St Stephen's Anglican Church, Toodyay, Anglican church building in Toodyay, Western Australia
St Stephen's Anglican Church on Stirling Terrace in Toodyay is a restrained Gothic building with pointed arched window and door surrounds, tall lancet windows to the north and south, and buttresses dividing those façades into evenly spaced bays. Its highly pitched roof is covered with corrugated iron, and a separate bell tower of bush timber stands on the site.
The building was constructed in 1862 under George Hasell's direction, with stonemason Esau Wetherall and shingle splitter MacKnoe providing essential support. Its construction marked the establishment of Anglican worship in this regional Australian town.
The church serves as a memorial to Charles Augustus and Roderick Yelverton Lee Steere, who died during World War II. It reflects the community's lasting connection to those lost in the conflict.
St Stephen's stands on Stirling Terrace, the main street through Toodyay, so it is passed on foot by anyone walking the town centre. The churchyard is entered from the street side, and the bush-timber bell tower and the flooded gum are visible from outside the building. Services are held in the church, so check locally before planning to go inside.
A flooded gum (Eucalyptus rudis) said to be over 400 years old towers over the church. Its upper branches were trimmed, giving it a lopsided look, to stop it striking overhead power lines that have since been run underground. Development once threatened its removal, but it is now regarded as an icon.
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