All Saints Anglican Church
All Saints Anglican Church - Former Rookwood Railway Station. unknown date - Photograph supplied by Steve Kemp
All Saints Anglican Church - Memorial Window unknown date - Ian Bevege

All Saints' Anglican Church

Ainslie, ACT 2602

Church Information

Church Name: All Saints' Anglican Church
Church Previous Name: -
Denomination: Anglican Church of Australia
Street Address: 9 Cowper St, Ainslie ACT 2602, Australia
Suburb: Ainslie
State: ACT
Postcode: 2602
Foundation Stone Laid: 01-06-1958
Foundation Stone Notes: 

A plaque records: This Plaque - commemorates the skill and devotion - of - Stanley Carlton Taunton - Parishioner and builder of this church.

A plaque records: The stonework of this church was - originally used to build the first - mortuary station on the branch - railway to the Necropolis Rookwood - near Sydney. This plaque was - presented by The Australian Railway - Historical Society to commemorate - the old station which was - in use from 1868 to 1948.

Window from St Clement's Attercliffe in Sheffield, used as a memorial window.

A plaque records: To The Glory of God - This stone was blessed by - The Bishop Administrator, - The Rt Rev R G Arthur - and set by His Excellency The High - Commissioner For The Unitd Kingdom - The Right Honourable - Lord Carrington MC - 1st June, 1958 - E G Buckle, Rector - W I Pierce A R I B A .

A plaque records: The Bell of this church was - originally on the first locomotive owned - by The Commonwealth Oil Corporation which - was dismantled in 1925, when the bell was used as a fire alarm at Clyde. - The Bell was donated to The - N S W Steam-Tram and Railway Preservation - Society in 1954 and presented to this church - by that Society in 1958.

A plaque records: War Memorial Window - The east end window was dedicated - on Remembrance Sunday 12th November, 1967 - by The Venerable F M Hill Th L - Archdeacon of Canberra - To the Glory of God and in memory of - those of this parish and district - who gave their lives in The Second World War, - 1939 ~ 1945 - This memorial plaque was unveiled by - His Excellency - Sir Charles Johnston KCMG - High Commissioner for the United Kingdom - The Reverend N J Chynoweth MA Th L - Rector ~ C J Wadie, H S Clarke, W L Perry - Wardens.

A plaque records: The Bishop and Starr Organ housed in this loft - was originally built in London in 1857. - It was brought from The Wealdstone Baptist Church - in Harrow, UK, To All Saints' in 1988/89.- The Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, - The Right Rev Owen Dowling - dedicated the organ on 22nd April, 1990. - The Rev'd Dennis Vanderwolf ~ Rector - James Butt, Geoffrey Brennan, Harry Clarke, Bill Kelly ~ Wardens.

 

Date Opened: 01-11-1959
Date Closed: unknown
Email: admin@churchesaustralia.org

Comments

The All Saints' Anglican Church, Ainslie is in the Parish of Ainslie and the Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn. The first church service in Ainslie was held on 10/10/1938, in the public hall in Corroboree Park. A site was later selected for a church hall in Cowper Street, with the foundation stone laid in 1941. With a shortage of materials, little progress was made during or immediately after WWII. The building was eventually erected by a parishioner, Mr Stan Taunton, and dedicated on 12/4/1953. Services were now held in the new building, and effort given to finding a worthy place for worship. This led to the purchase, in 1958, of the Rockwood Cemetery Mortuary Station building, erected there in 1868, but unused from about 1939, being dismantled and transported to Ainslie and re-erected, with modifications, as the All Saints' church. The building was opened and dedicated on All Saints' Day, 1/11/1959, and consecated on 1/11/1975. To meet the needs of the congregation additional modifications have been carried out over the years. More historical information/photographs of the church/congregation are invited. Photographs uploaded 18/2/2019.

For more of the story see - Deep and lasting foundations - parishes of the Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn 2013, Edited by Kevin Stone and Charles Body, ISBN 9781921577222, 2013, Barton Books, Canberra. AND  A Station of The Cross - All Saints’ Church of England, Ainslie, Canberra, A.C.T., authored by Rev. E.G. Buckle, National Printers Pty. Ltd, Canberra.

 

Last Updated: Tuesday 4th November, 2025
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