(Contact our archivist, Mrs Judith Kilmartin, via the office if you want more information.)

 

Rev. James Forbes arrived in 1838 with the authority of the Presbytery of New South Wales to establish the Church of Scotland in the new colony of Port Phillip.

He discovered that Rev. James Clow, a "retired" Church of Scotland minister, had already been holding regular services in the region, the first clergyman of any denomination to do so. After some years in India, Clow had retired to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) for health reasons, but could not resist the temptation of exploring new frontiers when people began to settle across the water.

Shortly after Forbes' arrival, and along with all the major denominations present at the time, the Church of Scotland was granted land on which to build its own church, though initially the elders objected to their allocation on the corner of Collins and Russell Streets, believing it was "too far out of town". Time has proven them quite wrong! In God’s providence he has given us a site right at the heart of a thriving metropolis.

The first building erected was a two-room school, which doubled up for Sunday services, but soon the school was able to relocate to its own premises and the foundation stone for the first church building on the present site was laid on 22 January 1841.

Thanks in part to the gold rush, the population of Melbourne expanded very quickly during the 1850s and 60s, and the Scots' Church congregation quickly outgrew that first building. Consequently, the present church was completed in 1874 during the ministry of Rev. Irving Hetherington, although much of the credit for ‘driving’ the building project is usually given to his assistant at the time, Rev. Peter Menzies.

The architect was Joseph Reed, whose firm Reed & Barnes was also responsible for many of the finest buildings that still grace Melbourne, including St Michael's Uniting Church just opposite us on the corner of Collins and Russell, the Town Hall and State Library on Swanston Street, and the world heritage listed Exhibition Building in Carlton.

The builder was David Mitchell, father of Dame Nellie Melba, who both started and finished her singing career in our church choir. Dame Nellie's funeral from Scots' Church still ranks as one of the biggest occasions in our history.

Throughout its history, Scots' Church has always served more than just our own congregation, touching the life of the community of Melbourne and Victoria and even of the Nation.

Her Majesty the Queen has worshipped with us on two occasions, the first in 1961, together with then Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, to unveil a spectacular war memorial mosaic in our entrance vestibule, and the second in 1983 to witness Dame Pattie Menzies presenting Sir Robert’s family crest and flag to Scots’ Church where they are still on display at the front of the church near the reading lectern.

Scots' Church is a place of genuine historical significance, yet its life is not just in the past. It lives now as a centre for the worship of Almighty God, the proclamation of His Word, the gathering of His people, and a beacon for His glory in the heart of the city.