Short Parish History

On the 10th of December 1859 the colony known as New South Wales was divided and the northern part, from what was called Moreton Bay Settlement to Cape York became a self-governing Colony with the name of Queensland given by Queen Victoria, with Brisbane Town as its seat of government.

This necessitated the formation of a new Diocese and the appointment of a Bishop. Accordingly the Reverend Edward Wyndham Tufnell was consecrated in London as the first Bishop in Brisbane. He did not arrive here until September 1860 and with him came six young Clergymen from the Diocese of Salisbury, one of whom – the Reverend Thomas Jones – was destined to play an important role in the history of the Diocese and particularly of this parish, where he was Rector for twenty-four years from 1894 – 1918.

In 1870, the Parish of Toowong, was formed and Indooroopilly, Taringa, Chelmer and perhaps the more remote areas of Fig Tree Pocket, Moggill and Brookfield were part of it.

In 1888, steps were taken to provide a church at Indooroopilly. The Indooroopilly Church of England was erected and formally opened on 24th August 1889 by Bishop Webber on a site donated by Mr G.L. Hart. The original building is now the Parish Hall located on the property behind the present church and next to the Rectory.

The new Church of St Andrew was dedicated on 4th September 1965 by Archbishop Philip Strong.

The October issue, 1965 of the Church Chronicle records the event:

“On Saturday night September 4, His Grace, the Archbishop dedicated the new Church of St Andrew, Indooroopilly with all the dignity and beauty of our Anglican Ceremonial. There was a congregation of 700 and many people had to sit on specially hired chairs on the verandah. The beautiful font is a memorial to the late Rector, the Reverend Roy St. George during whose incumbency the foundation stone was laid by Archbishop Halse”.

For more information and photos, see the Parish History 1888–1968 and Parish History 1889–1989 booklets.

In August 2014, the Parish celebrated the 125th anniversary of the building of the first church and more recently in September 2015, the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the new church.