St Philip’s Church, Cowes

3 February 1788      First Anglican Service at Sydney Cove.

28 January 1848      Charles Perry installed as first Bishop of Melbourne in St James Pro-Cathedral.

12 April 1869           Crown Allotment 18, and part of 17, of Section 71 and fronting the main street of Cowes, reserved for church  purposes.

30 January 1870      St Philip’s Church, Cowes, Parish of Mornington, Diocese of Melbourne, was dedicated by the Dean of Melbourne, the Very Reverend Hussey Burgh McCartney, under the authority of the Bishop of Melbourne, the Right Reverend Charles Perry.

St Philip’s is the oldest public building in continuous use on Phillip Island.

St Augustine’s Church, San Remo

The earliest Church of England ministry in San Remo was carried on under the auspices of the Gippsland Forest Mission, founded in 1879 under the supervision of the Rev’d Samuel Sandiford, based in Drouin. Much of this ministry was provided by his curate, the Rev’d Herbert Potter, and services were held in the Shire Hall. On 4 March 1906, the newly-built St Augustine’s Church was dedicated by the first Bishop of Gippsland, the Right Rev’d Arthur Pain. In 1931 the distinctive Lych Gate was added, and the general-purpose Mary Talbot Room, behind the church, in 2012.

St Paul’s Church, Bass

St. Paul’s  Church began as a small wooden structure built in Bass in 1878 and was the first church of any denomination in this district; it is the second oldest building in Bass, and Bass is the third oldest permanent settlement in Victoria. In 1887 the first extensions were added – a sanctuary and a small room. By 1955 it had doubled in size to accommodate the growing congregation. In 1958 the Church celebrated its 80th anniversary. In 1967 the wooden building was brick veneered and extended yet again – the veranda being added. The original wooden building still stands beneath the protective brick veneering. A new church roof, and disabled access to the chancel and an outside toilet are recent additions. St Paul’s continues to conduct a weekly communion service on Sundays at 12.30pm, followed by a ‘bring and share’ lunch, which provides parishioners and visitors alike with nourishment and warm fellowship.