100 years of church hall

UPWARDS of 50 people packed into St Andrew’s Uniting Church’s Fellowship Hall late last month to acknowledge a major milestone for the building.

Now serving as the hub for Bacchus Marsh Playgroup, the site’s storied history was celebrated during Sunday service to mark the structure’s 100th year.

David Buntine, who has been maintaining the property for eight years, said it was great to see the community come together to honour the building.

“We held the second half of our service there and we’d invited members of the Basset family who were associated with the original construction of the building,” he said.

“They were delighted to be present so it was good to have that connection with the church back when it was built 100 years ago in East Laen.”

Though its centenary was celebrated last month, the building’s origins extend back to 1880 with the original Laen East Methodist Church, located south-west of Donald, which was replaced in 1924 with a larger adjacent structure.

The new church’s opening was bolstered with the inclusion of a stained-glass window depicting St George, the patron Saint of England, which was presented by the Basset family.

Now state heritage-listed, it is still present at the building’s current site.

The church was relocated to the region in 1961 as the Bacchus Marsh Methodist Church at Gell Street Bacchus Marsh due to the increasing local congregation.

Following the formation of Australia’s Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches into Uniting in the late 1970s, St Andrew’s at Gisborne Road was decided as the sole Uniting location for Bacchus Marsh.

From there, the Methodist Church was moved to its present site in 1980, adjacent to St Andrew’s.

Mr Buntine said the site has serviced the community of Bacchus Marsh and surrounds for many years, and its transient history is one worth celebrating.

“The significant thing is it’s a building that’s been in three locations, and it’s been a consecrated church in two of them,” he said.

“It’s probably more active now than it’s ever been, running as the playgroup centre for Bacchus Marsh.

“It’s got about 12 playgroups with up to 100 kids and families now associated with it.

“In terms of recycling things these days, it’s probably the ultimate in having a building that’s now in full production at its third location.”