Centenary of Sacred Heart Catholic ChurchPrint Page

The seat commemorates the centenary of Sacred Heart Catholic Church from 1909 to 2009.

The Sacred Heart Church at Harrisville, one of the handsomest churches in the Ipswich parish, was dedicated on Sunday last by his Lordship Bishop Duhig, of Rockhampton, who, when he was one of the assistants at Ipswich, remembers having celebrated Mass in the home of one of the local residents. But the congregation has grown since. The biggest passenger traffic ever run on the Harrisville line in a single day was on Sunday, when over 800 people were present at the ceremony, hundreds travelling from Ipswich and Boonah and the intermediate stations. Half of them could not find seating
accommodation in the church, which is prominently situated on the east side of the railway line.

Bishop Duhig was assisted in the blessing by the Very Rev. Father Andrew Horan, Administrator of the important Ipswich charge for almost 36 years, and Mass was subsequently celebrated by Rev. Father R. Brady. There was special music. His Lordship preached. In the course of his sermon he said he did not believe that there was an other wooden church in Queensland that could equal the magnificence of that one. It was worthy of their faith. Wherever there was a church, there, it might be said, the faith had been planted firmly. The House of God was the house of God's children. At its door social distinctions ceased, and inside the rich and poor, the learned and unlearned, had equal rights.

Father Horan read a statement which showed that the church cost £1218, and that £437 had been collected, leaving £781 to be paid. The expenditure, he said had been increased owing to the building, before completion, having been blown down during a hurricane at the beginning of January last. The collection realised £274. The main portion of the church is 55 feet by 35 feet, while the sacristy is 20 feet by 13 feet. The architectural design is effective, and the interior is beautifully  embellished and splendidly fitted.
Catholic Press (Sydney), 22 April 1909.

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Dedication