Community & Business
11 November, 2024
St Augustine’s Church Leyburn: an architectural marvel worth saving
As with many country towns the fortunes of Leyburn have been tied to factors beyond the control of the town’s residents.
At the time of separation from New South Wales in 1859, Leyburn was the sixth largest settlement in the newly created state of Queensland.
The settlement on Canal Creek (a tributary of the Condamine River) had grown from the 1840s to service the settlers following the stock route blazed by the Leslie brothers in 1840 to the southern Darling Downs.
Anglican Church services had been held in the area since the early 1840s when Reverend John Gregor held services until his tragic drowning and the Reverend Benjamin Glennie began travelling from Brisbane to hold services.
Glennie’s declining health resulted in the Reverend William Dove taking over and St. Augustine’s Church in Leyburn was ultimately built on Dove Street.
After the gold rushes of the 1860s and 70s, Leyburn’s slow decline began when first the coaching runs and then the railway bypassed the town.
It was during the 1870s that a site was chosen for the construction of a church and according to contemporary newspaper reports, the building of the church was mainly due to the Bishop of Brisbane (Edward Wyndham Tufnell) who chose Leyburn to be the beneficiary of moneys sent by a number of students of the College of St. Augustine in England which were to be expended in the erection of a church in Queensland.
One of Queensland’s most notable architects, Richard G. Suter was commissioned and this decision resulted in the construction of the Dove Street church in a unique construction manner that led to it being Heritage listed in 1992.
Suter’s original designs for St. Augustine’s, of timber construction with outside studding which combined economy, internal finish, and picturesque appearance is a symbol of the more prosperous times of Leyburn.
St. Augustine’s is a rare example of a surviving timber shingled roofed building; made more remarkable by the survival of its shingled relative, the play shed at Leyburn State School.
The shingled roof has been replaced several times and most recently in 1993.
In 1986 memorial stained glass windows were installed behind the altar and in 2004 stained glass windows were installed at the back of the church.
The result is the interior of the building is today flooded with beautiful natural light.
The church has been repainted several times and most memorably in 1987
by Franciscan Friars who spent several months in the parish.
The colour scheme always conforms to architect Suter’s specifications of dark brown for the framing studs and light cream for the cypress pine lining.
One of the perhaps least appreciated features of the construction is the open eaves that allow air to freely enter the building.
Church elder Jenny Rauchle remarked that on cold winter mornings the free flowing air coming through the eaves was less appreciated by parishioners.
Jenny and her husband Malcolm do a marvellous job maintaining the church while services are no longer being held there.
Malcolm takes pride in tending to the garden of trees and grassed area surrounding the church.
Leyburn parishioners hope that services will recommence because St. Augustine’s is not only a heritage listed building but an important part of Leyburn’s history.
