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ST JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH COMPLEX

Location Cnr McKebery and Read Sts COLERAINE, Southern Grampians Shire File Number 507 Level Stage 2 study complete

[1/5] 23143 St Joseph s Catholic [2/5] 23143 St Joseph s Coleraine [3/5] 23143 St Joseph s Coleraine [4/5] 23143 St Joseph s School [5/5] 23143 St Joseph s Catholic

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
St Joseph's Catholic Church Complex, located five blocks south of the intersection of Whyte and Read Streets is set over six allotments, covering approximately .75ha. The site is the second Catholic Church complex to be constructed in Coleraine. The original church and subsequent buildings were first constructed in the 1860s on the corner of Church and Winter Streets, although the congregation was active in the township as early as 1849. The first complex consisted of a brick church (which was also used as a school), built in 1860, a presbytery, built 1924, and a weatherboard convent, also built in 1924. By the late 1880s the original church was considered too small and in bad repair. By 1889, the current St. Joseph's had been constructed. The building is in the Gothic revival style using red brick and cement dressings typical of the period. It was designed by H. Kohn of Merino and built by George Rowe. Many local tradesmen were used to complete the fittings of the building. A timber porch was added in 1937, originally used to house a baptismal font and confessional. The site also houses a small timber school, designed by the Hamilton architect, D. D Gray in 1934 and modern temporary classrooms. A timber convent designed by important Hamilton architect, Frank Hammond is still present on the site but proposed for removal. It was built on the original Church Street site in 1924 and transported to the current site in 1934. This building retains many original fittings and features from the 1920s. The brick veneer presbytery, constructed in 1959 was designed and built by W. J Henry of Hamilton. It replaced the original Mount Gambier stone building dating from 1924. All the buildings are in very good condition and retain a high degree of integrity.

How is it significant?
St Joseph' Catholic Church complex is of historical, architectural and social significance to the township of Coleraine and the Southern Grampians Shire.

Why is it significant?
St Joseph's Catholic Church complex is of historical significance to the township of Coleraine for demonstrating the importance of Catholicism within the community since the earliest times. It is of further historical interest for the change of site when the church was rebuilt. The move, two blocks up the hill consolidated the position of the congregation, establishing it at the same level (or higher) as the other denominations. The complex is of social significance to the township of Coleraine as the focus for the Catholics who settled in the township in the mid nineteenth century, mostly small selectors of pastoral land in the mid to late nineteenth century. It is also of social significance as a centre for Catholic education. It is of architectural significance for its use of the Gothic revival style to express religious values, for the range of its memorials, and as a comparison with the churches of other denominations in Coleraine.