History

The history of our parish is a celebration of God’s faithfulness and we give thanks.

St. James’ has a long history in the Ivanhoe area, initially as part of the parish of St. John’s Heidelberg, which was established in 1848. The first place of worship was a wooden school house, built in 1854, at the corner of Waterdale Road and Upper Heidelberg Road. This was at a time when the building was surrounded by farmland. In 1862 the school became a “Common” or “State” School and initially leased the building from the church. This school evolved into Ivanhoe Primary School. The congregation continued to use the building for Sunday worship, and the community used it as a meeting place during the evenings. By the early 1900’s the congregation had grown considerably and in 1908 a separate parish was established, known very briefly as St. Phillip’s. The foundation stone of the present building, which was designed by parishioner and architect, George Pattison, was laid in October 1908 by the Governor of Victoria. In three months the building was ready for use with the Rev Roscoe Wilson (later Dean of Melbourne) as incumbent. The Noel Street Vicarage was built in 1910.

The Hall on the corner of Noel Street and Upper Heidelberg Road was designed by North and Williams with George Pattison, and built in 1914. In February 1915 St. James’ Grammar School (later Ivanhoe Grammar School) opened there with 14 pupils. The Rev Sydney Buckley combined the roles of vicar of the parish and headmaster of the school. Miss Frances Lowe was granted use of part of the hall for her school, ‘Cooerwull’ (later Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School).

The church building was extended in 1938 under renowned church architect, Louis Williams; and the interior again renovated in 1981, leaving the building as it is today. Golden Jubilee celebrations were a feature of 1958, and, after active fund-raising, the Parish Centre was built in 1961.

Many fittings in the church were donated in memory of someone.

 

As well as St. James’ in Ivanhoe, the parish administered St. Stephen’s, Darebin (1927-1989), now closed; St. George’s, East Ivanhoe (1930-1959), now an independent parish; and St. Peter’s, West Ivanhoe (1948-1960), for a time part of the West Heidelberg parish. In 2009 the West Heidelberg parish became part of St. James’ and now meets as ‘3081’.

When St. Stephen’s Darebin closed, the side chapel in St. James’ was dedicated as “St. Stephen’s Chapel”, and most of the stained-glass windows from St. Stephen’s were placed there.

Over the years many community groups have evolved from St. James’, including:

·       Ivanhoe Harriers Athletic Club

·       2nd Ivanhoe Scouts (recently closed)

·       1st Ivanhoe Girl Guides (closed)

·       St James’ Tennis Club

·       Open House Christian Involvement Centres

Stained glass

Our first stained glass window was installed in 1911 and our most recent in 2003. We have a significant collection of windows by local artist, Christian Waller, and by her husband, Napier Waller. For information about the Stained Glass at St. James’. You are welcome to view the windows following worship services or contact the office to make an appointment.

Organ

Our organ was built c1880s by William Stone for his residence in St Kilda; installed in its present location in 1910 by Frederick Taylor; rebuilt in 1956 by Whitehouse Bros, Brisbane; rebuilt in 1976 by Laurie Pipe Organs. 2m, 24spst, 8c, elpn. Gt: 16.8.8.8.4.4.2-2/3.2.1-3/5. Sw: 8.8.8.8.4.4.2.III.8.8. Ped: 16.16.16.8.8. (from GAZETTEER OF VICTORIAN PIPE ORGANS by John Maidment, revised February 2020). The organ is usually played during the 9am Sunday worship service.

Publications

·       Imagining St. James’ in 1908

·       The story behind the 1913 photo of the Men’s Smoke Social

·       St. James’ Ivanhoe ANZACS

·       How did the influenza outbreak of 1919 affect St. James’

Two publications are available ‘print-on-demand’, priced to cover costs:

·       ‘Good works : centenary of St. James’ Anglican Church Ivanhoe 1908-2008’, edited by Ron Amor (2008) (64 pages with 2 pages of colour photos)

·       ‘A history of St. James’ Mothers Union 1923-2023’ by Helen Wedd (2023) (24 pages including colour photos)

St. James’ produced monthly newsletters from 1912 to 1984. They are full of the news of the St. James’ family, including clubs and news of the schools. They have been digitised but are not yet indexed

Downloadable documents on this page are licensed: Creative Commons CC-BY-NC 4.0

Please address enquiries to archives@stjameschurch.org.au