Reverend John Herbert GregoryPrint Page

The Gregory Memorial Hall commemorates the first vicar of the church, Reverend John Herbert Gregory.

All Saints` Church, former Vicarage and Hall are together important for their associations with Reverend J H Gregory, founder of All Saints` Parish and Church, pioneer bush Minister, and the first Anglican Minister to the Victorian goldfields, Gregory was Vicar of All Saints` from 1858 to 1893. 

As a Jubilee Thanksgiving, All Saints` Parish erected the Gregory Memorial Hall in their founder`s honour.

In late 1857, the Reverend John Herbert Gregory began the campaign to build All Saints’ on land reserved for that purpose by the government. The foundation stone was laid by Bishop Perry in November 1858 and the church was opened on 8 December 1861. Father Gregory was the vicar of All Saints’ from 1858-93. His began his ministry as a missionary travelling throughout Victoria and in 1853 he was the first Anglican to conduct a service in Bendigo. His first ‘home’ on the recently discovered gold field was a covered wagon. The foundation stone for All Saints’ in Bendigo was laid shortly before he was moved to Melbourne. Both churches he founded were named All Saints’. 
St Kilda Historical Society. 

The strong interest that is taken in parochial work at All Saints' Church, East St. Kilda, allied to the glad brightness of the day, was responsible for a large gathering assembling at the church grounds last Saturday afternoon, Feb. 5. For some four years now Archdeacon Crossley, the popular vicar of All Saints, has been striving to raise funds, in order that the church might be augmented with a substantial hall, for educational, social and philanthropic purposes. He has carried his project to such a successful issue that last Saturday afternoon Archbishop Clarke laid the corner stone of what promises to be a very handsome and spacious building.

The hall is to be called the Gregory Memorial Hall, to perpetuate the memory of the pioneer of All Saints, the first vicar, John Herbert Gregory. The Hon. A. O. Sachse and the Rev. E. S. Hughes, who were both closely associated with Father Gregory, as they were wont to call him, gave interesting personal sketches of the ideal life of this great altruist. Short speeches were also given by the Hon. W. H. Embling and Mr. D. Martin. Master Brook Perrottet, one of the choir boys, who when on holiday leave had organised bush concerto and raised money for the fund, was chosen to present the silver trowel to the Archbishop.  

A picture of the late J. H. Gregory occupied a space on one of the unfinished walls, and many of his contemporaries were seated on the improvised platform. After the ceremony Archdeacon and Mrs. Crossley entertained a large number of guests at afternon tea in the vicarage garden. Amongst those present were Archdeacon Hindley, Canon Tucker, Rev. E. S. Hughes, the Revs. H. Kelly, T. K. Pitt, T. Bagney, C. E. Perry, H. Crotty, T. Ever, B. N. White, Cerutty and Townsend, the Mayor and Mayoress of St. Kilda, Cr. and Mrs. Billson, Mrs. Edward Miller, Mrs. Agar Wynne, Mrs. Henry Darlot, Mrs, C. M. Lloyd, Mrs. W. H. Embling, and the Hon. Donald Mackinnon.
Table Talk (Melbourne), 10 February 1910. 

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