In 1963 the area that now constitutes Lynwood-Langford -Ferndale was an almost deserted swamp. Apart from a small house or two and the occasional chicken farm it looked very like it had on the 16th of June 1829 when the early Swan River Settlers straggled ashore, in driving rain, to start building the City of Perth. The Anglican Diocese of Perth acquired a piece of land in Lynwood in the early 1960s, from Realty Development Corporation (RDC). This land was destined to be the site of any future Church buildings. In 1964 the parish was part of the 35 square mile Parish of Riverton, whose boundaries included Riverton, Shelley, Willetton, Thornlie, Kenwick and Beckenham as well as Lynwood, Langford and Ferndale! In 1967 the first services were held in a parishioner's home where the congregation was made up of some 12 people. A little later, this group was invited to share the use of St Jude's Roman Catholic Church in Langford, which was an old wooden building. In October 1972 the parish was declared to be an Ecclesiastical District and on 18 February 1973 became a Parochial District. The first Rector, The Revd Peter Mills, was appointed that year. A rented house in Watling Avenue became the Rectory.
Weekly services were now being held in the newly built Wandarra Hall in Lynwood, with parishioners continuing to hope for a dedicated church building Fundraising to make this a reality was a large part of parish social life. |
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