Thomas AttenboroughPrint Page

The stained glass window erected by the congregation and friends commemorates Thomas Attenborough, an early pioneer of the district.

Two of the most noteworthy of the early settlers in the Dingley area were Thomas Attenborough and his older sister Mary. From 1864 to 1869 Thomas served as a member of the Moorabbin Roads Board and it was during this time that he decided that a school was needed somewhere in close proximity to Dingley Grange. So in 1867 he conceived a plan to erect a "Kingston Common School".

He formed a committee comprising of himself and Messrs H. Way, J. Stooke, J. Aitken and P. Robinson and together they sought a grant of 50 pounds from the Board of Education to establish this school. It was in April 1868 that their recommendation for a grant was approved by Inspector Sasse from the Board of Education and they were given permission to start building a wooden school building, not the brick structure that they first wanted. The school was built on land that had been set aside by the Surveyor General in Old Dandenong Road, Kingston/Heatherton where the school still stands today.

Both Mary and her brother Thomas, who were devout members of the Church of England, decided that there was a need to build a church, so they did just that. Mary used the land that she owned at the intersection of Old Dandenong Road and Centre Dandenong Road, opposite their home and it was there on February 12, 1873 that the foundation stone was laid by the Rev. J. R. Gregory. Seven months later on September 21, 1873, Christ Church was officially opened and dedicated by the then Bishop of Melbourne, Bishop Perry.

The good work of the late Mr. Thomas Attenborough in the shire of Moorabbin is to be recognised by the erection of a stained-glass window in Christ Church, Dingley. The preparation of the window has been entrusted to the firm of Messrs. Brooks, Robinson, and Co., and is nearing completion. The window is to be dedicated by the Bishop of Melbourne on Sunday afternoon, March 17.
The Argus (Melbourne), 2nd March 1901.

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