Greenslopes Baptist Church & Hall

The district now known as Greenslopes was initially covered with dense forest which was highly sought after by early timber getters. White settlement of the district followed the opening of the road from Brisbane to Ipswich and a rough track to the German community on the Logan River. Baptist followers were the first settlers to establish a church in the district with the construction of a chapel, designed by architect Mark Taylor, on the nearby Thompson Estate in 1885.

Baptist worship in Greenslopes, then known as Dunellan after the original estate, had its beginnings in 1898, following open air meetings conducted by Messrs Olsen and Laing, at the corner of Logan Road and Dunellan Street. Mr Olsen, although handicapped by blindness, bought a cottage in Dunellan Street and established the first Sunday School and church services held in the area. In 1900, a small church was built in Cedar Street and soon afterwards, a mission hall was added. In 1913, as the district developed, the church was removed from Cedar Street to the current corner allotment facing Henry Street. Under the guidance of Rev W. Jarvis, who held home mission services at the Baptist churches in Thompson Estate, Coorparoo and 'Dunellan', the congregation made steady progress. Upon his departure to the Warwick Baptist Church, services at Dunellan were maintained by lay preachers under the home mission until 1926 when Rev E.V. Keith took over the work at Dunellan and Thompson Estate. During his ministry the Dunellan Church was granted independence and Rev Keith became the ordained minister for the church.

The opening of the tramline to Greenslopes in 1914 brought increased development to the area which was further encouraged by the extension of this line to Holland Park in 1926. As residential estates in the area were developed, the local population grew, increasing the need for churches and other services. In 1932, Rev Robert Horn commenced his ministry at Greenslopes, and undertook to provide a new Greenslopes Baptist Church in response to the growing congregation. 

By June 1933, due to the efforts of the church's loyal congregation, the construction of the new church was ready to commence.  Council records show that approval for the new building was given in May 1933, and that the projected total cost was over £21 000. Contractor, John Smith of Aspley, was engaged to do the construction work. 

The Baptist Union President (Rev B. Hewison), Mr David Webster and Sister Grace were invited to lay the three foundation stones on the afternoon of Saturday, 10 June. The stones were duly laid and the church opened some time later in the year, when construction was completed.

The Greenslopes Baptist Church has been a significant site on the social and spiritual landscape of the Greenslopes locale since 1933. It has continued to serve since then as a place of worship, central meeting place and social space for the congregation and local community. Since its inception the church site has grown to absorb a complex of buildings around the church itself, and has supported a range of church services. A hall adjacent to the church in Henry Street was constructed in 1951 after the laying of the foundation stone on 21 April. The hall is used for Sunday School, craft classes and other church related activities. The hall was extended in 1974 at a cost of around    $65 000. Two houses adjacent to the church in Dunellan Street are also part of the site owned by the church. The closest house is the former manse. The house next to the former manse is an education centre. Alterations to the church were carried out in 1993 (see description below for details).

Today, the church and hall are well used by the local community and continue to provide a valuable spiritual and social centre for the area.

The single-storey church is rectangular in plan form with rendered masonry walls, a terra cotta tiled roof and a small entry porch protruding from its front elevation. The church is constructed from hollow terracotta blocks.

Buttresses, stepped at window head height and at floor level, are located along the sides of the building. These buttresses are rendered and grooved to represent block coursing.

The front of the main building and the entry porch are adorned with Dutch gables. Rendered bands highlighting their contours. Three blind arched niches are located above the entry porch, close to the apex of the main parapeted gable. 

Eaves overhangs extend to the sides of the building.

Windows throughout are pairs of timber framed casements with fixed semi-circular fanlights above. Windows are glazed with opaque glass and small panels of green coloured glass around the border. 

The nave window adjacent to the vestries on the western side contains a bank of adjustable metal louvres extending down to floor level. Compressed fibre cement hoods supported on metal brackets provide protection to four nave windows on the western side.

The main entry door comprises a pair of timber doors with diagonal tongue and groove boarding. Above the door is a rectangular fanlight glazed with opaque glass.

The entry is defined by a frontispiece consisting of two block columns supporting a flat concrete ledge with cyma recta (ogee) moulded edges.

The elevated entry porch is accessed by a small flight of concrete steps.

Rear access to the pair of vestry doors was originally gained by a small flight of timber steps supported on steel stringers and a timber framed landing supported on a pair of stucco rendered brick piers. The stairs, doors and vestries were removed in 1993. The pulpit,  platform, baptistry, and pipe organ were also removed. (The pipe organ was sold to St Margaret’s Anglican School at Ascot). At this time, the church’s interior was lined with timber and partially wall papered, and a new platform and bapistry were built. The church was also carpeted and a sound system and elevated control desk installed.    A ramp to provide disabled access was constructed on the western side of the church.

Internally, the church has a truncated gable ceiling lined with caneitesheeting finished with timber cover strips. Metal tie rods are located at the second and fourth buttresses. The masonry walls were originally rendered with a textured rendered coating up to timber dado height and smooth plaster above. Minor cracks on the external buttresses are visible, however, any interior wall cracks have not visible as they are covered by wallpaper.

The fence along both street alignments is constructed of brick with a stucco render both sides. Piers and capping to wall have a rendered capping projecting beyond the face of the pier and wall.
 

1. Brisbane City Council Archives, New Buildings Register, April 1932 to August 1934

2. Brisbane City Council Building Card Archive

3. Brisbane City Council Water Supply & Sewerage Detail Plans

4. Courier Mail 10 June 1933

5. Department of Natural Resources, Certificates of Title

6. McClurg, J.H.C. 'The Unfamiliar Names of Brisbane Suburbs”. Royal Historical Society of Queensland, Historical Miscellanea No. 29, nd

7. Parker, D. (ed). The Gregory History of Queensland Baptists: Documents in Queensland Baptist History No. 1. Brisbane: Baptist Historical Society of Queensland, 1995

8. Queensland Post Office Directories

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

10. Information kindly provided by Mr Bruce Lane, Church Elder. Phonecall to BCC Heritage Unit 26 April 2002 and site visit 27 May 2002