Historical information

Located on the corner of Main Road and John Street, the church first served the community as the Eltham Wesleyan Church since 1881. It became the Eltham Methodist Church in 1902, the year it united with the Primitive Methodists.

Eltham Wesleyans first worshipped together in the home of William and Mary Crozier, on 24 acres bounded by Mount Pleasant Road and Pitt Street.

From there they moved to a slab and bark hut in 1855 (this later served as the first school run by David Clark prior to the building of a new school in Dalton Street) and the members then built a chapel in 1858 on Lot 20, Henry Street (later to become the Rechabite Hall and Eltham Public Hall).

The present church on John Street was designed by architects Crouch and Wilson in the Early English Gothic style with biochrome brick window frames, buttress heads and pinnacle. Church member George Stebbing built the church, the foundations were constructed with stone from the walls of the first Eltham State Primary School (No. 209) building which collapsed in 1874 and were purchased by Robert David Taylor. Stebbing was also responsible for building St Margaret’s Church and Shillinglaw Cottage.

The Roll of Honour, which presently hangs in the church hall (which also doubles as the Opportunity Shop) lists 27 members of the congregation who served in the First World War, 11 of whom never returned.

The red-brick Church Hall was opened in 1931 and in 1971 further additions linked the hall and church, including a foyer, vestry, meeting room and toilets reflecting the Eltham style of that time with its simplicity, extensive clear glass, reused baked clay-bricks from the 1881 church, heavy ceiling beams and compressed straw ceiling.

On June 26, 1977, the church became part of the new Uniting Church in Australia consisting of the former Methodist and Congregational and most of the Presbyterian Churches.

Following of declining numbers of worshippers, the church merged with the Montmorency Uniting Church on June 23, 1996.

In 2023 the Uniting church approved a plan to renovate the church.
It is understood that the historic church and the hall will be retained, and the building added in 1971 is to be demolished, to make way for a new purpose-built Opportunity shop. The proposed areas to be demolished include the current foyer, toilets, crèche, etc, including the area between the hall and the former RSL. Works are expected to commence mid to late July 2023.

The Society was invited by a church member to take photographs of these areas to document them prior to demolition works commencing.

Ref: “Nillumbik Now and Then” by Marguerite Marshall (2008)

Physical description

3 images - born digital