St James church | St James history

St James is a heritage listed church that is wheelchair accessible. Sunday services are followed by a time of fellowship over tea or coffee.

Address: 17 Station Street Wellington Point Q 4160

Regular service times:

First to fourth Sundays of the month

9.30am – Holy Communion service

Fifth Sunday of the month

8am – A combined parish service is held at either St George’s church or St James church. This allows all three congregations of the parish to worship as one and promotes fellowship. The regular 9.30am service is not held that day.

The beginning in Redland Bay
In 1889, the building now known as St James, Wellington Point was originally St George’s Church of England in Redland Bay in the Parish of Cleveland, established during the Episcopate of William Webber, third Bishop of Brisbane (1885 – 1903). The building was designed by the Diocesan Architect John Hingeston Buckeridge.

The church was built in 1889 on an acre of land in Peel Street, Redland Bay and was dedicated in 1890.  

Wellington Point
In 1913, the church and its furnishings were moved to Wellington Point. The prayer desk and seat were examined (2013) by Birkdale wood turner Rob McKee who said the timber is white cypress and the items appear hand made. The priest’s seat is still in use, but the prayer desk was replaced, and the original converted to a bookcase for hymn and prayer books in 1982.

Original subdivisions of land around the present church site were complicated by the advent of the railway in 1889. The land for the church site was originally owned by Percival Hiley and on his death in 1909 it was acquired by James Willard who donated it to the church.

​The dedication ceremony
On Saturday 9th August 1913, St James Wellington Point was dedicated by Archdeacon H. F. Le Fanu. The Archdeacon was assisted by the Revs. C.E. Burgess, G. L. Hunt, C. Kitchen, and the catechist in Charge, Mr J. W. Harvey. There was a very large attendance of residents from all parts of the district. As the clergy entered the church Psalm XXIV was sung, after which the Archdeacon proceeded with the service of dedication.

Architecture
Over the years faithful parishioners continued to add to the fabric of the church building to enhance its appeal and comfort. In 1959, a committee was formed to raise funds for the construction of a church hall. By 1962, over a thousand pounds had been raised when a possible building was found, the hall next to the Hollywood Theatre, Greenslopes. It was purchased for five hundred pounds. There was a stump-capping ceremony in December of 1962 and the first meeting in the new hall in was held in January the following year.

In 1963, St James celebrated its Golden Jubilee, and a blessing of church was held on 11th August 1963. Both the church and the hall have been a hub for worship and social events in the ensuing years, supported faithfully by the Guild.

Centenary
On Sunday 11 August 2013, the Archbishop of Brisbane and Primate of the Anglican Church in Australia, Phillip Aspinall, led a large gathering to celebrate the Centenary of St James’s and the Golden Jubilee of the church Hall.