EXTRACT
The first marriages in the new church were
- James Peter and Elizabeth Flood, both of Wagga, in April;
- John Colls and Seccy Sophia Meredith, in May;
- Richard Parkhurst of Albury, and Eliza Mulcahy, of Yass in June;
- George Bliss, of Mullion Forest, and Sarah Farrell, of Yass, in July;
- Thomas Jones, of Cavan. and Lucy Geering, in July.
FULL
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/249556335?searchTerm=Ric...
Yass Tribune Courier - Thursday 31 March 1938 - Page 7
St Clements
ST. CLEMENT'S
Centenary Of Yass
Parish
OPENED FOR SERVICE
IN 1850
(By Mary E. J. Yeo, F.S.A.G.)
VI
(All rights reserved)
The architect for St Clement's
was Mr E. T. Blacket, who designed
so, many of the Church of England
churches. It was opened for
service in April, 1850, but was not
consecrated till January 8, 1852.
The first five baptisms in the
second church, the first to be called
St Clement's, were Philadelphia,
d. of George and Margaret Groves,
of Yass.. 2. James, son. of James,
and Marie Quinnell. Yass. 3. Eliza,
d. of William and Mary Pilkington,
Yass, schoolmaster. Alfred, s. of
Richard and Mary Ann Mallyon,
Yass, publican. 5. Mary Ann d. of Thos
and Ann Miller, Yass.
The first marriages in the new
church were James Peter and Elizabeth
Flood, both of Wagga, in
April; John Colls and Seccy Sophia
Meredith, in May; Richard Parkhurst
of Albury, and Eliza Mulcahy,
of Yass in June; George Bliss, of
Mullion Forest, and Sarah Farrell,
ol Yass, in July; Thomas Jones, of
Cavan. and Lucy Geering, in July.
Bishop Broughton visited Yass
each time he came on his rounds. He
always examined the denominational
school, which was the first school in
the church paddock, nearly on the
street alignment. Later, when the
present church hall was built for a
school, the school near the street
became the schoolmaster's residence.
The late Miss Pembroke told me she
lived there for a few years.
Mr. Brigstocke was generous to
a fault, but was no good at speaking
ex tempore. He had no equal
as a reader.
Parson Brigstocke died in 1859,
ageid 53, being seriously ill for
some time. In his time Tumut was
cut off from Yass parish, also Gundagai.
The Rev. E. Synge succeeded
Mr. Brigstocke temporarily.
First Bazaar
In January, 1860, a bazaar was
held for the tower and £238 was
realised, the ladies presiding being
Mesdames Allman, Grovenor, Rees
Jones, Devereux, Misses Godfrey,
Taylor and Abbot. Probably it was
this,. following on the subscriptions,
that enabled the galvanised spire to
be erected on the tower in September.
On January 16 the Rev. Synge
resigned the incumbency of St.
Clement's after a few months. In
April, 1863, a festival took place in
the Court House for the new school
building for St. Clement's. There
was a tea meeting followed by a
(Concert. Canon Kemmis, the chief
speaker, said £400 was in 'hand' but
£600 was needed.
In .March, 1864, Canon Kemmis,
of St. Clement's, received an appointment
at St. Mark's, Darling
Point. He was the last of the
clergy to receive State aid, and
when going stipulated that his annual
£200 State aid should come to
Yass to his death. For many years
the Yass parish received this State
aid, and on Canon Kemmis death
it was much harder for the parish
to raise the stipend as people had
not been in the way of giving. It
was a bad thing in the long run.
Lillingston
Canon Kemmis' successor was the
Rev. F. A. Lillingston. who was a
relative of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
He came in March, 1863,
and stayed seven years, in which
he did good work, had numerous
controversies, one strenuous one
over getting the peal of bells, another
over the schoolmasters, etc.,
etc.
The greatest was a wordy warfare
in the "Courier" with men who
did not sign their names but apparently
followed Rome, which Lillingston
certainly did not. One letter
even said that the writer would
never pass over the Rossi Street
bridge after nightfall lest the two,
reverent gentleman were lying in
wait for one another with a gun.
It was, I think, largely fanned by,
two men of superior education who
fell foul of the parson, and perhaps
because a school-teacher (a cleric)
went over to Rome. When a few
of these men left Yass the matter
died down for some years, till one
day on opening their papers practically
every man in Yass burst into
roars of laughter.
Many years prior to this, a Yass
man willed five allotments in Cooma
Street to the Roman Catholic
Church. Later he died and his executors
also died, till it became
Cornelius O'Brien's turn to be executor
for those five Cooma Street
allotments. And Cornelius O'Brien
also died. He was a Roman Catholic
himself, but in making his will,
he trusted none of his own but
made the Rev. F. A. Lillingston his
executor ! As all the other executors
had died, the only executor remaining
was the Rev. F. A. Lillingston,
and so he was executor and
trustee for much Roman Catholic
land. Needless to say, he lost no
time in passing it all over.
The "Yass Courier" of September
1864, gives an account of St.
Clement's Bible Class and Tea Meeting
It was held in the Church of
England School and no fewer than
seventy ladies and gentlemen gathered
on the invitation of the Rev.
F A. and Mrs. Lillingston to have
tea and hear the tow prize essays
read. The Bible Class was begun on
Mr. Lillingston's arrival. First prize
went to Mr. J. P. Ritchie, son of the
late Presbyterian minister, on "Justification
by Faith." His prize was
"Expository Thoughts on the Gospels."
The second prize was won
by Mr. Bracken (teacher of St.
Clement's School), who received a
copy of "Baxter's Saints' Rest."
The Bishop, Dr. Mesac Thomas,
visited Yass, 8/8/64, and was met
at O'Brien's bridge by numbers of
ladies and gentlemen. He had come
to open a branch of the Church Society
in Yass. Mr. Hamilton Hume,
the explorer, was one of those who
attended this meeting.
The New School
The "Courier" of October 29,
1864, tells us that tenders were
called for St. Clement's Schoolroom.
This settles a much discussed
question, some even saying that
the present Church Hall was the first
school. But that was turned into
a school-master's residence in the
Bracken time. The Bishop came up
to lay the foundation stone in December,
1864.
Among the town improvements
in 1865, the "Courier" stated that
the work at St. Clement's Schools
had been passed as far as gone and
that Mr. Downey, the contractor,
was also building the Wesleyan
Parsonage and the old building
(now pulled down) next to the old
Globe at the same time.
On October 15, 1865, we read
that a new bell was used for the
first time at St. Clement's Church.
It was twice as big as the old one
that was to be erected at the new
school house, now nearly completed.
Mr. Bracken resigned as teacher
and was succeeded by Mr. Pembroke,
of Goulburn.
It was advertised that the new
advertised
bell was to ring half an hour before
service, and again ten minutes before.
The opening of the new school
room is recorded in the "Courier"
on November 15, 1865.
1868
St. Clement's Church, 1868,
Easter meeting appointed Mr. Wilkinson
trustees' warden; Mr. Allman,
clergy's warden; Mr. Muelfing,
pewholders' warden, and Mr. Pembroke,
the teacher at St. Clement's
School.
It was in 1868 also that Mr. Thos.
Laidlaw gave four acres for a cemetery
next to the Presbyterian one,
as the old church yard was getting
too full. He also fenced it as soon
was it was consecrated.. Mr. W. F.
Wilkinson did the conveyancing
and Mr. Wilbraham Edwards surveyed
it and made a plan of the
paths free of cost. Mr. Crago offered
to keep the walks and graves in
St. Clement's enclosure clean and
free from weeds for £3 a year.
Archdeacon
Early in 1869 Rev. F. A. Lillingston
was appointed Archdeacon and
the "Courier" says the Bishop went
up the hill to consecrate the new
cemetery. The school was taken
out to Douro for a treat, and the
Lord Bishop of Goulburn handed
out the prizes.
In February a presentation was
made to the Venerable Archdeacon
Lillingston on his promotion. There
were many there. Mr Wilbraham
Edwards presented an archdeacon's
hat, college cap,preacher's gown
and cassock of corded silk. Mr
Shipway gave him the necessary gaiters.
him
The story of the peal of bells
must be told again. It may have
hastened Mr. Lillingston's departure
from Yass, which happened very
early in 1872. He went to England
and was left a sum of money (£50,
I think) by Mr. Hamilton Hume.
