Congregational Church, East Melbourne, circa 1870

Albumen print photograph of a drawing, carte de visite format (104 x 63 mm), captioned ‘Congregational Church’ at lower left, photographer’s studio imprint recto and verso ‘Batchelder & Co., Photo 41 Collins St East, Melbourne’.

In 1870 the studios of Batchelder & Co. were only a ten minute stroll from this church building, which still stands on the corner of Victoria Parade and Simpson Street, East Melbourne. Built in 1862, it was a Congregational Church for over 70 years. (The Congregationalists – sometimes called Independents – are part of the spectrum of Protestantism, and have been practicing their faith in autonomous church communities since the late sixteenth century). In 1937 the building passed into the hands of the Syrian Orthodox Church, and is now the Antiochian Orthodox Church of St Nicholas.

See pictorial and textual data concerning this building in the Winston Burchett archive, East Melbourne Library.