OUR PARISH HISTORY.
In the words of Dr Tony Matthews2, the first church at Chinchilla was Roman Catholic and was known by the name of ‘Church of the Guardian Angles’. They did not have any building at that time but attended services in different coffee rooms in the hotels. That was until 1882, with the construction of the Courthouse, they were able to have the celebrations in that building. The first church would be open in 18993. Since that time this community would take their destiny into their own hands and would be sharing the joy of the Gospel in this part of the world not without the ups and downs of any other community of faith. It was in March 1, 1919 that the parish was excised from Dalby4.
This same community was able to rise up again after a cyclone destroyed their place of worship and with that the sad loss of two of its members. Another challenge in front of the whole congregation but a moment that helped them to strengthen their faith and hope. A new church was built in 1926 but after 25 years they had to upgrade to a bigger one due to the increase in the congregation. The actual brick church was completed in 1962 and opened its doors on March 11 that same year.
In the words of Dr Tony Matthews2, the first church at Chinchilla was Roman Catholic and was known by the name of ‘Church of the Guardian Angles’. They did not have any building at that time but attended services in different coffee rooms in the hotels. That was until 1882, with the construction of the Courthouse, they were able to have the celebrations in that building. The first church would be open in 18993. Since that time this community would take their destiny into their own hands and would be sharing the joy of the Gospel in this part of the world not without the ups and downs of any other community of faith. It was in March 1, 1919 that the parish was excised from Dalby4.
This same community was able to rise up again after a cyclone destroyed their place of worship and with that the sad loss of two of its members. Another challenge in front of the whole congregation but a moment that helped them to strengthen their faith and hope. A new church was built in 1926 but after 25 years they had to upgrade to a bigger one due to the increase in the congregation. The actual brick church was completed in 1962 and opened its doors on March 11 that same year.
References:
2 Tony Matthews is a former lecturer of the Hervey Bay campus of the University of Southern Queensland. More details of his work in: https://drtonymatthews.weebly.com/bio.html
3 Tomas Matthew, Footsteps Through Time. A History of Chinchilla Shire. (Chinchilla, QLD, Australia, Shire of Chinchilla, 2004), Volume II, pages 892-893.
4 Memories, Chinchilla Catholic Parish, 1919-1994, 75th Anniversary booklet, page 8.
2 Tony Matthews is a former lecturer of the Hervey Bay campus of the University of Southern Queensland. More details of his work in: https://drtonymatthews.weebly.com/bio.html
3 Tomas Matthew, Footsteps Through Time. A History of Chinchilla Shire. (Chinchilla, QLD, Australia, Shire of Chinchilla, 2004), Volume II, pages 892-893.
4 Memories, Chinchilla Catholic Parish, 1919-1994, 75th Anniversary booklet, page 8.