[3][4][5] Prior to the establishment of the parish, All Saints' East St Kilda had provided the outreach of the Leslie Street Mission Hall for the people of the area from 15 October 1896 until sometime in 1911.

[11] Preston (2011) reports that Ridley College was "opened in 1910 by an evangelical faction, competed with St John's, and was the preferred option of the evangelically-minded rural Bendigo and Gippsland dioceses.

[1] In the service which accompanied the laying of the stone he acknowledged the hospitality of St John's Theological College in making available its chapel to the congregation while the church was being built, as well as publicly announcing the death the previous day of Bishop James Moorhouse.

[19][20] Shaw was well accustomed to life at sea, having previously worked extensively in the pearling industry, and holding both a mate's and a master's mariner certificates.

[21][23] Shaw survived the war, having been accepted for officer training and active service in France, and eventually being appointed a chaplain in the AIF.

Wood served as interim for approximately three months until June 1917, prior to taking up duties at Christ Church, South Yarra.

It was reported in the press that he had resigned the parish in favour of a temporary appointment as hospital chaplain[34] pending his return to Great Britain.

[42][44] H. R. Potter,[45] having previously served with Canon Snodgrass at St Paul's Geelong,[46] was vicar until April 1936 [47] when W. Albert Shaw was appointed.

[49] Construction commenced at the beginning of the First World War: the original church building (and the vicarage [54]) were modest and restrained;[3] the sanctuary end (liturgical east) facing south.

There was very little sanctuary area – comprising a "wooden chancel on the south side where it [was] proposed ultimately to extend... in accordance with the plans"[1] and the interior brickwork was pointed but not rendered.

[25] The original intention was to build in stages, with the ultimate church arranged in proper liturgical axis (sanctuary eastwards) featuring a long nave and west door facing onto Alexandra Street, to be "surmounted by a large square tower, with a spire in the centre".

Many of the stained glass windows in St James the Great are the unique work of Czech-Australian artist Miroslav Dismas Zika.

The lady chapel has nine clerestory windows on the western wall (the liturgical north), depicting the story of salvation from the creation to the revelation of Jesus and his death and resurrection.

The theme continues as at the liturgical west end of the chapel where two antique streaky amber stained glass windows frame Zika's interpretation of the Heavenly Jerusalem – the reward of the faithful.

He etched a Latin inscription into the glass near the base of the window which can be translated as "Dismas made this in 1967 at the beginning of the month when Bolte, scandalous, arrogant, was demanding Ryan suffer capital punishment."

A front-page article in The Age on 4 May 1967[60] reported that, in response to Bolte's protests, Frank Woods, Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, had apologised by letter to the premier, clarifying that the inscription had neither been included in the original design brief nor had any "official authorisation".

The parish has a long association with Trio Con Brio (cello, oboe and flute) and other instrumentalists and musicians who enrich the music life of the congregation.

[63] It was built in Tasmania by Samuel Joscelyne in the 1860s and installed in the church in 1988[64] replacing a chamber organ, made by John Smith of Bristol, which had been sold to St Matthew's Bega in New South Wales.

John Maidment (2007), of the Organ Historical Trust of Australia, has said that the "instrument is of interest for its superlative casework in Australian cedar (Toona Australis) and its outstanding craftsmanship.

The sides of the console opening have fretted inset panels while the large brass nameplate simply has "Joscelyne" engraved in copperplate script.

Since 1993 the church has celebrated an annual blessing of animals service for St Francis's Day organised by Lorraine Hawkes, one of the parish leaders.

[67] Since 2002 it has been host to the St Kilda Steiner Pre-School[68] which aims that "children (will) take part in a mixed-age, play-based curriculum in a nurturing environment where learning is by imitation rather than direction".