The Merrington ANZAC Memorial Peace Chapel

The Chapel, a transept within the church building, has recently been refurbished, along with restoration of the Honour Boards, new lighting and signage through grants from the State and Commonwealth Governments.

During World War I the Rev. Dr Ernest Merrington, the Minister at Saint Andrew’s at the time, served as a Chaplain with AIF troops at Egypt, Gallipoli and Europe. This Chapel honours him and all those whose names are listed on the Honour Roll Boards. The 265 people named on the Honour Roll Boards had strong links to Saint Andrew’s and the wider Brisbane community.

History

Saint Andrew’s is a congregation within the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA). The UCA was inaugurated in 1977 when Methodist, most Congregational and some Presbyterian churches in Australia united. As an immediate result, in the City of Brisbane, there were three UCA churches in Ann Street.

In 1981, two of them - Ann Street City (formally Congregational with previous links to Wharf Street Congregational Church) and Saint Andrew’s (formerly Presbyterian) amalgamated to form Saint Andrew’s Uniting Church. These two large city congregations began in 1859 and 1862, respectively, so their stories are connected with the growth of Brisbane since colonial days.

Saint Andrew’s Church was designed by architect George Payne and completed in 1905 to replace a prominent Gothic style church in Wickham Terrace, which was to be demolished to enable the extension of the railway line from Central Station to Fortitude Valley by tunnel.