Albert Street Uniting Church

Albert Street Uniting Church is a heritage-listed Uniting church at 319 Albert Street (on the corner of Ann Street), Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by George Henry Male Addison and built from 1888 to 1889 by Thomas Pearson & Sons. It was originally known as Albert Street Methodist Church and Central Methodist Mission. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

The first Methodist church in Brisbane, a modest brick chapel, was constructed in 1848–49 at a cost of £150, on the corner of Albert Street and Burnett Lane. Many of the bricks and stone used in its construction had come from a demolished building on the corner of Queen and Edward Streets. It was opened on 10 March 1849, with the first service conducted by a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Thomas Mowbray. The building measured 35 feet long and 18 feet wide, and could seat 150 people. A parsonage was also built in 1849 behind the church facing Burnett Lane, and originally consisted of only two rooms, with two additional rooms added later.

The first church was replaced in 1856 by a larger building. It was built by Joshua Jeays, who also built Parliament House and the first stage of Old Government House. It cost £2667, was 80 feet long by 40 feet wide, and could seat 500 people. This building had stained glass windows, some of which were transferred to the current church building. Several pews from the first building were kept, whilst additional pews were crafted for the second building. These pews are now located in the gallery of the current church building. The first service in the second building was conducted on 6 December 1856 by Rev. John Eggleston. In 1878, work was done on this building to replace the roof shingles with slate, add a gallery along the Albert Street side, and install a pipe organ built by James Cole of Manchester. This pipe organ was moved to St Thomas' Anglican Church in North Ipswich in 1892.

By the early 1880s the congregation had grown substantially and in 1884 purchased a site on the corner of Albert and Ann Streets. A competition was held for the design of a new church which was won by G H M Addison. The third church was built for a cost of £10,000 by contractor Thomas Pearson & Sons. Other tradespeople included Petrie & Son (joinery), and Exton and Gough (stained glass windows). In keeping with the importance placed on music in Methodism, a large pipe organ was installed. It was built by George Benson of Manchester for a cost of £1,000. Five foundation stones were laid by prominent congregation members on 18 August 1888. These members were John Sargent Turner, member of the Queensland Legislative Council, Sir Arthur Rutledge, member of the QLC, Frederick Thomas Brentnall, member of the QLC and former minister at Albert Street Church, Mr R. Edwards (possibly Richard Edwards), and Mr. C. M. Foster. The church was officially opened on 8 November 1889 by Lady Alice Norman, the wife of the Governor of Queensland, Sir Henry Norman. In the 1920s, a marble honour board was erected in the front entrance vestibule commemorating the members of the congregation who served in World War I. Additional stained glass windows were installed as memorials in 1944 and 1947. Restoration work was undertaken in 1974–75 and involved the replacement of the slate roof. Further repair work on the building has been undertaken over the years. In 1907, the church became known as the Central Methodist Mission in recognition of its wider responsibilities as the main Methodist church in the city. The congregation has been involved in a variety of welfare activities and has developed an extensive network of accommodation and other services for aged people. On Thursday 1 March 1928, John Gladwell Wheen, the President-

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