This photo was presented to the RWAHS in about 1931 by Mrs. A Green of West Perth, and published in The West Australian on Saturday, 26 February 1932. The photo triggered a flurry of correspondence, resulting in articles ‘Tank Church at Boulder’ (West Australian, Tuesday, 2 March 1932 p.12) and ‘Tank Church at Boulder. The Builder’s Reminiscences’. The numerous letters were ‘handed to the West Australian Historical Society which will keep them among their records’. (West Australian 5 May 1932).
Boulder Tank Church
The Tank Church
Built in 1902 as a meeting place for the swelling numbers of devout Welsh and Cornish miners attracted to the Goldfields in the 1890s, the ‘Tank’ or Circular Church built near the Boulder Block, was a spectacular example of ‘making do’. It is thought to be the only church of its kind in Australia.
Persuaded by local Fimiston preacher Mr. James Robinson of the urgent need for a church, the Congregational Church of Kalgoorlie decided on a structure that could be constructed quickly and cheaply, required little wood, and could be easily moved. A speedy solution was provided by local plumbers and tank builders Stearne Brothers. The church would be constructed like a larger version of the cyanide vats common in the area, on the West Boulder mining lease (freehold sites were expensive) east of the Boulder townsite.
Interior of Tank Church 1896
The church had a conical roof and according to The Western Argus (December 1902) ‘one-fourth of the circle was built in moveable sections and an enclosure formed which would provide seating accommodation for an outside audience during the summer months.’ It held about 120 people and Mr. T.H. Graham, who attended the church as a child, wrote:
‘The church had a large pole in the centre and the wooden rafters radiated from this to the outer wall where they were supported by wooden uprights. To these uprights, the covering of corrugated sheets of iron was affixed. The place was unlined and had a wooden floor. It was about 24 ft. in diameter and the wall was ten or twelve feet high….I attended the church for some time and it in no way resembled a refrigerator on Sunday mornings when the thermometer registered over 110deg. [Fahrenheit] in the shade…’
He adds that the church was built in three days – begun on Thursday, ‘finished on Saturday, and the first service was held on the Sunday’. ’ (West Australian, Tuesday, 1 March 1932, p.12). There was a morning service on Sunday mornings and Sunday school in the afternoon. When the anniversary of the Church was celebrated on 16 June 1903, the church had acquired an organ, an organist, Miss Florence Bowen, and was famous for its choir under Rev. Craik, who had a fine baritone voice. On this occasion, according to RWAHS Life Member G. Spencer-Compton, he led the crowded evening service as ‘both preacher and soloist’. (RWAHS Newspaper cuttings, Country Towns, BOU, 16 August 1957.)
But the Tank Church’s glory days were short-lived. Before long the congregation had moved to the old Mechanics Hall in Burt Street, Boulder, and later built its own church. The Tank Church survived for some years as a boarding house and in about 1922, according to builder Mr B. W. Stearne, it was sold and dismantled, and parts of the iron were used to build tanks on farms.
Moya Sharp
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That gives a whole new meaning to the word “tanked” I think they usually do that in a pub though??
How interesting. Thanks Moya, another great piece of history.