Cannon Hill Presbyterian Church (former)

In May 1929 the Presbyterian Church of Queensland purchased one rood and twenty four perches of land in Cannon Hill. Prior to this the Cannon Hill Presbyterian congregation had held their first service in the Cannon Hill School of Arts on Wynnum Road in February 1929.  This proved to be less than ideal, so in September a large temporary marquee was erected on the church property for services until a permanent church could be built – at this stage, however, it looked as though it would take some time to raise the money needed.

The Cannon Hill Presbyterian congregation were elated when Mr. W. R. Black donated a large sum of money toward the construction of a new church. The £200 donation was part of a philanthropic scheme by W. R. Black to assist in the building of Presbyterian churches in the less developed areas of Brisbane. The Cannon Hill Presbyterian Church was the first to be built under this scheme. The Brisbane Courier stated: 

it was explained by the Rev. Norman Millar….convener of the Church Extension Committee, that this £200 was merely part of a noble benefaction made by Mr. Black. He said when Mr. Black had looked around, and noticed the many outlying districts in which new churches were required, he had generously come forward and offered to provide up to £10, 000 for church extension”1

William Robert Black was a Northern Ireland born immigrant to Queensland, arriving in 1880. He worked his way up from humble coal delivery in Brisbane to owning his own coal delivery business from 1885, and he soon had a fleet of twenty-six vessels transporting coal on the Brisbane and Bremer Rivers. By purchasing large tracts of land west of Ipswich, Black established several collieries. He used the very latest technology available in that period to extract the maximum amount of coal in a minimum amount of time. Black retired from his lucrative business ventures in 1920. As a devout Presbyterian he began to donate much of his accumulated wealth to the church and played a role in the church community. 

With the help of W.R. Black’s donation the construction of the new church was quickly implemented. Brisbane architect George Trotter designed the church and on the 10 February 1930 called for Tenders in the Architects and Builders’ Journal. The accepted Tender for the construction of the church was H. P. Jorgensen, “The new building…will be of simple design constructed of wood…having an area of 50ft. by 25ft. floor space, with the usual front entrance porch. Casement windows will be surmounted by Gothic fanlights” (The Brisbane Courier, Monday 24 March 1930, p14). On the 22 March 1930 the stump-capping ceremony took place with the Brisbane Courier reporting, “The stump-capping ceremony of the new Cannon Hill Presbyterian Church…took place…This is the first church built under the scheme of the church extension movement made possible by the generosity of Mr W.R. Black”2.  The cost of the construction of the building was initially estimated at £672. 

The official opening of the new Presbyterian Church in Cannon Hill was held on the 17 May 1930. The ceremony was performed by Reverend Robert Millar, Moderator of the Presbyterian General Assembly and was attended by many local residents. The interior pews were built by the local committee and the pulpit and choir rails were donated by another Brisbane Presbyterian parish. The Cannon Hill Presbyterian Church played a continuous role in the spiritual lives of its congregation until the church sold the property in 2002. The church has been converted into a house but still retains the original exterior and interior features.

1. The Brisbane Courier, Monday 19 May 1930, p14

2. The Brisbane Courier, Saturday 29 March 1930, p27

3. Historic Titles, Department of Environment and Resource Management

4. Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Survey Map

5. Apperly, Richard, Robert Irving and Peter Reynolds. A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present. North Ryde: Angus & Robertson, 1989

6. University of Queensland, ‘Queensland Places: Cannon Hill”

7. Cannon Hill School of Arts: 75th Anniversary 1923-1998, Cannon Hill Community Association, 1998

8. BCC building cards

9. McBride, R. S, A History of the Cannon Hill Presbyterian Church, 1929-1999

10. Queensland Architect and Builders’ Journal, 10 February 1930, Tender Notices

11. The Brisbane Courier, Monday 24 March 1930, p14

12. The Brisbane Courier, Saturday 17 May 1930, p6