St. Peter’s Maroochydore - Profile and History
History
First Services
In response to requests from the Anglican (Church of England) community the Reverend A. Baker came from Nambour to offer the occasional services during the holidays. Those days Maroochydore consisted of mainly holiday shacks.
The church minutes of the time are sprinkled with derogatory mention of the church horse “the unsatisfactory animal at present in use”, and “the saddles and bridle almost past using’. On one occasion he had to hire a hack.
The Gift of Land
Mr Thomas O’Connor owned most of the land from Mooloolaba to Scotwald Corner, which he had purchased for two shillings and six pence per acre. He was dividing this land up for housing. In January 1925 he advised the Church of England people in Maroochydore that when subdividing the triangle facing the main road, he would give the corner block as a site for the church, on the condition that the people got together and build a church building.
A public meeting was called in February 1925 with the vicar of the Parochial District of Maroochydore, the Reverend J. De La Perrelle of Nambour in the chair. The meeting decided to accept the offer and “strong in the Lord” all members present formed themselves into a working committee to discover ways and means to raise funds.
Status as a Parish
In 1974 by request of the Vicar and parish council the status of the parochial District of Palmwoods was change to become the Parish of Palmwoods. The Reverend Alfred Gerlach was made Rector and Maroochydore remained one of the centres within that parish.
It was during his time as Rector of Palmwoods parish that the Reverend Alfred Gerlach along with the parish council successfully removed all debts on the Church building of St. Peter’s. The building was duly Consecrated by the then Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr. F.R. Arnott, on 7th December 1975.
First Official Rector of Parish of Maroochydore
Early in 1981 the Parish of St. Peter’s Maroochydore was granted the status as a Parish in its own right. It included the both St. Peter’s Maroochydore and St. Elizabeth’s Mooloolaba. In 1981 Reverend Alfred Gerlach moved from the parish of Palmwoods to become the first Rector of the newly formed Parish of Maroochydore.
Following the retirement of Reverend Alfred Gerlach, a new rector, the Reverend Andrew Christopher Baldwin, became the next Rector in 1990.
The closure of St. Elizabeth’s church in Mooloolaba took place on Sunday 2nd April 2006.
Profile
The Parish’s Vision for the Future
St. Peter’s Church has now become part of the main business centre district of the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. The Parish is currently endeavouring to decide upon its future presence and the form of ministry the Parish will have considering to the great changes that have taken place in recent years.