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St. Martin's Church Campbelltown

The Reverend E.K. Miller was the third incumbent of the Magill Parish from 1851-1863.  He was the first Anglican clergyman ordained in Adelaide, in June of 1848.  He had arrived in South Australia via the barque ‘Hindoo’ in that same year.  Before his ordination, he took up the position of the first Headmaster of the Pulteney Street School, the one he had travelled to South Australia to fulfil1.

After accepting the Magill Parish, one Sunday afternoon in 1853 he was asked to give comfort to a young man who had received a serious gunshot wound. During this meeting, the Reverend gentleman asked the young man, had he considered that the situation he was now in may not have happened had he been in church instead of duck shooting.  The young man agreed, but used the excuse of having no church near to the area where he lived. The Reverend Miller told the young man and his family, if they found a suitable location nearby, he would come and provide a service for them and their neighbours. A short time later, the Rev. Miller was stopped in Adelaide by a stranger and asked if he had truly promised an Anglican Service if a venue could be found. When this was confirmed, the stranger, Mr. Clark of Paradise on the Torrens, offered his humble abode.  Reverend Miller accepted subject to it being suitable.  The house turned out to be not suited, but a weatherboard building in the garden was suitable and the services were held there2 .

Hiram Telemachus Mildred, photograph courtesy of the State Library of South Australia, [B 18516]

In 1855 a gift of two acres was given for the building of a new church3. Bishop Short laid the foundation stone on August 16, 18594. The secretary of the building committee was Hiram Telemachus Mildred, who had arrived in South Australia as a cadet on board the ‘Rapid’, along with Colonel William Light 5. Hiram Mildred called for tenders to build the new church on the donated land 6.  The parishioners themselves, also raised money by every means possible, to help pay for the building.   Some of the more affluent families donated cash or building materials.  Those who helped in such a manner were the Ind family of ‘Lyndhurst’, the Mundy family of ‘Lochiel Park’, the Downer family of ‘Hilltop’ and of course the Mildred family of ‘Alpha Cottage’.

In 1861 the first service was conducted in the new church 7. The old cob building nearby which had hitherto been used became a day school and Sunday school 8.

When the Reverend E.K. Miller left Magill for Willunga in 1863, there was still a debt of £100 on the church building 9. In 1894 the Rev. Miller’s wife died, he was entitled to an annuity and also he was entitled to a refund of 50% of the payments he had made to the Widows and Orphans fund if he had no family to claim these benefits. Unfortunately to claim this refund he had to surrender his licence, which he did 10.

The Reverend T. Stephen Neville replaced the Reverend E.K. Miller. In 1872 the Reverend Alfred Honner became the incumbent at Magill 11.

Cob School House
The original church building, converted to a day school and Sunday school on completion of the new church. The photograph (C1860) is courtesy of Campbelltown S.A. Council Library local history articles,” Sir Sidney Kidman” refer to this website.

The reverend Honner had been ordained in 1869 12. He was referred to as ‘Paddy’ due to his Irish origins.  The parishioners of Magill took to ‘Paddy’ Honner, as they had to the Reverend E.K. Miller.  During the tenure of the Rev. Miller the new church had been built, the old church had been used as a school house; the Rev. Honner was to preside over the construction of a new school hall.  Again the parishioners of the area rose to the occasion. David Mundy had suggested the church purchase the Campbelltown Oddfellows Hall, to convert to a school house.  When the cost of this purchase proved prohibitive, he donated the land, plus £100 towards the building.  He promised a further £100 if the church committee chose to build a new school hall 13. Another parishioner Howard H. Ind, a qualified architect, designed the hall and supervised construction, at no charge to the church 14.

This photograph of the St Martin's Church (B43245), is courtesy of the State Library of South Australia.

In 1893, the foundation stone for the new school hall was laid, by the wife of David Mundy 15. Again the Mundy family were pleased to donate a piano to the new building 16. The contractor was Mr. E. Hamblen and the cost of construction was £850. The dimensions of the building were 78ft. 3in long  (23.85 meters)  X  38ft 6in wide (11.59 meters) 17. On the evening of the foundation laying ceremony, a tea was held in the hall. David Mundy was presented with an address by the Rev. A Honner.  The address stated:

“We the members of St. Martin's Church, and the inhabitants of Campbelltown and Paradise, especially wish to place on record their sense of the great service you have done to the church and the district in many ways, particularly for the very valuable assistance both pecuniary and otherwise, you have rendered towards erecting the building to be known as St Martin's Hall, and also, for the handsome gift of two acres of land adjoining the church.

We also desire to express our gratitude to you for these and various other services, very unostentatiously bestowed in the cause of religion.

We sincerely trust that both you and Mrs. Mundy may live long and be able to enjoy the fruits of your kind actions”.

The above photograph is courtesy of The State Library of South Australia from their Ernest Gall Collection [Prg. 631/2/426].

In the middle of 1898 it became clear that the Rev. Honner was in need of a rest. The building at St. Martin’s completed he still continued as Rector of St. George’s Magill, St. Martin’s Campbelltown, and St. John’s Morialta.  He took a well earned break and recovered on a holiday to England. On his return, he continued at the same pace as he always had. He died on Friday 10th of September 1909.

Researched and compiled by Jim Nelson, a volunteer with the Campbelltown Library “Digital Diggers” group.

If you have any comments or questions regarding the information in this local history article, please contact the Local History officer on 8366 9357 or hthiselton@campbelltown.sa.gov.au

  1. Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931) Saturday 4 July 1908 p 50.
  2. The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929) Monday 22 August 1921 p 9.
  3. https://www.campbelltown.sa.gov.au The Links Wall Hanging.
  4. The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889) Wednesday 17 August 1859 p 1
  5. Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 - 1904) Saturday 27 August 1892 p 35.
  6. Adelaide Times (SA : 1848 - 1858) Wednesday 7 May 1856 p 1.
  7. The Links Wall Hanging, Campbelltown City Council, https://www.campbelltown.sa.gov.au/council/local-history/the-links-wallhanging
  8. South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Friday 15 November 1861 p 4.
  9. The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929) Monday 22 August 1921 p 9.
  10. Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 - 1904) Saturday 1 June 1895 p 13.
  11. Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 - 1912) Saturday 20 April 1872 p 2
  12. The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 - 1922) Saturday 5 July 1902 p 2
  13. The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931) Wednesday 11 July 1894 p 6.
  14. Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 - 1904) Saturday 14 July 1894 p 15.
  15. South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Saturday 18 November 1893 p.
  16. Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 - 1904) Saturday 14 July 1894 p 15.
  17. The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931) Wednesday 11 July 1894 p 6.
  18. The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931) Wednesday 11 July 1894 p 6.