City of Darebin Heritage Study Volume 1 Draft Thematic

VOLUME 2: THEMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY7 COMMUNITY AND CULTUREIntroductionDarebin’s people established their communities largely through the formation of churches andearly schools. The changes in these communities over the years reflect the cultural origins ofthe waves of Darebin’s settlers.The great majority of Darebin’s children have been educated in the State school system sinceits beginning in 1873, and some of the area’s schools demonstrate the evolution of the systemover a century.A major theme in Darebin’s history is the use of its lands for large State health institutions,particularly psychiatric hospitals, although such institutions have had little impact on Darebin’scommunity, apart from, perhaps, as a source of local employment.Darebin has rich history of community organisations such as libraries, friendly societies andother cultural institutions. It has also always had a lively sporting culture.This chapter incorporates the following themes:AAVHistory4.3 Places of recreation; 6 Associations with missions and schoolsAHT 6. Educating; 7.6 Administering Australia; 8 Developing Australia’s Cultural Life; 9Marking the phases of life.7.1 WorshippingFounding churchesWhen Europeans settlers began to put down roots in Darebin - as in most parts of Victoria -they founded community institutions brought from their home countries. In most cases, thefirst institution to mark the founding of a new community was a church, so churches reflectboth the cultural origins of their founders and the beginnings of a particular community.Churches usually commenced in borrowed buildings - barns, private homes, and later schoolsor pubic halls - before a church building was erected.In nineteenth century Darebin, particularly the Preston area, Methodism was the earliest andmost prolific Christian denomination in terms of church building and membership. In 1891,25.33% of Preston’s population were Methodist, compared with 13.86% in Victoria generally.The Anglicans were also strongly represented, with 39.65% in Preston compared with 36.65%in Victoria, although many people were nominally Anglicans rather than active worshippingmembers. By contrast, Presbyterians, who were of Scottish background, and Roman Catholics,who where overwhelmingly Irish, numbered well below the Victorian average in Darebin(Forster, 1968:34).Particular BaptistOne of the earliest churches in Preston was the Particular Baptist Church, formed by a groupof families who migrated together from Sussex as noted in Chapter 2. They built a chapel inHigh Street near Percival Street in 1856, but seem to have had a falling out with each other atsome stage. When the chapel fell into disrepair, they held services in a nearby library known asthe Preston Public Library (see below) until 1890s (Forster, 1968:25).99