St Andrew's Anglican Church was the third church to be built in Walcha, and is now the earliest church still standing on its original site. Construction commenced in 1862 with stone quarried from the demolished homestead at the Walcha station, Villa Wolka, and was completed in 1866.[2] Originally known as St Paul's Church, it was renamed St Andrew's in the 1870s. A new church was built in 1963 and the adjacent parish hall was built in 1954.[3]
Description
St Andrew's Anglican Church is an unspoilt and well crafted Victorian Rustic Gothic–styled church with exceptional original interior and contents. The church remains a fitting testament to the early pioneering families of the Walcha and New England district.[3] The church occupies a commanding position on a knoll above the town. The church is a simple granite building of coursed random rubble in a Rustic Gothic style, given by pointed arched window frames within rectangular openings, steeply pitched roof that was originally shingled and is not iron, and a timber shingled bellcote. The interior is of outstanding simple Gothic quality lit by nine stained glass memorial windows dedicated to the early pioneers of the district.[3][4]
