150 Years for St. Peter’s Church, Epping

In 2015, St Peter’s Catholic Church, Epping celebrated its 150 year old birthday.

The Foundation stone of the Church was laid by Bishop Gould on the 5th November 1865. The actual opening was on 13th January 1867. It is believed to be the second oldest Victorian Catholic Church outside inner Melbourne, after Keilor.

This is an early photo, possibly around the late 1860’s.

Mass had been celebrated in the district , then known as Darebin Creek as early as 1849. It had been held in the home of Alexander McKillop, whose daughter Mary founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.

The areas of Darebin Creek and Woodstock were originally part of the Mission of Coburg set up in 1851, whose base was St Paul’s church , Pentridge and covered  from Brunswick to Ballarat. The huge Coburg mission was dismantled in 1910 and a new Parish of Epping was established that took in Epping, Bundoora, Woodstock, Mernda and Whittlesea.

The spire was added to St. Peter’s Church in 1957 and was donated to the Parish by the then Parish Priest Father. J. R. Griffin in memory of his parents.