1864
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BATHURST
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PARISH OF ST JOSEPH AND ST MARY ORANGE |
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FOUNDED 1864 |
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DIOCESE BATHURST |
| PARISH CHURCH | STATION CHURCHES | HISTORIC CHURCHES | OTHER BUILDINGS |
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PARISH CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART AND ST LAURENCE O'TOOLE |
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| PARISH | CHURCH |
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 | PARISH |
| THE SITE OF ORANGE WAS OFFICIALLY PROCLAIMED ON 18 NOVEMBER 1846 BUT IT WAS THE DISCOVERY OF PAYABLE GOLD AT OPHIR IN 1851 THAT CHANGED THE AREA DRAMATICALLY. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FLOCKED TO THE AREA AND BETWEEN 1851 AND 1871 THE POPULATION OF ORANGE GREW FROM 28 TO 1456 AND BUSINESSES SPRANG UP TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE MINERS. TODAY ORANGE IS A MAJOR INLAND CITY OF 30,000 PEOPLE SURROUNDED BY RICH PROPERTIES AND VINEYARDS. THE PARISH WAS FOUNDED IN 1864 AND INITIALLY COVERED THE AREA SOUTHWARDS AS FAR AS MILTHORPE INCLUDING FOREST REEFS, EAST ORANGE, LUCKNOW, BORENORE, AND LIDSTER. IN THE 30's IT WAS EXTENDED TO INCLUDE MULLION CREEK KERR'S CREEK AND CADIA WHILE MILTHORPE AND FOREST REEFS WERE TRANSFERRED TO BLAYNEY. IN THE 50's A NEW STATION WAS OPENED AT GLENROI HEIGHTS AND WITH MULLION CREEK WAS ATTACHED TO THE NEW PARISH OF ORANGE EAST. DECLINING CONGREGATIONS AND VOCATIONS LED TO THE CLOSURE OF MANY STATIONS AND THE SUPPRESSION OF THE LATTER PARISH. TODAY THE PARISH COMPRISES ONLY ORANGE, EAST ORANGE AND MULLION CREEK. NEXT |
| CHURCH |  | THE BEAUTIFUL CHUCH OF ST JOSEPH WAS DESIGNED BY EDWARD GELL, WHO ALSO DESIGNED THE CHURCH AT ROCKLEY. THE NAVE WAS COMPLETED IN 1870 AND THE TRANSEPTS WERE ADDED IN 1897. THE ROOF WAS BUILT OF SLATE AND THERE ARE UNUSUAL GABLED VENTILATORS ON THE RIDGE OF THE NAVE. FROM THE SOUTHWEST THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL NAVE AND TOWER AND THE LATER TRANSEPTS CAN BE CLEARLY SEEN. OF SPECIAL NOTE IS THE DELIGHTFUL DECORATIVE WORK ON THE UNUSUALLY SHAPED TOWER AND SPIRE. TOP STATION CHURCHES |
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| STATION CHURCHES | |
| MULLION CREEK | ORANGE EAST |
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| CHURCH OF ST BRENDAN, MULLION CREEK | |
 | THE TINY COMMUNITY OF MULLION CREEK LIES ON THE ROAD TO OPHIR, WHERE THE FIRST PAYABLE GOLD WAS DISCOVERED IN NSW. BUILT IN THE 30's THE EXTERIOR OF THE LITTLE CHURCH OF ST BRENDAN BELIES ITS INTERIOR. LINED WITH WOODEN PANELLING AND MATCHING FURNITURE IT IS A GEM OF ECCLESIASTICAL DECORATION. THE PRESENT ENTRANCE IS LOCATED AT THE ORIGINAL EAST END. AT THE OTHER END OF THE CHURCH THE ORIGINAL PORCH AND STAIRS STILL EXIST THOUGH NO LONGER USED. TOP STATION CHURCHES NEXT |
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| CHURCH OF MARY, ORANGE EAST | |
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| THE GROWTH OF ORANGE AS A MAJOR INLAND TOWN MEANT AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF MASS CENTRES TO SERVE THE GROWING POPULATION. ST MARY'S WAS A RESPONSE TO THIS NEED. ESTABLISHED AS A STATION OF ORANGE IN THE 20's IT BECAME A PARISH IN 1956 INCLUDING GLENROI HEIGHTS, LUCKNOW AND MULLION CREEK. BY THE LATE 20th CENTURY THE PARISH HAD BEEN REDUCED TO THE PARISH CHURCH AND GLENROI HEIGHTS AND WITH THE CONTINUING DECLINE IN THE AVAILABILITY OF PRIESTS IT WAS SUPPRESSED IN THE NEW MILLENIUM AND REJOINED TO ORANGE. NEXT | |
| FIRST CHURCH OF ST MARY, ORANGE EAST |  |
| THE FIRST CHURCH OF ST MARY WAS BUILT IN 1926 ON A SITE TO THE EAST OF THE PRESENT CHURCH. FOR 60 YEARS IT SERVED THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, 30 OF THEM AS PARISH CHURCH. IN 1988 IT WAS FELT A LARGER CHURCH WAS NEEDED AND THE OLD ONE WAS DEMOLISHED AND THE LAND SOLD TO THE NSW DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. A REMINDER OF THE OLD CHURCH IS CONTAINED IN THE GARDEN OF THE PRESENT CHURCH IN THE FORM OF THE STATUE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, PATRONESS OF THE CHURCH, BROUGHT FROM THE ORIGINAL SITE. NEXT |
 | SECOND CHURCH OF ST MARY, ORANGE EAST |
| THE PRESENT CHURCH OF ST MARY WAS BUILT IN 1988 BETWEEN THE CONVENT OF THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY AND THE NEW SCHOOL. A MODERN CHURCH IN THE SHAPE OF A DIAMOND WITH A DOMINATING CROSS RISING FROM THE APEX, THE CHURCH EPITOMISES THE POST VATICAN II APPROACH TO CHURCH ARCHITECTURE. TOP STATION CHURCHES HISTORIC CHURCHES |
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| HISTORIC CHURCHES | ||||||
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| BORENORE | CADIA | GLENROI HEIGHTS | KERR'S CREEK | LIDSTER | LUCKNOW | |
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| CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART, BORENORE | |
 | BORENORE WAS A SMALL GOLDMINING SETTLEMENT SOME 12KM FROM ORANGE. TODAY IT IS AN AREA OF VINEYARDS AND WINERIES BUT LITTLE IN THE WAY OF PERMANENT POPULATION. A STATION OF ORANGE FROM THE BEGINNING, IT WAS NOTABLE FOR BEING THE SITE OF THE FIFTH CONVENT TO BE FOUNDED FROM PERTHVILLE BY THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH. THE ORIGINAL CHURCH WAS A ROOM OF THE FIRST CONVENT. THE BUILDING OF THE SECOND CONVENT IN 1880 WAS FOLLOWED BY THE CHURCH IN 1881. IT REMAINED THE STATION CHURCH UNTIL THE LATE 70's WHEN IT WAS CLOSED. IT WAS LATER SOLD ALONG WITH THE TWO CONVENTS AND CONVERTED INTO A RESTAURANT. NEXT |
| THE CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART AT BORENORE IS BUILT IN GOTHIC STYLE WITH A PLAIN NAVE AND A LEAN-TO STYLE CLOSED PORCH. POINTED WINDOWS AND MOCK BUTRESSES STRESS THE GOTHIC ASPECT OF THE BUILDING. A FASCINATING FEATURE IS THE CHIMNEY ON THE SOUTH SIDE. THE AREA AROUND BORENORE IS EXTREMELY COLD IN WINTER AND WITHOUT ELECTRICITY FIRES WERE THE ONLY MEANS OF HEATING THE CHURCH FOR EARLY MORNING MASS. THIS FEATURE, ONCE COMMON IN COUNTRY CHURCHES, IS RARELY SEEN TODAY. TOP HISTORIC CHURCHES NEXT |  |
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| CHURCH OF ST BRIGID, CADIA |
| CADIA WAS THE SITE OF A MAJOR MINING OPERATION SOUTH-WEST OF ORANGE DURING THE MID 20th CENTURY. FROM THE 1930's A STATION CHURCH OF ORANGE EXISTED HERE FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS BEFORE BEING CLOSED AND DEMOLISHED. TOP HISTORIC CHURCHES NEXT |
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| CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY, GLENROI HEIGHTS | |
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| GLENROI HEIGHTS IS A SOUTHERN SUBURB OF ORANGE LYING TO THE WEST OF THE HIGHWAY AS IT LEAVES THE CITY. THE STATION CHURCH AT GLENROI HEIGHTS WAS BUILT DURING THE 50's TO RELIEVE THE PRESSURE ON THE OLD CHURCH AT ORANGE EAST AND BECAME PART OF THAT PARISH WHEN IT WAS FORMED. WITH THE BUILDING OF THE NEW LARGER PARISH CHURCH, THE NEED FOR A SEPARATE CHURCH ENDED AND IT WAS CLOSED AND SOLD IN ABOUT 2001. IT IS CURRENTLY IN USE AS A BAPTIST CHURCH. NEXT | |
| CHURCH |  |
| THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY WAS BUILT IN THE 1950's AND REFLECTS ITS TIME. THE STRUCTURE IS ESSENTIALLY TRADITIONAL BUT THE MATERIALS AND DESIGN ARE MODERN. THE A-FRAME WAS A POPULAR STYLE OF BUILDING THROUGHOUT THE 50's AND 60's ESPECIALLY FOR CHURCHES. IN THIS CASE IT IS GIVEN A CERTAIN INDIVIDUALITY BY THE SMALL A-FRAME EXTENSIONS ALONG EACH SIDE, THE LAST OF WHICH IS FILLED IN WITH GLASS TO HIGHLIGHT THE SANCTUARY AREA. THE ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH IS HIGHLIGHTED BY A STANDING CROSS WHICH ACTS AS A SUPPORT FOR THE OPEN PORCH OVER THE MAIN DOORS. OPEN AISLES LEAD DOWN EACH SIDE TO THE SIDE DOORS WHILE THE LARGE "A" IS INFILLED ALONG ITS EDGE WITH COLOURED GLASS. THE EASE WITH WHICH THE CHURCH WAS CONVERTED INTO A PROTESTANT CHURCH IS A REFLECTION OF THE STANDARDISATION OF CHURCH ARCHITECTURE THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD. TOP HISTORIC CHURCHES NEXT |
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| CHURCH OF ST THERESE, KERR'S CREEK |
| KERR'S CREEK WAS ONE OF A SERIES OF RAILWAY SETTLEMENTS ALONG THE LINE BETWEEN ORANGE AND WELLINGTON. TODAY MOST OF THEM ARE MERE DOTS ON THE MAP. A STATION CHURCH OF ORANGE EXISTED HERE FROM THE 1930's TO THE 1960's. WITH THE ADVENT OF NEW ENGINES AND THE DECLINE OF RAIL TRAVEL PEOPLE MOVED ON AND THE CHURCH WAS CLOSED AND LATER DEMOLISHED. TOP HISTORIC CHURCHES NEXT |
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| CHURCH OF ST CARTHAGE, LIDSTER |
| LIDSTER, ORIGINALLY NAMED GERMAN HILL AFTER THE NATIONALITY OF AN EARLY SETTLER, WAS ONE OF THE FIRST STATIONS OF ORANGE. AN AREA OF SMALL HOLDINGS BUT WITH AN ACTIVE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IT WAS NOTABLE FOR BEING THE LOCATION OF THE SECOND FOUNDATION OF THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH OR PERTHVILLE IN 1874. A CHURCH WAS BUILT HERE IN THE LATE 1800's AND CONTINUED IN USE UNTIL THE 1960's WHEN THE DECLINE IN THE RURAL POPULATION LED TO ITS CLOSURE AND DEMOLITION. TOP HISTORIC CHURCHES NEXT |
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| CHURCH OF ST MARY, LUCKNOW |
| LUCKNOW ON THE HIGHWAY SOUTH OF ORANGE WAS THE SITE OF A GOLD FIND IN THE MID 1800's. TODAY IT IS A SMALL SETTLEMENT KNOWN FOR ITS CRAFT AND ANTIQUE SHOPS. AN EARLY STATION OF ORANGE IT WAS TRANSFERRED TO ORANGE EAST IN 1956. IT WAS CLOSED DUE TO DECLINING CONGREGATIONS IN THE 1960's. THE CHURCH OF ST MARY SERVED THE LOCAL COMMUNITY FOR OVER A 100 YEARS UNTIL IT WAS CLOSED AND SOLD IN THE 60's. IT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY DEMOLISHED AND NO TRACE OF IT REMAINS. TOP HISTORIC CHURCHES OTHER BUILDINGS |
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| OTHER BUILDINGS | |||||||
| BORENORE JOSEPHITE CONVENT |
ORANGE EAST DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY CONVENT | ||||||
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| CONVENT OF ST JOSEPH, BORENORE | |
 | SECOND CONVENT OF ST JOSEPH, BORENORE |
| IN 1875 THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH OF PERTHVILLE FOUNDED THEIR SECOND CONVENT NEAR ORANGE AT BORENORE. THE ORIGINAL CONVENT WAS A SLAB HOUSE ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE PRESENT CONVENT WHICH WAS ALSO USED AS A SCHOOL AND CHURCH. IN 1880 FATHER TENNISON WOODS BLESSED THE FOUNDATIONS STONE OF A NEW TWO ROOM BRICK CONVENT AND THIS BUILDING STILL STANDS AS PART OF THE BORENORE COMPLEX. IT WAS SOLD AND TODAY IT IS USED AS A BED AND BREAKFAST. NEXT | |
| THIRD CONVENT OF ST JOSEPH, BORENORE |  |
| IN 1921 WHEN MORE SPACE WAS NEEDED FOR CLASSES A NEW CONVENT WITH ADJOINING SCHOOL WAS BUILT BEHIND THE CHURCH. THE NUNS LIVED HERE UNTIL 1969 WHEN THEY WITHDREW FROM THE VILLAGE AND THE CONVENT WAS SOLD. TODAY IT IS USED AS A BED AND BREAKFAST. TOP OTHER BUILDINGS NEXT |
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| CONVENT OF THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY, ORANGE EAST | |
 | IN 1926 BISHOP O'FARRELL INVITED THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY TO COME TO BATHURST. THEY SETTLED IN ORANGE AND WERE ASSOCIATED FROM THE BEGINNING WITH EAST ORANGE PARISH. THE CONVENT, A MAGNIFICENT AUSTRALIAN COLONIAL MANSION WITH EXQUISITE IRON FILIGREE WORK WAS BUILT NEXT TO THE SCHOOL WHICH WAS RUN BY THE NUNS UNTIL THE LATE 1900's. WITH THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE NUNS THE CONVENT WAS SOLD AND TODAY IT HOUSES A PRIVATE BUSINESS. TOP STATION CHURCHES HISTORIC CHURCHES OTHER BUILDINGS |
