St Peter’s Anglican Church Carapooee.
St Peter’s Church at Carapooee, known as the “Pebble Church”, is about thirteen kilometers south of St Arnaud in western Victoria.
Originally the area was called ‘St Peter’s Diggings’ but known by the local Aborigines as ‘The Carapooee’, (“an earthly paradise”). The church was designed by architect Leonard Terry and Mr. Valentine Nott Mogg of ‘Swanwater Station’ laid its foundation stone in May 1869. The church is constructed of white quartz pebbles in varying sizes which are set in pinkish colored mortar. The pebbles were collected by locals from miners’ claims in the nearby hills. Valentine Mogg’s ‘Swanwater Station’ was also constructed of quartz pebbles in the same manner but there is supposedly no other church in Victoria constructed this like this.
The first service was held in St Peter’s in July 1870 with a formal opening taking place in October 1874.
The simple stained glass windows are of plain diamond quarries with red and blue stained glass borders and were supplied by the Colonial Victorian Stained Glass firm Ferguson & Urie of Melbourne.
Photos taken 11th June 2011.
The last service and deconsecration of the Carapooee “Pebble Church” occurred on the 2nd of June 2019.
Short link to this page:https://wp.me/p28nLD-ch
Ferguson and Urie 