Doctorate Theses

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Give Them Churches
(2022) McKinley, Diana
In 1836 Sir Richard Bourke’s Church Act was passed in NSW. It provided for the three major denominations to receive minister’s stipends and building grants for churches and minister’s dwellings on a subsidized basis. Victoria passed similar legislation in 1853, which provided £30,000 to be shared by all Christian denominations. Despite vigorous opposition from voluntarist churches, the grant was later increased to £50,000. This was written into the Victorian Constitution. Bourke’s Act brought equality to Australian churches and enabled magnificent, stately churches to be constructed. Society was changed as colonists formed new communities sharing their faith and socializing together. It also stimulated a desire for the education of their children. The Victorian government paid over £1million pounds sterling to Victorian churches which subsidized the building of over 544 churches in Victoria. The Church Acts enabled Christianity to be established in the new Colony of Victoria. It was repealed in 1970.