Fire of Hope Baptist Church Manse & Hall

To meet the spiritual needs of those moving to the area, members of the Jireh Baptist Church in Fortitude Valley, under the guidance of the Reverend John Kingsford, established a preaching station on 20 January 1882.  Eighteen months later, on 26 June 1883, a small chapel was opened, built according to tradition by the men from Jireh. Local residents, in conjunction with brethren from the Jireh Church, then worked towards local autonomy. 

Erected six years after the formation of the Baptist Union of Queensland in 1877, the Albion Baptist Church was one of the first permanent churches to be established in this vicinity. In 1886, Reverend Kingsford and thirty local members of the church successfully petitioned for the dismissal from the fellowship of the Jireh Baptist Church in Fortitude Valley so that this church could be constituted as a separate church. The church’s first independent pastor was Reverend W. Higlett who lived close by at ‘Camden’ at 108 McLennan Street from 1895. 

Over the next decade, the Albion Baptist Church, as it was then known, and its congregation were to be sorely tested as economic downturns and financial crises took their toll and natural disasters such as the 1890s floods posed a threat not only to homes and livelihoods but also to the structure of the church and its furnishings. Nonetheless, Sunday School was a priority from the first and so too other outreach activities in the wider community, particularly that of the Women’s Union. 

In 1910, church membership peaked and by the end of 1916, the Sunday school was one of the largest Baptist Sunday Schools in Queensland and was renowned throughout Brisbane. As the population grew, and the congregation expanded, the church was extended several times. In 1915 a manse was built on an adjacent block and in 1929 a hall was built at the rear of the church. To suit the changing needs of the ministry, alterations were also made to the interior of the church, such as the removal of the front rail and the addition of stairs. 

The Albion Baptist church was, for many years, the base for mission work within and outside Australia and when residential development accelerated in nearby suburbs the church became a centre for outreach to both Gordon Park and Stafford and more recently Albany Creek.  The patterns established in the early decades of the church have continued through to the present day, despite the decline in religious observance and the shortage of trained clergy in recent years.  

 

1. Kerr, J 1988, Brunswick Street, Bowen Hills and Beyond: the Railways of the Northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australian Railway Historical Society, Brisbane

2. White, Rev. J. E 1992, A Fellowship of Service: A History of the Baptist Union of Queensland 1877-1977

3. Brisbane City Council 1990, Fire of Hope Baptist Church: Centenary souvenir 1892-1992, Windsor Heritage Trail, Brisbane