Creswick Church marks 150 years

MEMBERS of Creswick’s St Augustine’s Catholic Church will be commemorating a milestone birthday next month.

The church turns 150 this year, and a weekend of events will take place on Saturday, 17 September and Sunday, 18 September to ring in the occasion.

David Preston has been with the church all his life and said its strong community connection has ensured its longevity.

“It’s been a faith centre for such a long time, where people have been able to share their joys, their sorrows, family baptisms, weddings, funerals,” he said.

“I have an association with this place going to my grandparents in 1914. There’s one woman here whose great-great-grandfather carted the stone in from Dean free of charge.

“It’s an important part of the Creswick society. There’s still a lot of families here with deep roots in the place.”

Originally constructed over two years at a cost of 4500 pounds, the church was opened in 1872 and saw an influx of Irish immigrants of whom many of the descendants still attend today.

The Saturday celebration will take the form of a dinner at Doug Lindsay Reserve with tickets at $40.

Following a mass the next day, a commemorative display of memorabilia and more than 200 photos will be exhibited at St Augustine’s Primary School.

To further mark the occasion, a book will be released charting the history of the church, and Mr Preston said it will expand on the 1972 Murderer’s Bell: The Centenary History of St Augustine’s.

“It builds off the book and fills in these last few decades. It’s got a lot to do with the families and the people of the last 50 years, as well as the first 100 of course,” he said.

“Anyone that sees it and comes along to the display, there’ll be photos particularly going over the recent decades. The people coming will be able to see that of themselves.”