly held in the McKeon Hall situated at the corner of Mitcham and Canterbury roads next to the original site of the ‘St. Luke’s Pioneer Church’ and attended by many of the local children. Joan Livermore, whose family operated a successful orchard over many years off Morack road, has fond memories of attending Sunday School in the 1920s when it was under the successful care of Sunday School Superintendent Mr. Fitzmaurice. Other Sunday School Superintendents included Mr. Finger, Mr. Mickleborough, Mr. Thollar and Douglas Livermore (Nethercote, 2000). Eliza Mary Seton-Williams (1875-1947) of the ‘Uplands’ in Canterbury road, Vermont conducted the Juniors at Sunday school (Nethercote, 2000). |
Eliza Mary (Ellie) Staughton, otherwise known as Mrs. Seton G. Williams. Source: (People Australia, 2020) |
In 1940, a vicarage designed by local architect, J.F.W. Ballantyne, was constructed on land next to the church property on the corner of Grove Street and Mitcham Road which had been purchased by the Parish of St. Luke (St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 2020; Nethercote, 2000). During the 1940s, the bell tower of the St. Luke’s Pioneer Church was donated by Roy Livermore, in memory of his wife, Eva Fitzmaurice (Nethercote, 2000). The Fitzmaurice family were long-time supporters of the parish, with Eva’s sister, Leonora, serving as organist and choir master of St. Luke’s for many years, whilst Eva’s father, Mr. Fitzmaurice, served as Sunday School Superintendent at McKeon Hall (Nethercote, 2000).
A Kindergarten building was later completed in 1956 (St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 2020). In 1961, a new Romanesque-style brick church designed by the architect, Wystan Widdows, and referred to as ‘St. Luke’s Peace Memorial Church’, was constructed on the corner of Mitcham and Canterbury roads on the original site of the Pioneer Church (St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 2020). In 1985, a new vicarage was constructed on the former church tennis court fronting Grove Street (St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 2020). St. Luke’s Pioneer Church was restored in 1999 and is currently undergoing some restoration works in 2020. Sadly, the bronze bell which had adorned the bell tower of St. Luke's Pioneer Church since it was donated in 1960, was stolen when thieves dismantled the Church's bell tower in 2007 (The Age, Schneiders, Ben, Sep 21, 2007). The bell itself was made of solid bronze and measured 45 cm in height, and the bell tower in which it was housed was described by Vicar Richard Temby as "a tripod structure about eight metres in the air, made of tubular steel" (The Age, Schneiders, Ben, Sep 21, 2007). As detailed above, this bell tower was donated in the 1940s by Roy Livermore in memory of his wife, Eva Fitzmaurice (Nethercote, 2000). |
St. Luke's Church. Source: (City of Whitehorse, 2002). St. Luke's Church circa 1950. Source: (St. Luke's Anglican Church, 2020). St. Luke's Church in 2020. Source: H. Kielnhofer. |
St. Luke's Church in 2020. Source: H Kielnhofer
St. Luke's Church, 20th August 2021. Source: H. Kielnhofer.
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