Grace Plains Bible Christian Chapel
| Type of organisation: | Religious
|
| Town or locality: | Grace Plains |
| Date established: | 1868 |
| Ceased operation: | 1910 |
| Established by: | Congregation |
The Grace Plains Bible Christian Chapel was located 5 miles north of Mallala on land surveyed in 1864.
Pioneers were able to purchase acreage for about two pounds per acre. Mr Robert Marshman, a local blacksmith and butcher, gave a piece of land for the Chapel to be erected in 1868. The Chapel was opened in November of that year possibly built by Mr Mathew with much work and material provided by the settlers.
“ The opening services of the Bible Christian Chapel were celebrated on Sunday November 29th 1868 when Mr Richards, the minister of the Circuit preached three impressive sermons to a large and attentive congregation The cost of the chapel was 240 pounds and the debt on the building was 100 pounds."
In about 1872 a Day School was opened at the Chapel with about 60 children in attendance. The first teacher was probably a Mr Adams.
A new Church replaced the Chapel in 1910.
Mrs Gehan {nee Rose Tiller} who was born in 1884, was baptised in the original Chapel. Rose had married Edward Lewis Irish who died in 1941,and sixteen years after Lewis's death, she married again. Her second husband was Bertie Elliott Walter Gehan. She became the first bride married in the new Church.
The Grace Plains Congregation was for a short time connected to both the Balaklava and the Gawler Circuit but in 1887 Grace Plains became the head of its own Circuit. Preaching places included Pinery, Woolsheds and Kangaroo Flat. Social activities in the early years included the Choir, Bible Study Groups, Ladies Guild, Christian Endeavour and the Literary Society. A friendly game of cricket arranged by Mr G. Broster between the Grace Plains and Barabba Literary Societies was one of the first in the area.
Some of the earliest families to settle at Grace Plains were Marshman, Webster, Worden, Franks, March, Schnieder, Broster, Tiller, Biggs, Bartlett, Adam, Moody, Streeter and Cherryman. The chapel has now been sold and is a private residence.
At the rear of the buildings is the Grace Plains Cemetery. The management of the Cemetery is in the hands of the Adelaide Plains Council which provide no official record for the earliest burial sites at the Grace Plains Cemetery. An onsite visit and with reading of the inscriptions on the headstones it can be assumed the following are the two earliest burials. "Frank beloved son of R.and H. Marshman died October 17 1868.Aged 19 years." "Sacred To the memory of Mary Webster 18th April 1873 Aged 38 years. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord."
In 1993 the District Council of Mallala and District Community Library published a set of bound books on each of Council cemeteries located in the district. It was the culmination of a project funded by a grant scheme made available by the Libraries Board of South Australia. The books are available at the Two Wells Library. The Grace Plains cemetery book confirms Frank Marshman and Mary Webster are the two earliest burials for that site.
Related Articles |
Sources
- "His Spirit Comes". E.A. Curnow. Published by Uniting Church in South Australia. Mallala Museum records.
Memories of Grace Plains Bible Christian Chapel
Margaret remembers: The District Council of Mallala has replaced the derelict signage that identified the cemetery. The new sign which was installed by early November 2012 is simple and effective.
Gwenda remembers: The Grace Plains "former" church buildings were in the line of the disastrous Pinery Fire on November 25th 2015. Although fencing and trees were destroyed by the fire around the "Moquet Lee" reserve, the cemetery and the church, the actual church buildings were saved by the efforts of the C.F.S. and the local farmers with their fire fighting outfits. A memorial to the early settlers and to the memory of the terrible bush fire was opened on November 26th 2019 and can be viewed any time in a shed on the site of the former Grace Plains tennis courts adjacent to the cemetery. A new sign and fencing around the cemetery and surrounds enhances the area.
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