The foundation stone of the New Wesleyan Church, Were Street, Brighton, Victoria was laid by Mrs W P Wells, the wife of the Superintendent of the Brighton Circuit and President of the Victorian Wesleyan Conference in 1887. The foundation stone was temporarily removed in the late 1930s and the 1937 publication "Were Street Jubilee" details the "proposed Jubilee Church". The same trowel was used when the stone was re-laid in 1955 at the beginning of the construction on the new church. S060.1 Silver commemorative trowel with a bone handle. The front and back both have inscriptions. The front has heavily engraved decoration. S060.2: Presentation box for S060.1. Teal colour rouched satin lined box made of brown leather.S060.1 Front: "TO MRS W. P. Wells ON THE OCCASION OF HER LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE Wesleyan Church WERE STREET BRIGHTON APRIL 2ND 1887" S090.1 Back: "THIS TROWEL WAS USED BY REV. A.W.PEDERICK, L.TH. PRESIDENT OF THE CONFERENCE TO Lay the Foundation Stone of the new WERE STREET METHODIST CHURCH 30th JULY 1955".rev a w pederick, mrs w p wells, rev william p wells, were street methodist church brighton victoria, wesleyan church were street brighton victoria

James Jones was the son of Philip Jones, a Chairmaker, and Ann Jones who settled in East Brighton after the sale of land c1852 in the area of the Henry Dendy Special Survey of 1841. Mary Ann Moore was the daughter of Thomas Moore, a Gardener, and Sarah Harris who also settled in Brighton c1852. James and Mary Ann Jones settled and raised their family in East Brighton now Bentleigh. Mr John Herron resided at 4 Vickery St Bentleigh until 1989. Sadly Martha Jones born 1888 died in 1890 and James Jones had to purchase a plot at Brighton General Cemetery for her burial. A further 2 children were interred in 1893 and 1900 then Mary Ann in 1903 and James in 1940James Jones and Mary Ann Moore were born in Brighton c1857 and c 1859 into pioneer market gardener families in the area of the Dendy Special Survey of 1841. They married in 1883 and raised their family in East Brighton, now Bentleigh. Sadly infectious diseases took the lives of many infants throughout the Colony of Victoria due to the poor state of water supply and sewerage disposal and locally the swamps of the Elster Creek were a constant breeding ground. Martha Jones born 1888 died 1890 and was interred in Brighton General Cemetery in a family plot purchased by her father James Jones. An original paper receipt No. 2844 for payment 22 January 1890 by James Jones to Brighton General Cemetery of 3 pounds 1 shilling for burial of Martha Jones aged approx. 2 years in a plot 4 feet x 8 feet. Fees include family grave at 2 pounds 2 shillings, Sinking to 7 feet at 14 shillings and Label 5 shillings .No. 2844( hand written) / BRIGHTON GENERAL CEMETERY / RECEIVED 22 January 18 90 / of Mr James Jones ( hand written ) the sum of £3. 1 being the / following charges in Wesleyan Portion No. / Compt. Name of deceased Martha Jones / Signed S Simmonds (handwritten) Secretary Along left side G.H Orford Printer “ Southern Cross Office” Bay St. Brighton melbourne, brighton, moorabbin, water supply, pioneers, bentleigh, dendy henry, market gardeners, early settlers, jones mary ann, wesleyan church, jones james, vaccination, typhoid, dendys special survey 1841, infectious diseases, elster creek, jones martha, brighton general cemetery, orford g h, printers, southern cross office, bay street brighton

The St Kilda Presbyterian Church is now part of the St Kilda & Balaclava Presbyterian Church. Its first service was inaugurated by the Free Church Synod of Victoria in May 1855, in a building at the corner of High Street and Alma Road. In October 1855 the congregation moved to a wooden building in Inkerman Street, purchased from the Independent (Congregational) Church. The present church site was purchased and the first church opened in 1860. The foundation stone for the present church building, the second to be built on the site, was laid by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Brougham Loch, on 27 January 1885. The building was opened on 30 May 1886. Wilson and Beswicke were the architects. Ralph Wilson designed the Methodist church on the corner of Princes and Fitzroy Streets and lived diagonally opposite the Presbyterian church. Charles Beswicke had toured Britain and the Continent in 1886 armed with a camera and returned to Australia with photographs of what he considered the greatest examples of architecture. He was responsible for the town halls in Brighton, Malvern, Hawthorn and Essendon and Wesleyan churches in Camberwell and Dandenong. Thomas Corley was the builder. The lofty spire was ‘a landmark to the mariner’ used by sea captains sailing up Port Phillip Bay. On a prominent position, the highest point in St Kilda, the church attracted wealthy people with legal, merchant and pastoral backgrounds.colour photographst kilda, churches, presbyterian church, balaclava

W E Herring and his wife arrived in Brighton in 1887 to live in Roslyn Street. They had both been active members of the Fitzroy Street, St Kilda church choir. In 1937 Mr Herring recalled church life in the 1880s and 1890s. Houses were scarce and to reach the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Were Street, Brighton Beach a creek which had no bridge had “to be crossed – in winter, with the help of a hurricane lamp – and it was no uncommon thing for the preacher, if he were a stranger, to arrive late and breathless, or not at all.” In 1907 permission was given to form a tennis club at Were Street and Mr Herring was its first president. He was also the Were street Methodist Sunday School Superintendent, the Were street Methodist church organist and a member of the church’s Trust. “The Sunday School had a fine set of teachers. The rows of well-drilled and disciplined young life that filled the platform on Sunday School anniversaries, and sang their songs under the baton of Mr Herring, constituted a promise that was amply fulfilled as the years rolled on.”* *”Fifty years ago : a little history of Were Street Methodist Church” : Issued in commemoration of its Jubilee by Members of the Trust 1887 – 1937. To celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Mr Herring composed an anthem. The Brighton Southern Cross, Saturday 26 June 1897, page 2 reported: "The diamond jubilee has been instrumental in evoking some local musical talent. Mr W. E. Herring, organist of the Were-street Wesleyan Church, not being able to find any anthem specially suitable to the jubilee services, set his musical genius to work and composed an original piece. The words are selected from the 72nd Psalm. The music is a very tuneful and well harmonised theme, which does credit to the composer's skill and taste. The anthem was rendered twice on Jubilee Sunday at the Were street Church." Stained wood turned music baton.w e herring, were street methodist sunday school superintendent, music baton, were street wesleyan methodist church