THE CHURCH and its HISTORY

Time Line

1896 First service in district

1898 Opening of first church

1912 Parish of St Peters Hornsby

1913 First church destroyed by bushfire

1923 Present church built (Original church repaired and used as hall)

1929 Pipe organ purchased from St Stephens Willoughby

1957 Church badly damaged by bushfire

1966 Rectory built next to church

1984 Parish centre built

2003 Mandarin Service began

2004 New Rectory purchased in Hornsby

2004 First full time minister for Hornsby Anglican Chinese Church appointed

2005 The Old Rectory was vacated to make way for further Parish Ministry. (Rev Cheng bought his own house)

2008 Hornsby Anglican Chinese Church split off from St Peter's to become a Provisional Recognised Church, with Hooi Wan Cheng as its first Minister.

2008 St Pete's Place became the residence for a Youth Worker (Dan Henby).

Rectors

1896-1901  Reverend Raymond King

1901-1902  Reverend Robert Livingstone

1902-1912  Reverend Sydney Edgar Langford Smith

1912-1924  Reverend Arthur Leslie Wade

1924-1930  Reverend William Gordon Nesbit

1930-1939  Reverend Ernest Cameron

1939-1944  Reverend Colin Ernest Burgess

1944-1948  Reverend George Thorold Earp

1949-1964  Reverend Raymond Stafford Chapple

1964-1976  Reverend Alan William Setchel

1976-1980  Reverend Edward George Newing

1980-2003  Reverend Barry Johnson Bevis

2004-         Reverend Robert John Denham

The Organ

The organ at St Peters is one of the historical organs of NSW. It was built by George Fincham and Sons of Melbourne and originally installed in St Stephens Anglican Church  Willoughby in 1904. It has 20 stops and 7 couplers. In 1929 the organ was bought by St Peters. In 1959 it was restored and converted to electro pneumatic action after being damaged by the bushfire of November 1957. By 2001 the organ was cleaned and repaired.

Stained Glass Windows

Every window in St Peters is stained glass, mostly depicting scenes from the life of Jesus Christ. The  "tripartite" East window was installed in the new church in 1924 as a memorial to the 19 men of the parish who were killed in the first World War (1914-18). The left hand window depicts St Peter. The 18 stained glass windows in the body of the church were installed as memorials from 1950s to 1970s. The porch window, installed in 1998 at the Centenary of St Peters, depicts the commissioning of St Peter by Jesus to be the leader of the early Christian Church. Further information on the windows is available in a pamphlet.   

In 2004 new coverings for the main windows and those along the Pacific Highway side of St Peter's were installed.

GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION:

St Peter's  Parish records of Christenings, Confirmations, Marriages and Funerals have been published in the history of the parish:

  E. Ramsay and L.Silver: Upon This Rock.  

                             (1998, St Peter's Anglican Church Hornsby. ISBN 1 96459 047 5)