Installed on the southern nave of the former Saint George's Presbyterian Church, the Mary Ellen McPhillimy stained glass memorial window was commissioned by her children in 1931. I believe the window was designed by Brooks, Robinson and Company Glass Merchants.
The window features Dorcas (also known as Tabitha in Aramaic), who was a disciple who lived in Joppa, and is mentioned in the Book of Acts 9.36. Dorcas was referenced as a woman who was "full of good works and almsdeeds which she did". This line from the bible is quoted at the bottom of the main panels above the dedication panels. Dorcas was raised from the dead in honour of all her good deeds. Dorcas and her servant are depicted in classical dress, clothing poor children in new garb in the right-hand pane, whilst other beneficiaries of Dorcas' alms and a single very happy toddler appear in the left-hand pane. The city of Joppa can be seen in the distance just behind the young man in the red tunic. The quatrefoil of the stained glass window features the letter M and the Madonna lilies, symbolising Mary, Jesus' mother.
Mary Ellen McPhillimy was the wife of wealthy Geelong confectioner John Hearn McPhillimy. They had five children which included James McPhillimy and his sister Louise who donated the tower and spire of the former Saint George's Presbyterian Church. The story of Dorcas was chosen on purpose for Mary's window as she worked for the Saint George's Dorcas Society between 1901 and 1929. The society helped provide clothing for the poor as Dorcas did. Mary was also a founder of the Mother's Union.
Rising proudly on the rise of a hill, the former Saint George’s Presbyterian Church, which stands on the corner of Latrobe Terrace and Ryrie Street on the outskirts of the Geelong central business district, began its construction in 1860. Designed by architect Nathaniel Billing in Victorian English Gothic style, the original large nave of the church, with vestry and apse were constructed of irregularly coursed basalt with Hawksbury River freestone dressings. The initial build was erected and completed in 1861 by contractors Brown and Gibson. The foundation stone was laid on 12 June 1861. The large and finely constructed church reflects the wealth of many of the church's foundation patrons, which included Francis Ormond and other Western District Squatters. The former Saint George’s Presbyterian Church is a significant and intact work of Nathaniel Billing, who was well known for ecclesiastical architecture. The original church was expanded with the addition of transepts in 1908, and finally a spire and tower in 1936. The tower and spire were donated as a seventy-fifth anniversary gift by wealthy parishioners James McPhillimy and his sister Louise. The McPhillimy family were not only wealthy parisioners, but were also long time worshipers at Saint George’s Persbyterian Church. They began worshiping there in 1886.
The inside of the former Saint George’s Presbyterian Church is quite plain, with white painted walls and three rows of blackwood pews separated by two aisles. The church features examples of its original latticed quarry glass lancet windows with one band of coloured glass, as well as several figurative stained glass windows installed later. This includes two pairs of lancet windows manufactured by Ballantyne and Company of Edinburgh, which are perhaps the church’s most beautiful windows for their wonderful colours and beautiful hand-painted details. There is also two windows by Melbourne stained glass manufacturers Brooks Robinson and Company installed in the 1930s, and a fine heritage listed stained glass window by one of Melbourne’s leading stained glass artists, William Montgomery, which commemorates the fallen of the Great War. The church’s rose window and great western window created by Melbourne stained glass manufacturer Ferguson and Urie are the oldest windows, and like the quarry glass windows, are original.
Saint George's Presbyterian Church was forced to close its doors in 2015 owing to dwindling congregation numbers, and whilst the Presbyterian Church still owns the church and manse, the manse is now rented out and has been used for both commercial and residential purposes. The church itself sits idly, its slowly weathering exterior requiring significant restoration, its garden sinking into neglect and its interior lying beneath a sheet of thick dust.
I am very grateful to the retired Presbyterian Reverend Andrew Bray, caretaker of the church at the time of photographing, for giving me an hour of his time and for letting me photograph the interior and stained glass windows so extensively.
Nathaniel Billing was born in Brightwell, Oxfordshire in 1821. Articled to the prestigious office of Sir Gilbert Scott in London, he later commenced his own architectural practice in Slough under his own name. Nathaniel married his first wife, Henrietta in 1850. Three years later the pair and their family immigrated to Australia. he was appointed to the Colonial Architect's Office in Belfast (now known as Port Fairy), but commenced his own practice there in 1855. In Port Fairy he designed Saint John's Church of England in 1856 and the Bank of Australasia in 1857. That same year, Nathaniel left Port Fairy and moved to Melbourne, where he soon had a thriving practice. In Melbourne, most of his commissions were ecclesiastical. He designed All Saints Church of England on Chapel Street in 1861 which with a seating capacity of 1,500 is the largest Church of England in the southern hemisphere, Saint Margaret's Church of England in Eltham in 1861, alterations to Melville House in Collins Street in 1881, "Steamshall" a Victorian Italianate villa in Kew in 1882, Saint Paul's Cathedral in Sale in 1884, Saint Matthias' Church of England in Richmond in 1885, the Fitzroy Cricket Ground grandstand in 1888, and extensions to Saint George's Church of England in 1889 in conjunction with the architects firm Dalton and Gibbons. Nathaniel's first wife Henrietta died in 1867 after nineteen years of marriage, four sons and five daughters. Nathaniel remarried in 1869, taking Mary Anne Hooke as his wife. They had no children together. Nathaniel's fourth child, William Urban Billing, joined his firm in 1880 and practiced as Billing and Son. They worked together until 1895 when Nathaniel retired. Nathaniel died at his home in Westbury Street East St Kilda in 1910 at the age of 88.
Brooks, Robinson and Company first opened their doors on Elizabeth Street in Melbourne in 1854 as importers of window and table glass and also specialised in interior decorating supplies. Once established the company moved into glazing and were commonly contracted to do shopfronts around inner Melbourne. In the 1880s they commenced producing stained glass on a small scale. Their first big opportunity occurred in the 1890s when they were engaged to install Melbourne's St Paul's Cathedral's stained-glass windows. Their notoriety grew and as a result their stained glass studio flourished, particularly after the closure of their main competitor, Ferguson and Urie. They dominated the stained glass market in Melbourne in the early 20th Century, and many Australian glass artists of worked in their studio. Their work may be found in the Princess Theatre on Melbourne's Spring Street, in St John's Church in Toorak, and throughout churches in Melbourne. Brooks, Robinson and Company was taken over by Email Pty Ltd in 1963, and as a result they closed their stained glass studio.
