To Know Christ. To Serve Christ. To Proclaim Christ.

MORE HISTORY

By 1863 a meeting of interested persons and church members was arranged to discuss the erection of a church at which twenty residents were each asked to collect ten pounds:a bazaar was also arranged to be held in March 1864. By April 206 pounds 6 shillings had been subscribed, plus a grant of 200 pounds from the Council of the Diocese.

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The Foundation Stone was laid July 5, 1864, by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Charles Darling, and the opening and dedication took place on January 2, 1865. The building erected was the nave only.

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The Sunday School Hall, facing Langhorne St, was built of Tasmanian Jarrah and opened in 1905. In 1929 societies of the church combined to buy the present pipe organ from St Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral at Ballarat. This organ of electric and pneumatic action was placed in St James' in 1930 and is still played and appreciated each Sunday.

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St James has been inseparably involved with the life of this community for over 150 years. In that time countless people have found inspiration and strength for their lives within its walls. But St James would only be merely a museum if it were only a building linked with the past. What gives it meaning is that it is the home of a vibrant, multi-cultural and growing Christian family, where people gather to experience the beauty, love and peace which are the gifts of God.

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May St James' Dandenong continue as a blessing of ministry to its community both now and for generations to follow!