Church Makeover Provides Town With Pristine Chapel

Newcastle Herald

Tuesday October 11, 2005

By FRANCES THOMPSON Upper Hunter Reporter

THE Anglican church of St Mark's in Aberdeen has seen hard times.

Like many other rural churches, it has played a part in the boom and bust of Australian country life.

Five years ago it was in a very poor state and the congregation decided to act.

Donated cattle were sold, there were flower shows and raffles, and the church sold a house in Muswellbrook to provide most of almost $100,000 that has been spent on the restoration project.

The makeover of St Mark's is mostly complete and people are coming from far and wide to take part in a weekend of celebrations on November 5 and 6.

St Mark's is the first church for Father Stephen Moore, the assistant priest of the Muswellbrook parish."It was in a very sorry state," Father Moore said.

Fund-raising was led by St Mark's Guild and the hard work done by a very small group of men and women.

"We could never have done it without Muswellbrook," church warden Marlene Roughan said.

St Mark's was built in 1912, a time of prosperity for Aberdeen that accompanied the extension of the railway, Father Moore said.

The church replaced a timber slab and shingle building erected in 1860.

St Mark's architectural style is known as federation carpenter gothic.

Timber buttresses, steeply pitched, corrugated iron roof, gabled vents and timber belfries are the style's signature.

The church has new piles and roof, the exteriors of the church and the hall have been painted and the interiors refurbished.

The 1860 pews have been given a new lease of life by a group of Murrurundi woodworkers.

Archdeacon of the Upper Hunter Father Ian Palmer leaves shortly to take up a new position in the ACT. His departure ends a 15-year association with the Hunter Region.

© 2005 Newcastle Herald

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