Parish History

The parish of Warialda was created in 1853, just one year after the town had been gazetted, and had an official Post Office and a small school. The Reverend Frederick Richard Kemp was the vicar of this new parish, which spanned 30,000 Km2 from Mungindi & Walgett in the west, to Bundarra in the East, the QLD border in the north, and Tamworth in the South. Warialda was the main centre of the parish. In November 1869 the Government Gazette records the granting of “1 acre and 2 roods” of land in the township of Warialda for the establishment of a Church and vicarage for the Church of England, and a corresponding grant was made to the Roman Catholic Church. In 1870, the local town records show the allocation of both grants in the current church locations. Warialda probably had no vicar for some time, but in May 1884 the Rev. Alfred Waudby King moved to Warialda as the incumbent of the parish. In 1889 Sister Elizabeth Kenny was baptised at Warialda. The sandstone font, probably from local sandstone, which was used, is now a feature in the modern church. 1902 saw the congregation move into the new church. This building was located down the hill from the original, located to the west of the vicarage. It was a simple building in the traditional style with arched windows of cathedral glass, and large arched double doors accessed by sandstone steps. The building now serves as the parish hall and has been recently renovated to include a new multi-purpose deck, meeting room and vicar’s office. By 1905, the parish newspaper listed the main churches of the parish as: S. Simon & S. Jude, Warialda S. Paul, Warialda Rail, Holy Trinity, Gravesend, and S. Peter, Coolatai although others existed on private properties for example at Stonefield. In 1914 the Diocese of Armidale was established. This brought closer interaction with the Bishopric. In 1904, efforts to renovate the original vicarage were unsuccessful, and the building was still in poor condition. In September 1927 the old vicarage was demolished and a new one was built which is still in use today. In 1936 with the recovering economy after the Great Depression, plans were started to replace the 1902 church. It was not until 1965 that these were finalised and in November 1966 the last service took place in the old church and the new church building was dedicated. It had taken 7 months to construct. The cruciform shape with a free-standing altar and chapel area behind was revolutionary in the ’60s. The original sandstone font stands in a Baptistery with a modern stained-glass window. The church design features a large hanging wooden cross under the apex of the roof over the altar. An illuminated cross rises above the roof line outside and can be seen from most locations within the town. The original metal church bell is housed in a modern bell tower beside the church. Throughout all of this time, the church has continued to serve the local community by providing ministry and pastoral care through important life events, as well as holding various community events, the ongoing weekly ministry of word and prayer, and providing for people’s physical, spiritual and emotional needs.