June 2010 . . A Window on the Mt Mee Community Church Building
(Part 2)
The planning, the funding and the work had been undertaken by the entire Mountain Protestant community and it was intended that the building be there for all to use.
It was dedicated as a community church, to be available for services by any and all Protestant denominations. This was later extended to include the Catholic faith as their numbers on the Mountain grew.
However the trustees had to find a repository for the deeds and a sponsor for insurances, and they chose the Methodist Church which had many local followers at that time.
The land and building remain the property of the Uniting Church to this day, and until 2010, it has been managed locally as a truly ecumenical model. Management has been by trustees elected by the community to the Mt Mee Community Church Property Board, with the minister of the time – (visiting at various times from the Kilcoy, Caboolture and Dayboro Methodist and Uniting churches), acting as chairman.
But back to 1922. The community now had a functional building and was able to take a well- deserved break before planning refinements such as a lining, a ceiling, a vestry or even a toilet. But the Great Depression intervened. People struggled through the dark years, and just as some return to prosperity seemed possible, World War Two broke out. Over nearly twenty years there was just one meeting of the Property Board and the building and grounds deteriorated badly.
The first post war meeting of trustees took place in 1948. Plans were laid to undertake some serious maintenance and to proceed with the unfinished work of lining the walls, fitting a ceiling, and providing a vestry and a lavatory. Volunteers Vic Hewitt and Len Pedwell quickly completed much of this work.
In 1951 the S.E.A.Q offer of electricity for an annual charge of twenty five pounds was declined by the Board as “entirely unreasonable”, on the grounds that no night services were envisaged! Times were tight then and the trustees were forced to levy themselves ten shillings each to meet the bill for insurance when it came due.
Some ten years on, maintenance again reared its urgent head and was funded from the proceeds of a stall at the flower show and by donations from individuals and from the Church of England. There was now enough money for connection to the electrical grid and two fluorescent lights and one power point were installed!
The cyclone of 1963 caused widespread damage on the Mountain, partly unroofing the building and badly damaging the ceiling. Fortunately, the insurance was paid up and the policy ensured quick repair. More storm damage occurred in 1983, but by this time the building was in need of a great deal of work.
Much financial assistance had been received from the Anglican Ladies Guild over the years and in 1985, members of this group decided to form a “Mt Mee Church Improvement Fund” to fund restoration.
This Committee next aimed to raise funds to allow the trustees to undertake regular maintenance and to plan and execute improvements to the building and grounds.
This was a turning point in the fortunes of the church and it has never looked back. For nearly thirty years that same Committee continued to raise funds through a variety of activities – particularly by catering for private functions in Caboolture and in the Mt Mee and Woodford Halls. It has been remarkably successful and it has raised many thousands of dollars, to bring financial security at last.
Our church building could tell many tales – tales of determination, of ingenuity and of generosity. It could tell many tales of hardship. It could tell tales of joyful weddings, of proud christenings and of sombre funerals. It could tell tales of gratitude – as when Woodford prison inmates painted the exterior in needy times. It could tell tales of high comedy, such as when Kevin Austin and the Reverend Smith painted the steeply pitched roof. Almost $100 had been raised for the paint with a Tupperware party!
Ladders were lashed together over the ridging and one painter lay on each side with a brush in one hand and a paint pot in the other, to hang on for dear life with his teeth. Each knew full well that his future depended on his counterbalance on the other side – if one slipped, both would have an early interview with St Peter!
While the Catholic and Seventh Day Adventist services of past years are currently in abeyance, the Uniting Church and Anglican services continue with their loyal congregations. The Mt Mee Community Church has become a very popular venue for weddings of couples from far afield and this is a nice little earner.
People of Mt Mee salute the spirit of the early settlers and the tenacity of the trustees and the Improvement Committee who brought our little church building towards it centenary through very testing times.
Together with the nearby School and the Hall, it is our declared heritage precinct.
Long may it survive!
By Ian Wells
However the trustees had to find a repository for the deeds and a sponsor for insurances, and they chose the Methodist Church which had many local followers at that time.
The land and building remain the property of the Uniting Church to this day, and until 2010, it has been managed locally as a truly ecumenical model. Management has been by trustees elected by the community to the Mt Mee Community Church Property Board, with the minister of the time – (visiting at various times from the Kilcoy, Caboolture and Dayboro Methodist and Uniting churches), acting as chairman.
But back to 1922. The community now had a functional building and was able to take a well- deserved break before planning refinements such as a lining, a ceiling, a vestry or even a toilet. But the Great Depression intervened. People struggled through the dark years, and just as some return to prosperity seemed possible, World War Two broke out. Over nearly twenty years there was just one meeting of the Property Board and the building and grounds deteriorated badly.
The first post war meeting of trustees took place in 1948. Plans were laid to undertake some serious maintenance and to proceed with the unfinished work of lining the walls, fitting a ceiling, and providing a vestry and a lavatory. Volunteers Vic Hewitt and Len Pedwell quickly completed much of this work.
In 1951 the S.E.A.Q offer of electricity for an annual charge of twenty five pounds was declined by the Board as “entirely unreasonable”, on the grounds that no night services were envisaged! Times were tight then and the trustees were forced to levy themselves ten shillings each to meet the bill for insurance when it came due.
Some ten years on, maintenance again reared its urgent head and was funded from the proceeds of a stall at the flower show and by donations from individuals and from the Church of England. There was now enough money for connection to the electrical grid and two fluorescent lights and one power point were installed!
The cyclone of 1963 caused widespread damage on the Mountain, partly unroofing the building and badly damaging the ceiling. Fortunately, the insurance was paid up and the policy ensured quick repair. More storm damage occurred in 1983, but by this time the building was in need of a great deal of work.
Much financial assistance had been received from the Anglican Ladies Guild over the years and in 1985, members of this group decided to form a “Mt Mee Church Improvement Fund” to fund restoration.
This Committee next aimed to raise funds to allow the trustees to undertake regular maintenance and to plan and execute improvements to the building and grounds.
This was a turning point in the fortunes of the church and it has never looked back. For nearly thirty years that same Committee continued to raise funds through a variety of activities – particularly by catering for private functions in Caboolture and in the Mt Mee and Woodford Halls. It has been remarkably successful and it has raised many thousands of dollars, to bring financial security at last.
Our church building could tell many tales – tales of determination, of ingenuity and of generosity. It could tell many tales of hardship. It could tell tales of joyful weddings, of proud christenings and of sombre funerals. It could tell tales of gratitude – as when Woodford prison inmates painted the exterior in needy times. It could tell tales of high comedy, such as when Kevin Austin and the Reverend Smith painted the steeply pitched roof. Almost $100 had been raised for the paint with a Tupperware party!
Ladders were lashed together over the ridging and one painter lay on each side with a brush in one hand and a paint pot in the other, to hang on for dear life with his teeth. Each knew full well that his future depended on his counterbalance on the other side – if one slipped, both would have an early interview with St Peter!
While the Catholic and Seventh Day Adventist services of past years are currently in abeyance, the Uniting Church and Anglican services continue with their loyal congregations. The Mt Mee Community Church has become a very popular venue for weddings of couples from far afield and this is a nice little earner.
People of Mt Mee salute the spirit of the early settlers and the tenacity of the trustees and the Improvement Committee who brought our little church building towards it centenary through very testing times.
Together with the nearby School and the Hall, it is our declared heritage precinct.
Long may it survive!
By Ian Wells
N.B.
The above is a continuation of the story run in our May edition about the Mt Mee Community Church building. It has been written as an historic piece, detailing how the church came to be built (in 1922) and how the improvements, maintenance etc was handled over the years. There is pride in the achievements of the generations of mountain residents who been involved in this labour of love, without regard to it relating to a particular religious denomination.
This history has not been commissioned by the church congregation, but is borne out of the community’s deep connection to this building.
