THE presence of the Methodist Church in Broadford (now the Uniting Church) can be traced back 150 years.
It began as a Wesleyan Church in 1861, where people met in private homes. A church was then erected in 1864, at a cost of 40 pounds, in Murchison Street near the railway line. Services were held there until 1866, when it was closed due to lack of support because of the gold rush.
In 1874 a plan was made to establish a Methodist Church in Broadford. Services commenced there in 1875, taking place once again in private homes.
In the same year a D. Ferguson of Broadford offered a 21-year lease of a block of land, at the rate of one shilling a year, and this offer was accepted.
It is believed that this was next to the site of the present Church. A chapel was erected on this site, and this was used until 1894, when it was removed to make way for a new Church. In 1890 the Broadford Church site was purchased outright and the new Church was opened in June, 1896.
In the year 1890, the Rev H. Ride Barber became the first Methodist minister to reside in Broadford.
In March 1896 a house was purchased in Melbourne for removal to Broadford to serve as a parsonage. This was erected at the corner of Gavan and Murchison Street, where part of the Shire Offices now stand, previously the Broadford Kindergarten.
Moves for Methodist Church union began in 1897 and were formally and legally established in 1902.
In 1935 a block of land with a dwelling situated alongside the Broadford Church was purchased, and after WW2 it was decided to build a new Memorial Church on this site and tenders were called The successful tenderer was H W Stewart of Broadford.
The foundation stone was laid on February 15, 1957, with ceremony being performed by the Rev Professor Norman Lade, President of the Methodist conference.
The Church was completed and opened on Sunday, September 8, 1957.
The opening and dedication was performed by the Rev C. Kingston Dawes, then President of the Conference. It became the Broadford Uniting Church in 1977.
To celebrate this history, a special service and luncheon will be held on Sunday, October 23, commencing at 10am, to be followed by a luncheon.
For further information and to RSVP, contact Ann Blackwell on 5784 1775.






