Surface Hill Wesleyan Methodist Church, Channon Street, Gympie, circa 1900. Erected in 1890 at a cost of three thousand and one hundred thirty-seven pounds, sixteen shillings and fivepence, this building replaced an earlier wooden structure built in 1869. The newly built brick church was opened on the 7th August 1890, with a dedication service being conducted by Rev. J.A. Nolan. The building was designed by architect Hugo Wilhelm Durietz. In 1937, a stone wall was built by relief labour to replace the wooden fence along the frontages of Reef and Channon Streets. (Information from Head, M.J., Surface Hill – the brick church). This brick church was officially opened on the 7th August 1890.
In 1968 celebrated a Centenary of Methodists at the Church. A procession was held and buildings no longer standing in Gympie can be seen in the procession. To view the procession, visit here (YouTube).
Originally a news broadcast on Wide Bay Television.
This film was originally produced by WBQ 8 and was reproduced as 7 Extract from the Archives project.
The project was supported by an innovation grant from the Library Board of Queensland.
© 2020 Seven Network and Gympie Regional Libraries
The Gympie Times ran several articles about the celebration including the construction of a replica “first church” made out of bark.
An article from the Gympie Times documents the day, with Mr Keith Watson as a town crier calling the procession to start.
We have added the Church to our “Then and Now” local history page. To visit click here
You can read more about the history of the church organ by visiting the Organ Historical Trust of Australia. Click here
Below is the Surface Hill Church as it appears today – August 2020
Our previous blog post has a few more photos and a brief history of the church.
Gympie Regional Memories 