Historical information
This set of prayer boos was part of the original furnishings of the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen's Church at 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria.
THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History: for more, see our Reg. No. 611, Set of Pews)
The Missions to Seamen, an Anglican charity, has served seafarers of the world since 1856 in Great Britain. It symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today there are centr4es in over 200 ports world-wide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities.
In Victoria the orgainsation began in Williamstown in 1857. It was as a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’. Its location was an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000 the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings.
The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s.
In 1943 a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966.
A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981 and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel.
Significance
This set of books, each titled The Book of Common Prayers, is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837.
The set of books is historically significant for its connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers.
The connection of this set of books to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support.
Physical description
Set of 10 books.
Title: The Book of Common Prayer with the Additions and Deviations proposed in 1928
Publisher: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, London
Some books have blue cloth covers, some have red cloth covers. Spines have gold inlay print. 244 numbered pages. Some books are inscribed on the inside cover.
This is one of a set of original items in our ‘St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection’.
Inscriptions & markings
Inscription in some books "FROM THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN MELBOURNE"
Subjects
- flagstaff hill,
- warrnambool,
- shipwrecked coast,
- flagstaff hill maritime museum,
- maritime museum,
- shipwreck coast,
- flagstaff hill maritime village,
- great ocean road,
- preyer books,
- book of common prayer,
- anglican church prayer book,
- religion,
- religious service,
- sailors rest,
- bethel sailors’ church,
- bethel floating church,
- ladies harbour light guild,
- missions to seamen victoria,
- mission to seafarers,
- flying angels club,
- st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown,
- st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown,
- mission to seamen williamstown,
- st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill,
- 139 nelson place williamstown,
- anglican church,
- religious book
References
- Mission to Seafarers Victoria - online database Victorian Collections website
- History of the Mission to Seafarers Mission to Seafarers, origin, history in Victoria, timeline, name change, purpose
- Mission to Seamen Williamstown building and Ladies Harbour Lights Guild Victorian Heritage Register
- Missions to Seamen, building in Flinders Street Melbourne Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1496
- Fund raising for furnishing new premises, Victoria Mission to Seamen Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary Williamstown Chronicle Aug 6 1943, p.4
- The Mission’s History in Williamstown Brault, G., Ship to Shore, Mission to Seafarers, Victoria Inc. Spring 2019, p12
- Documentary ‘Harbour Lights’ – the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild and seafarers in early 20th century Melbourne Wind & Sky Productions, for Mission to Seafarers
- The Soprano and the Seafarer: a woman with a Mission 1906-1930 (about Ethel Godfrey) Brault, G and Miller J, April 2 2020, Mission to Seafarers Victoria
- Williamstown, Victoria Refers to a 1946 event in the former Mission to Seamen Building in Nelson Place
- 12. A Walk in Old Williamstown Hobson’s Bay Libraries; Williamstown Memorial Fountain and nearby buildings
- St Nicholas Seamen’s Chapel Mission to Seamen’ chapel in Swansea, UK. 1886-1919, renamed Mission Gallery in 1998