Image: St Mark's Anglican Church (left) and St Luke's Anglican Church (right), Boyne Island, 1992

Description: Entered on the Queensland Heritage Register 21 October 1992 St Luke's Anglican Church is situated at Sayre Crescent, Boyne Island. St Luke's Anglican Church on Boyne Island was erected in the early 1920s by the small farming community on the island. Boyne Island, on the Gladstone coastline, was taken up illegally for pastoral purposes in the mid-1850s, the first official lease being granted in 1863. In 1870 much of Boyne Island was resumed by the colonial government and opened to selection, and from the late 1870s agriculturalists cultivated fruit and small crops on the island. In 1884, half the remaining pastoral lease was resumed, and several farms were established on this land in the late 1880s and early 1890s. In the 1880s, a timber mill was erected on the southwest part of the island, and a wharf reserve was proclaimed near the mouth of the Boyne River. In the early 1900s, several more farms were taken up on Boyne Island or in its vicinity. At the time, Boyne Island was also a popular picnic destination for Gladstone residents and was used as a weekend retreat by townspeople. Around 1920, a small Saturday school was established on the island for the children of the farming community in a small shelter shed. Teachers came from Toolooa School or from Gladstone and church services are also said to have also been held regularly in a shelter across the road from the current church, which may well have been the same structure as that used for the school. The local families involved decided to build themselves a church. The land on which the church is situated was part of an agricultural selection granted in 1908 to Henry Richard Thompson. It changed hands several times before being purchased by Harry Handley in 1922. The Handley family were farmers and donated about an acre for the church, officially subdividing and transferring ownership of the land to the Diocese of Rockhampton in 1925. Funds for the construction were raised both locally and in England, and materials, labour and furnishings were supplied mostly by local residents. The building was designed by Boyne Island resident Arthur Malpas, who also helped in the construction. Reputedly, Mr Malpas drew inspiration from photo-album pictures of half-timbered cottages at Worcester, England. The construction method and materials used to produce the effect however, were not traditional but those available locally. St Luke's was dedicated on 12 October 1924 by Dr Crick, the Bishop of Rockhampton. At the time coins and a newspaper were placed under the foundation stone. A large sea shell was utilised as a font. In the Interwar period, as cars became more common and with the construction of a traffic bridge over the Boyne River, Wild Cattle Beach [later Tannum Sands] became a popular holiday resort. The island's permanent population appears to have risen after the Second World War, and St Luke's Church served as Boyne Island's only school building from 27 January 1953 until the school was established in another building on 14 May 1956. In 1961 the church was rehallowed by Canon Donald Kinglake Dunn, coins and a newspaper of that year being added to the time capsule under the foundation stone. Items such as prayer books, vases, a wooden cross, communion cup and paten, pews, candle sticks and christening font were given in memory of the early residents of Boyne Island who established the church. Boyne Island has become urbanised following the establishment of the Boyne alumina smelter in 1982. During the construction period alone, the population increased from 1,400 to 6000. Housing and public facilities have enormously increased on the island which is now effectively an industrial area. In the late 20th century, St Mark's Ministry Centre was erected adjacent to St Luke's, which now has the role of a church hall rather than a church and is used for church group meetings, Sunday School and worship on special occasions. Source: apps.des.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=600385 QSA Item ID 2107609 Image source: Queensland State Archives Item ID ITM2107609 St Luke's Anglican Church {Entered} (4)
Title: St Mark's Anglican Church (left) and St Luke's Anglican Church (right), Boyne Island, 1992
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/queenslandstatearchives/30087159448/
Author: Queensland State Archives
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Public Domain Mark Owner
License: PDM-owner
Attribution Required?: No