100 Years Celebration for Saint Columba’s Church

10th Mar 2026

Saint Columba’s Presbyterian Church in Guyra will celebrate a milestone this month. It will be 100 years since the foundation stone was laid and the occasion will be marked with a special service which is being held on Sunday March 15th.
Presbyterianism in the Guyra Area District commenced in about 1853. The first minister was Dr. Thomas Johnstone who was inducted at Armidale 1857. He dedicated the Presbyterian church at Wandsworth on April 11th 1886.
The Guyra Wandsworth Parish for the Presbyterian Church was formed on 1st January 1908.On 6th January the first congregational meeting was held and a committee formed. The Rev W.H. Bradley was inducted as the first minister in charge of Ben Lomond, Wandsworth and Guyra on 28th March 1908. Regular quarterly meetings were held in Guyra.
From the inception of the Guyra Wandsworth charge until the dedication of Saint Columba’s Church on November 26th, 1926 there was no Presbyterian Church building in Guyra.
Services were held in the Union Church in Ollera Street where now the Uniting Church stands. This land was granted as a site for a church. A small wooden building was erected by the Presbyterian and Methodist Bodies and trustees were appointed.
In June 1912 the Rev. E. Norman McKie was inducted as the new minister of the Guyra Presbyterian Church. The site on which church stands today was purchased in 1916 and after many delays and postponements the task of erecting the church was put in hand and the foundation stone was laid on March 31st 1926, in the presence of over 300 hundred people. Designed by Messrs Power, Adams and Munnings, architects of Sydney, the contractor was C.F. Nott Armidale. The contract price was 4728 pounds and the work were to be supervised by R.N Hickson of Armidale.
Copies of several newspapers and a record of seventy men of the Guyra Wandsworth Presbyterian congregation who enlisted in the Great War for service of their country, nineteen of whom made the supreme sacrifice, were deposited under the foundation stone laid by Mrs. Marjory Jackson.
The Right Rev R. Scott West, Moderator General, conducted the opening and dedication of the new church on 26th November, 1926
A commemorative Church Service will be held on Sunday 15th March at 9am at St Columba’s Presbyterian Church follow by morning tea. Everyone is welcome

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100 Years Celebration for Saint Columba’s Church

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