The discovery of gold at Cape River in 1867 and the boom in the pastoral industry consolidated Townsville's position as a port and administrative and commercial centre during the 1870s.

The port expanded and rail facilities were established in 1881 with the construction of the Great Northern Railway from Townsville to Charters Towers and later to Hughenden further west.

George Henry Stanton was consecrated the first Bishop of the new Diocese, arriving in Townsville in May 1879 and establishing his seat at St James' Church (which became the pro-Cathedral).

[1] Prior to the construction of St John's, occasional Anglican services had been conducted at the immigration depot on Ross Island.

The Victoria Bridge opened in July 1889, was constructed across Ross Creek, linking the island to Townsville's central business district along Flinders Street.

[1] Cyclone Leonta had struck at a time when the Diocese of North Queensland was in severe financial difficulty, arising from the impact of the early 1890s economic depression and the closure of many Queensland banks, closures of many gold and tin mines and a fall in world copper prices in the 1890s, and a severe drought 1898–1902.

[1] Ross Island was a working class district and had suffered substantially during Cyclone Leonta, with many homes reportedly destroyed or unroofed.

Lynch was a noted and influential architect, who designed many buildings in North Queensland, including several of Cairns' most prominent buildings: Cairns School of Arts and Harbour Board Offices (1907), new Court House Hotel (1908) and Central Hotel (Central Court) (1909).

Works by Lunch & Hunt include Agora House in Townsville for Howard Smith & Co. Ltd (1910–11), Mulgrave Shire Council Chambers in Cairns (1912–13) and St Josephs Church, North Ward, (1920–21).

The use of banks of side doors was a popular ventilation device of the period employed in large auditoria such as public halls and theatres, but was less commonly used in church buildings.

[1] Ross Island (South Townsville) remained a vibrant working class community until port facilities began to move closer to the harbour mouth in the second half of the 20th century.

[1] St John's Church and Rectory were entered in the Register of the National Trust of Queensland in May 1980 for their historical and architectural interest.

It is a simple but aesthetically pleasing timber building which employs Gothic stylistic detailing along with accommodation for Townsville's warm sub-tropical climate.

It is high set on concrete stumps, clad with chamferboards, and has a corrugated iron sheeted gabled roof that extends over verandahs along either side.

The front of the entry porch is enclosed with chamferboards and has timber louvres within a lancet arch frame for ventilation purposes.

[1] St John's Church Hall is a simple timber-framed building, high set on concrete stumps and clad externally with fibrous cement sheeting and timber cover strips.

Like the adjacent church, it has a small separately-roofed entrance porch, which is partially enclosed with a fibrous cement sheeted balustrade.

Plantings considered to be of cultural heritage significance include an indigenous Terminalia at the south/southwest corner of the site and mature Frangipani (Plumeria) trees.

The precinct has an aesthetic appeal based on the picturesque quality of the simple timber buildings in their garden setting and visually complements the school grounds across the street.

[1] St John's Anglican Church Precinct was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.

It is an excellent example of the work of architect CD Lynch, who made a substantial contribution to North Queensland architecture in the early 20th century.

These characteristics include the grouping of church, church hall and rectory within a restricted and defined area; the intactness of the three principal buildings on the site; the consistent use of materials (principally timber, galvanized iron and fibrous-cement sheeting); and the garden setting (including an early low concrete retaining wall and entrance with low concrete columns with cast-iron capitals, along the street frontage).

St John's Anglican Church is of aesthetic significance for its use of Gothic stylistic influences within the Queensland vernacular idiom of high-set timber buildings, the result being a balanced, visually pleasing design incorporating traditional European church motifs and Queensland-style deep verandahs.

St John's Anglican Church Precinct has a picturesque quality engendered from the consistency of scale, form and materials and the lineal arrangement of the group of simple timber buildings in a garden setting.

The fact that it contains the third St John's Church and Rectory erected on the site between 1884 and 1907 is testimony to the strength of the Anglican Church in North Queensland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, overcoming obstacles such as distance, remoteness, climate, small population base and lack of Diocesan funds.