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ST MICHAEL'S CATHOLIC CHURCH AND PRESBYTERY`

Location Glenferrie Rd HARROW, West Wimmera Shire File Number 467 Level Stage 2 study complete

[1/5] 23170 Catholic church Harrow [2/5] 23170 Catholic church complex [3/5] 23170 Catholic church Harrow [4/5] 23170 Catholic church Harrow [5/5] 23170 Catholic church rear

Statement of Significance

What is significant? %%St. Michael's Catholic Church and Presbytery are located on Glenferrie Road, approximately 500 metres from the center of the township of Harrow, which is located on the opposite bank of the Glenelg River. The layout is conventional with a large nave, a porch and transepts and the architectural style is restrained Gothic Revival. The architect (if there was one) is not known, but the builder was William Husywate. The Church was constructed in 1876 on land in Swanston Street, in the center of Harrow, but was moved to its current location in 1924. There are a set of post World War Two cream brick steps at the entrance of the church. The Presbytery is located adjacent to the church, and was built on land donated by pastoralists James Daly in 1922. The Presbytery is a simple symmetrical building of pressed red bricks with a timber and corrugated iron verandah. Neither the architect nor the builder of the Presbytery is known.%%%%How is it significant? %%St. Michaels Catholic Church and Presbytery are of historical and social significance to the Southern Grampians Shire.%%Why is it Significant?%%St Michael's Catholic Church and Presbytery is of historical significance as one of the most substantial churches and Presbyteries to have been built in the Harrow area, illustrating the strong Catholic faith in the township and surrounding areas from the 1860s onwards. Of further historical interest is the forced relocation of the church in 1922, a result of confusion regarding ownership and titles, some thirty-five years after construction. The Presbytery is historically important as it represents the change from Harrow being a part of the Casterton Parish, to the head of its own Harrow Parish in 1920. The Church and Presbytery are of social significance for the role which the Catholic Church has played in the development of the township and surrounding area. Of further social interest is the donation of land on which the Church and Presbytery stand. The donation of this land represents the generosity of many early settlers who belonged to the congregation, including the Edgar's of Pine Hill and Daly of Clunie. The Church and Presbytery are historically and socially significant as a complex which expresses the role and position of the Catholic Church and its congregation in the community for over 120 years.