Newland Memorial Church celebrates
175 YEARS of Ministry and Service by Wayne Colebatch
175 years ago, the then Tabernacle Church in Encounter Bay was opened for worship, over 5 years later the Rev Ridgway Newland arrived in the area from England. He became a significant figure in local history and was the first chair of the Victor Harbor Council.
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The Newland Memorial Uniting Church (then Congregational) history began in 1839 when Newland settled at Encounter Bay, a then small whaling settlement (or Yilki, as it was known to the Indigenous population). In 1846, a small chapel was built in Tabernacle Road, Encounter Bay. Due to the rapid development in Victor Harbor at that time, a new church was opened on Victoria Street in 1869 and with greater expansion in the 1920s, the present adjacent church with increased seating capacity was opened in 1927. This present-day iconic church with its
unique and renowned crescent shaped architecture has an outstanding acoustic and a fine pipe organ. On 18th April 2021 the 175th anniversary celebration commenced with a brief service at the original Tabernacle Road site involving a ‘smoking’ ceremony by local Cedric Varcoe, a representative of the Ramindjeri/Ngarrindjeri nations, acknowledging and respecting the original inhabitants of this land. The Thanksgiving service that followed at the present Newland Memorial Church
