Melbourne Unitarian Peace Memorial Church Information

The Melbourne Unitarian Church is one of the oldest religious organisations in Victoria. The Church was first established on the 29th of November, 1852, although there is some prior history. For example, it is very fitting that the first recorded Unitarian on Australian soil was not a member of the establishment, but rather a convict. The Reverand Thomas Fysche Palmer, was sentenced to writing "seditious and inflammatory writing", specifically a tract against the corrupt property franchises in elections to the House of Commons, and was sent to Botany Bay arriving in 1794. Rev. Palmer died in a Spanish prison, accused of being a British spy, in Guam in 1802 after having completed his sentence and attempting to return to England. The next Unitarian minister to visit Australia was the Reverend Maxell Davidson in 1851, being the first Minister to arrive in Melbourne. This was a fortuitous time, as public concern over the lack of church attendance (only 1 in 8), led to hefty public financing of places of Christian worship, which was aided by the influx of immigration resulting from the gold rush and the prosperity that brought. The first church meeting was held at the home of James Duerdin and was attended by ten others, including the Rev. Davidson and the first chief justice of Victoria, Sir William a'Beckett, who took up the role as committee chair. The first service was held at the Mechanics Institute (later the Athaneum Theatre) on January 30, 1853 which was attended by some 40 to 50 families with a sermon entitled "On the Unity of God". Setting a precedent that would follow for the Church's history, Rev. Davidson espoused not only the importance of the involvement of Unitarians in community development, but also the necessity for a religion to be rational, lest the situation arise that all social institutions and structures become irrational. If the great leading article of a creed be a contradiction of the intellect, or understand, or reason, then the whole religious system must be supported by contradictions and absurdities... if a nation's faith be superstitious and irrational,and they sincerely believe it, then all the laws and customs, and institutions will, in some degree, be tinged with irrationality. With the establishment of a building fund which included support by two parliamentarians (Archibald Michie and William Nicholson), the aforementioned chief justice William a'Beckett, and a natural scientist, Dr. Godfrey Howitt, and provision of allotments from the Colonial Secretary, the Melbourne Unitarian Church's foundation stone was laid on July 1853, in what was then Grey Street West, now Cathedral Place. The building was striking, to say the least; whereas other Christian churchs in Melbourne were in a traditional style of peaked roof and spire, the Melbourne Unitarian Church had a thoroughly Hellenic pagan presentation, complete with ionic columns! In comparison to his congregation however, Rev. Davidson was considered somewhat theologically and socially conservative. Indeed, in correspondence he complained that several families calling themselves "Unitarian" were probably "deistical or infidel", along with a number of atheists. The establishment of "renting" seats in the church and reserving them for men, was controversial although common among Anglican Church's as well. He clashed with the Church committee of management for refusing a visiting clergyman the pulpit as he had a reputation for socialistic views. In 1857, faced with ill-health and a dissenting congregation, Rev. Davidson resigned and returned to England.