The Churches at Heathcote
Like many other towns and small settlements in central and north-central Victoria, Heathcote as a town owes its birth and development to the discovery of gold. In Heathcote’s case this occurred in late 1852 when gold was discovered along the McIvor Creek. Before this time, the whole area was simply part of huge squatting runs and relatively few Europeans were present. By 1983 it is estimated that some 20,000 people were on the McIvor Diggings.1
Whilst we have records dating back to 1849 of priests administering to Catholics in the general area, existing records suggest that the first resident priest was Fr Patrick Birch who probably arrived in 1857 and was certainly living in the fledgling town of Heathcote in 1858. The first Catholic church seems to have been built at this time. It was a large weatherboard chapel at the southern end of the town, at Brightwell’s Hill. It also began duty as a school in 1859. Randell (see footnote) notes that in August of 1861 a fund raising ‘Soiree’ was held at this school and though both a harmonium and piano were on hand, the former was quite unplayable!
On Mon 8th Dec, 1862 one of the most violent storms in Heathcote’s history flattened the wooden chapel/school. Fortunately the schoolchildren had left a little earlier. Although the church was re-erected, this was only a temporary measure . On March 13th, 1864, the foundation stone for a new church was laid at the site of the present-day church (crnr Polhman and Ebden Sts). The ceremony was performed by Archbishop Goold assisted by Dean Hayes of Geelong and Fr. M. Branigan who had, by this time, succeeded Fr McCarthy as the Parish Priest. (see list of parish priests on page ). Tenders had been called for the work in late 1863.2 The new church, called St Mary’s, was consecrated on Oct. 22nd, 1865. At 3pm, Benediction was held and it was made known that anyone wishing to attend could buy their ticket at the gate for two shillings and sixpence! Right from the very early days, these country parishes knew how to raise money for parish works!
It should be noted that, for a short time there was a second Catholic Church in Heathcote. This began life as a brick school house, apparently at the same site as the original school on ‘Brightwell’s Hill. It was called the Sacred Heart School and operated from about 1910 until 1926 when the Holy Rosary School (at the Presentation Convent near the site of the present church) began. The old ‘South’ school seems to have been vacant until 1959 when it was used as a church, continuing in this role until the early 1970s when it was sold.
In an interesting quirk of history, the ‘unplayable’ harmonium mentioned by Randell in connection with the first (wooden) school has been replaced, in what was the brick school, by a magnificent organ! This was after the old brick schoolhouse had been sold ,first in 1973 to Mr & Mrs Glonek, then to the present owners , Mr & Mrs Terrill, in 1999. They are both organ lovers.3 Of further interest is the fact that the ‘South Heathcote’ church was supplied with statues, furnishings and other items which came from the Costerfield church, long since closed.
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It is now difficult to obtain details concerning the overall ‘style’ of the first ‘St Mary’s’ brick church, but the new ‘Our Lady Help of Christians,built in 1917, is generally regarded as being a significant example of Neo-Romanesque/Edwardian style featuring red brick, stucco, and arched windows. The angular nave ceiling is perhaps, are a nod towards the Gothic style. It was designed by Kempson and Conolly, a Melbourne firm of architects, and built by J. O’Donnell of Ascot Vale. 4The earlier church, from what we can see in photographs, has much more affinity with the Gothic revival style.
One of the most significant aspects of the newer church is its beautiful stained glass windows. The glass and lead were imported from Italy and the windows designed by William Weildon, an English emigrant. He worked for the firm of Brookes Robinson in Melbourne.
Also of interest in the newer church is a wall hanging designed by the well-known artist and (then) Heathcote resident, Leonard French. This was installed during the time of Fr Frank Marriott who knew the artist. Indeed, it was Leonard French who approached Fr. Marriott seeking his support for a campaign to prevent the State Government from establishing a toxic waste dump in the nearby Dargile Forest.5 At about this time also, the church roof was extensively renovated via a Heritage Loan from the City of Greater Bendigo.6
In 2004, a new Grotto in the church grounds was blessed and dedicated to all past and present parishioners. It was designed and built by a local, Dennis Carroll with assistance from others including electrician, Ron Traynor. Some of the stones used were taken from church sites at Tooborac and Redesdale.7 A little earlier (2000) a local, Dennis McCarthy, handcrafted and donated a new lectern from local Ironbark timber.
- The interested reader is directed to J.O. Randell’s McIvor: A History of the Shire and the Township of Heathcote, Published by the author, 1985. ↩︎
- Information here and following from Randell op.cit., and from the official Parish history: The Catholic Parish of Heathcote – a history. M.McKenzie McHarg & R. Traynor, Privately published, 1997. ↩︎
- https://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/Heathcote.html ↩︎
- McKenzie McHarg, M. and Traynor, R. 1997, The Catholic Parish of Heathcote – A History. Published by the authors ↩︎
- See; Making a Difference; Conversations with Mons F.K. Marriott. Carbarita Press, 2025. ↩︎
- Traynor, R. and Bier, S. 2017. Centenary Booklet update, Published by the authors. ↩︎
- Traynor, R. 2007. Continuing History of St Mary’s Parish Heathcote. Published by the author. ↩︎
