Reverend Dr James JefferisPrint Page 
Mrs Jefferis donated the land for the church and the opening services were held on the 20th and 21st December 1919.
Jefferis was a minister in the Congregational Church. He came to South Australia when he was 26 and became minister in the North Adelaide Congregational Church. He was such a success that the biggest Congregational church in Sydney, in Pitt St, asked him to be their minister. He went there in 1877.
He was a good preacher and people from other religions came to hear him. He also gave lectures and wrote articles in newspapers to give his Christian view on the great issues of the day. In 1888, when the New South Wales Parliament was planning to ban Chinese migration, his church was crowded to hear his views. Jefferis agreed that some limits had to be placed on migration. He would not, however, accept that the Chinese were inferior, because 'we are all one blood in Christ'.
Jefferis saw Federation as Australia's destiny long before it became popular. He thought his God had intended the people on this continent to create a great new peaceful nation that would also spread God's word into the countries of the Pacific.
VICTOR HARBOR, November I.— The foundation-stone of the new Congregational Church at Yelkie,Encounter Bay, was laid this afternoon before a large attendance from all parts of the district. The new building will be of limestone, with brickfacings, with a handsome porch. It will seat over 100 persons. It is being built in memory of the late Dr. Jefferis, and is styled the "Jefferis Memorial Church." Mrs. Jefferis donated the land, and she will present the new church with a beautiful Bible, first given by the church at Saltaire, England to Dr. Jefferis about 1857, on the commencement of his ministry. Mr. B. T. Sweetman, in laying the stone, which is of polished local granite,said the church and Sunday-school would be a blessing to the district. Eighty years ago the spot was occuped by the old Fountain Inn.
The Rev. A. C. Stevens, B.A., said the Premier would have been present but for an engagement at Woodside. He conveyed greetings from the Congregational Union. He said the district had been privileged to see Dr. Jefferis in his period of leisure, as an ardent scientific collector and as an intensely sincere and earnest Christian gentleman. It was one of his customs to gather the neighbors to join in his family devotions and thus this church had been born. Instead of the briar thorn had come up the fir and the myrtle tree. Professor Rennie congratulated the people in his own name and that of the Presbyterians.
The churches in the Victor Harbor district afforded the happiest illustration of the proposed union of churches. People of every denomination came, and worshipped there with profit, met outside, shook hands, and conversed without thinking of enquiring into one another's denomination. He remembered as a young man hearing the learned Dr. Jefferls preach as pastor in Pitt-street Church, Sydney, to immense congregations. He counted it a privilege to have formed a lifelong friendship with him in the Encounter Bay district. He endorsed all that the pastor had said as to his genius and goodness, and testified to the great work he had done in Sydney as well as in Adelaide. Scriptural quotations were read by Mr. Warren. After the service afternoon tea was served. The sum of £50 was collected in cash and promises.
Chronicle (Adelaide), 8 November 1919.
Location
| Address: | Petrel Avenue, Encounter Bay, 5211 |
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| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.574864 Long: 138.600382 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Structure |
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| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Religion |
| Link: | http://adb.anu.edu.au/ |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 1st November, 1919 |
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JEFFERIS MEMORIAL CHURCH
This Stone Was Laid By
MR R. T. SWEETMAN
Nov 1st 1919
