ST JOHN'S, FREMANTLE, WA

Fremantle is the port of Perth, Western Australia. It has many heritage buildings, including the historic St John's Anglican Church. The site of the building had been a place of worship for Fremantle Anglicans since 1843. As early as 1839, a request was made to the Governor for Kings Square to be the site of an Anglican church. In 1841 the first rector, the Reverend George King, took up duties and his parish covered some 2,300 sq kms - including the locations of Murray and Canning which he covered on horseback.

The first church of St John's was opened in 1843 and planning for a new church began in 1875. London architect W Smith was commissioned and it was built by J J Harwood and Son, with stone from the Government quarry in Cantonment Street. The foundation stone was laid by Bishop Hale of Perth in 1878 and the building was consecrated in July, 1882.

The old St John's Church was then demolished to make way for the extension of High Street and the construction of the Fremantle Town Hall. A plan of the old church is outlined in the pavement. In 1884 a new organ was installed and the bell turret was added in 1906 or early 1907.  In 1923 an arrangement was made with the Fremantle Municipal Council to maintain the grounds in return for their use by the public. The church currently stands in the spacious paved and treed surrounds of one of Fremantle's most popular areas.

Various other additions were made over the years and in 1979, with the centenary of the laying of the foundation stone, the restoration of the church fabric was commenced.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme hosted by Robert and Louis,
and it is also part of the Spiritual Sunday meme.

Here is the aria "Meine Seele dürstet nach Gott" from Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's setting of Psalm 42: "Wie der Hirsch schreit", with Christine Wolff, Soprano, Thomanerchor Leipzig, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig directed by Georg Christoph Biller.