St John's Church, Adelaide

In 1840 the first Anglican church building, Trinity Church, was erected on North Terrace, Adelaide, but soon demands arose for a second place of worship to cater for members in and around Unley and the foothills, and to that end Osmond Gilles donated to the Church Building Society of South Australia half an acre of his section 581 on Halifax Street near the corner of East Terrace and South Terrace.

[1] The location could not have been much further from Trinity Church without leaving the city square, and between the two was little more than rough scrub and tracks that became a quagmire in winter.

[4] The first service was held on 24 October 1841, conducted by the Reverend James Farrell and the Colonial Chaplain Charles Beaumont Howard.

[6] Farrell inherited the title of Colonial Chaplain, meaning he had to take over Trinity Church and in December 1843 closed the doors of St John's for services, weddings and baptisms excepted, until a replacement could be found.

Hale was followed by a succession of priests, none of whom succeeded in generating much interest, and only one (the Reverend Denzil Ibbetson) stayed for any length of time.

The foundation stone of the new building was laid by Bishop Kennion on 14 May 1887 and the structure erected by Walter Rogers to a design by R. G. Holwell[9] at a cost of £3,000.