Of the plans prepared for the Eastern Hill church, that of Mr. Charles Laing was approved by the Bishop, and in April the tender of Messrs. Webb,.. Brown, and C o , for its erection was accepted for £*333 8s- T h e ceremony of laying the FOUNDATION STONE OF ST. PETER'S
was performed on the 18th June, 1846 (Anniversary of Waterloo-day) in the presence of a numerous attendance, though only two clergymen, viz, the Rev. A. C. Thomson, of Melbourne, and Rev. E. Collins; of Geelong, were present. T h e proceedings commenced by the Rev. Mr. Thomson, and some of the assemblage repeating alternately verses from the 132nd Psalm—after which followed lessons from Isaiah iv, 1 Cor. iii.. and the Collect for St. Simon's and St. Jude's day. His Honor the Superintendent then came forward, and in the usual receptacle for such mementoes, placed a sealed bottle containing a parchment scroll thus inscribed :— THE FOUNDATION STONE OF ST. PETER'S CHURCH, In the Town of Melbourne, District of Tort Phillip, Colony of New South Wales, Built by Local Subscription, Aided by an equal amount from the Colonial Government, W a s laid by His H O N O R
C H A R L E S JOSEPH LATROBE, E S Q ,
Superintendent of Port Phillip, On the 18th day of June, A . D , 1846, and in the ninth year of the reign of Q U E E N VICTORIA. WILLIAM
G R A N T B R O U G H T O N , D.D., of Australia.
A D A M C O M P T O N T H O M S O N , Minister of St. James' Parish of Melbourne, J A M E S SIMPSON, J A M E S D E N H A M
P I N N O C K , R O B E R T W I L L I A M S P O H L M A N , E S Q U I R E S , Trustees, C H A R L E S L A I N G , Architect.
T h e upper stone being lowered andfixed,his Honor said, "In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I lay this foundation stone of a church to the praise and glory of His name." Then handling trowel and mall, he went through the customary forms, and finished by declaring, " This stone is laid as the foundation and corner-stone of a church to be built in this place ; to be named St. Peter's, and to be set apart for the preaching of the right Catholic faith, which we believe and confess, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen." Recitations from the Psalms followed, after which an excellent address was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Thomson. The Rev. Mr. Collins offered a prayer, and the proceedings terminated with a collection towards the building fund, which was liberally responded to. In the course of the year 1846, it became known that it was intended to appoint a Bishop to Port Phillip, and a meeting was held in St. James' school-room on the 14th September, whereat an address was adopted for presentation to the Bishop of Sydney, thanking his Lordship for his zealous exertions in procuring the erection of Port Phillip into an independent Bishopric. St. Peter's Church presented a handsome gable, with a neat stone cross fixed in it, and on the night of the ioth December, some evil-minded vandals demolished the external decoration. Next morning the emblem of Christianity was found with a piece of rope round its neck, in a gully in the now Fitzroy Gardens. It had evidently been pulled down by help of the rope, and its socket with some stone-work attached had come away with it. T h e perpetrators of such dastardly blackguardism were never discovered, though there were strong suspicions against certain individuals. About half-a-year after, a new cross was put up, and had better luck than the other. It was said that the church plan, as originally designed, was provided with a cross, which was erased at some meeting of subscribers ; but, subsequently, some underhand Puseyites managed to interpolate the one that went up, and came down so unceremoniously. T h e accuracy of this assertion is open to much doubt, especially as it appeared in a newspaper not remarkable for its veracity. A church was opened in Geelong on the 24th June, 183.7, by the Rev. Mr. Collins, when a capital sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Thomson, and a handsome collection made for the building fund. THE ARRIVAL OF BISHOP PERRY.
A n event to be red-lettered in the ecclesiastical history of the Province, took place on the 23rd January, 1848, viz, the arrival of the ship "Stag," from London, which, amongst other passengers,
