History of St George's, Dunsborough

Where we are located

St George’s Church is located on the corner of Gibney Street and Naturaliste Terrace in the lovely resort town of Dunsborough which itself is part of the Margaret River region in Western Australia. The Church was dedicated on St George’s Day, on the 23rd of April 1959. The church building itself is of the pioneer type – a wooden building that can be traced back to the days when bush brotherhoods thrived in much of regional Australia as Anglican clergy ministered to people living in sparsely-settled districts in the countryside.  Legends says these dedicated followers of Jesus preached the Good News of God’s love like the Apostles but also rode horses like cowboys.

Where we came from

Our church was originally built by one preacher-cowboy called ‘Brother Bernard' of the Bush Brotherhood. Bernard constructed the first part of the building in the early 1920s at Boallia. The congregation there declined after some time and by the late 1920s the building was unused. The congregation at the neighbouring village of Marybrook was outgrowing its temporary accommodation at the local school at around the same time. The building was moved to Marybrook where it remained for 33 years.

By 1953 the building was once again unused and the people of Dunsborough, having acquired a site in Gibney Street from the Lands Department, negotiated to have the Marybrook church removed and re-erected in Dunsborough. This was done in 1956 when the building was ferried to its present site in the back of a truck. On the 8th of September in 1957 the Rector of the Busselton, within whose parish the site fell, held the first service in the unfinished church. The congregation worked hard and completed the work on the building in 1958. They provided the necessary furniture and strengthened the work of the chapelry or outstation, so that on St George’s Day in 1959, the Bishop of Bunbury visited and dedicated the church as an outstation of the Parish of Busselton-Dunsborough and an auxiliary of St Mary’s, Busselton.

Where we are now

Over time many improvements have been made to the fabric and furnishings. Electricity was connected in 1983 and the building was enlarged and recorded in 1989. Two more major extensions were completed in 2000 and 2002 to enable the church to comfortably seat about 100 people. Stained glass windows and an office, kitchen and verandah that acts as a hub of the church community were also added. Guided by the Rector of Busselton-Dunsborough, the church finally became a full-fledged parish in its own right becoming the Anglican Parish of Dunsborough.