The Church & Hall :: Wanilla Community

A Brief History of the Wanilla Uniting Church

The first Methodist service was held in November of 1947 in the store shed at the Railway Siding.

Rev W J H Brasher was appointed Minister of the Word. At this time the Cummins and Port Lincoln Circuits worked together to share the responsibility.

From then onwards various homes were used as meeting places along with the RSL clubrooms, and latterly the school.

Then moves were made in November of 1954 to worship in the local hall.

Pictured:- Three elders- Lionel Sheldon, Rev VR Secombe & Rev WJH Brasher at the opening of the Church in 1959.

3 elders.Lionel Sheldon, Rev VR Secombe, Rev WJH Brasher.

The building of the Church in Wanilla.

In June of 1952, 2 blocks of land were purchased in the township of Wanilla for the sum of 16 pounds and 15 shillings. These blocks were later exchanged for a more suitable block of land, on which this building now stands.

A group of local men under the guidance of Rev W F Clarkson met to establish a Church Trust who were then responsible for the venture that was to ensue.

Trustees for the building project were; Messrs C H Brown, R O Roberts, A J Borlase, B W Bradford, G J Duggin, A E Gameau, E J Sims, L A Sheldon and R H Sharp. The cost of the building project was in total 947 pounds 5 shillings.

The church was dedicated in a service on Sunday February 8th 1959. The officiating minister was Rev W J H Brasher. Rev V R Secombe was the Superintendent Minister at the time.

A Sunday School was started in March of 1960 with scholars of the families worshipping in the church and children of the district. The Roberts, Borlace, Pope, Bradford, McCracken, Sharp, Schneider, Cronk, Fairbrother, Sheldon families just to name a few. Most were children and youth of families allotted to Soldier Settlement Land.

The ladies of the church started up a Fellowship in July of 1961. Messrs. Roberts, Wilson, Day, Lawes, Borlase, Sheldon, Sharp and Miss Pope were the inaugural members. This was during the time of Rev Bruce Trigg.


Church opening 1959	Confirmation 1962	Church Elders - 1977

Ministers of the Word in placement in the parish serving the Wanilla church from 1949 were:-

Rev Brasher, Clarkson, Bruce Trigg, Elwyn Penna, John Maddern, Phil Carr, Rod James, Ion Gaskill, Ian Lohmeyer, Trevor Klar, Alan Davis, Murray Chambers, Geoff Diment, Ashley Davis, Rob Packer, David Buxton, Rob Tann.
Serving in positions of Lay Pastor were Trevor Hancox, Mr Ron Hier and as Minister in Association Glenn Barnett.

In February of 1977 the first elders of the Wanilla Uniting church were commissioned. Mrs Audrey Pobke, Thelma Giddings, Dean Rowlands and Lionel Sheldon.

Memories of wonderful Sunday School anniversaries held in the church with stands built at the back of the church will be remembered by those participating. The local hall was also used due to a lack of space in the church on some occasions.

Over the years there have been wedding ceremonies performed in the church along with baptisms and memorial services.

Day Camps were held in the school holidays with kids coming from Wangary, Coffin Bay and Edillilie as well as Wanilla.

Family excursions to Strawberry Hill, with all hiking the distance, followed by old fashioned games, a church service and a BBQ meal, are just some of the exciting events that this congregation participated in.

Harvest Thanksgiving services at farms and the beach were some of the ways that we were able to share and reach out to the wider community.

In the late 1900s the congregation grew due to a revival of faith. Exciting times were to unfold as the number of children attending Sunday School flourished. A youth group was formed, and met once a month with numbers exceeding 25 per Saturday night. Enthusiasm of the group led to many events. Games night, Dinner Party for the parents cooked by the kids, orienteering, progressive dinners to name a few.

Christmas services held in the church, local hall and RSL building were great times of outreach to the community.

Because the numbers had grown and the building was not suitable for the many events taking place, in May of 1999 the worshipping congregation sought to undertake some extensions. It was decided that an addition of a “shed” and a hybrid toilet was necessary.

Up until then the toilet facilities left little to the imagination!

The congregation received a grant from the Uniting Foundation of $8,000, and from then on they worked tirelessly to fund the remaining cost, a total of $20,000.

Many man hours of voluntary labour and generous monetary donations and fundraising, completed the extensions which were opened and dedicated on October 21st 2001.

Maintenance 1979

Maintenance 1986

Sadly with the shifting of population and key families from the district into Port Lincoln, and the affects of the 2005 bushfire, a congregation no longer worships at Wanilla.

The presence of a worshipping group of families in the Wanilla district can never be measured. From Sunday School, and many wonderful memories by some of the Sunday School anniversaries, to Youth group, the Day Camps, to family gatherings, family excursions on the 5th Sunday, God’s love was proclaimed and shown to all.

A service was held to mark the closing of the Wanilla Church on Nov 23rd 2008. People gathered to reminisce with others who over the many years have worshipped at this little church. Many memories were talked about.

The church building stands as a reminder of the many people who passed through it sharing their Christian faith.

The end of another era in the history of Wanilla.

The Wanilla Hall - more info coming soon....

The Wanilla hall was built with the profits from the rodeo and local trading tables.

Dances were held at the school until the hall was built and Mr Slim Mahoney and Mr Alan Haines used to play a button accordian for the music.

Regular dances were, and still are held in this hall.

Family bands - McCracken's (Jean & Anthony), Polden's (Marlene, Ian, Gill & Ned) and Docking's band supplied most of the music.

If you have photos or stories you would like to share please email us.

Wanilla Hall dance:- Bell Walter, Mrs Coleman, Mrs Starrick, Sally Doudle.