150th Anniversary of Christ Church AnglicanPrint Page

The stone marks the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the church and parish.

The first church built for the Anglican Church in Geelong, Christ Church was opened in 1847. The foundation stone was laid in 1843 by the Bishop of Australia, William Broughton, who was instrumental in initiating the construction of the building.

The first land sales took place in Geelong in 1839 and by 1842 subscriptions were being received for the construction of an Anglican Church. At the request of Bishop Broughton, Edmund Blacket, who had arrived in Sydney that same year, helped to design a church for the Geelong site in 1843. It appears that Broughton played some part in the design, however Blacket, who had not visited the site, provided working drawings and specifications. Blacket was Colonial Architect from 1849-1854 and dominated church design in NSW for forty years. Christ Church was one of his first ecclesiastical commissions. The only other building executed by him in Victoria is the Clarke's Building, Trinity College, University of Melbourne, 1882-3.

Christ Church, Geelong was completed in 1847, but without spire and pinnacles as Blacket intended. The congregation had already outgrown the church by the following year and this resulted in a proposal to enlarge the building.

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