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ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY
905 ANGLESEA ROAD FRESHWATER CREEK, SURF COAST SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY SOHE 2008
ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY SOHE 2008
ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY SOHE 2008
ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY SOHE 2008
ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY SOHE 2008
ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY SOHE 2008
ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY SOHE 2008
1 st davids freshwater ac2 june00
st davids plan
h01903 st davids lutheran church and cemetery anglesea rd freshwater creek front view she project 2003
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Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The first German Lutherans settled in the district around Grovedale (Germantown) in the early 1850s. By the late 1850s the settlement at Freshwater Creek was established. Initially services were held in the homes of members until the first church, a wattle and daub structure, was built in 1859. It was known as the Waldkirch – “the church in the forest”. Their first pastor was CW Schurmann from Hochkirch (now Tarrington), near Hamilton. The first burial took place in 1860 when Louisa the 18 year old daughter of the Seiffert family died of pneumonia.

The present bluestone church, designed by architect Robert Tuffs, was commenced in 1866 by church members with stone believed to have been quarried from the Seiffert property along Thompson's Creek. Many of the families contributed financially to the building of the church. The church and cemetery were part of the social and cultural life of the congregation as well as their place of worship and burial place.

The architect R. S. Tuffs lived in the Grovedale (Germantown) area and was a surveyor and the first engineer for the local shire. He was also responsible for the Methodist Church in Grovedale, St Paul's Lutheran Church, Grovedale and the Grovedale Primary School.

How is it significant?
St David's Lutheran Church and Cemetery is of historical, social, aesthetic and architectural significance to the state of Victoria.

Why is it significant?
St David's Church and Cemetery have historical significance as a rare example of a churchyard cemetery in Victoria. There is a small group of churchyard cemeteries surviving in Victoria, including St Andrew's Church of England, Brighton and Westgarthtown Lutheran Church (H899). By the time of European settlement in Victoria, churchyard cemeteries which had been the accepted burial grounds in western countries for centuries were on the wane. Increasing concerns about sanitation and the growing popularity of garden cemeteries influenced by the Romantic and Picturesque ideals led to their decline. St David's then is a rare link in Victoria to this old practice of burial.
St David's Church and Cemetery have historical importance for their association with the German Lutheran settlers who came to the area in the 1850s and associations with the wider history of German/Lutheran immigration to Australia in the 19th century. This association is evident in the German inscriptions and symbolism on the gravestones.

The Cemetery has social significance for its representation of burial practices, religious customs, values and tastes from 1860 until the present. It has further social importance for the insight it provides into a community who saw the church and cemetery as an intrinsic part of their religious, social and cultural lives where they worshipped, celebrated, socialised and buried their dead.

St David's Church has architectural significance as an example of a simple church of provincial German character with a combination of medieval detailing in the stepped buttresses and the turretted chimney of the vestry and Renaissance treatment of the arched windows.

St David's Church and Cemetery have aesthetic significance for their picturesque setting and layout with a simple bluestone church and churchyard cemetery enclosed by exotic plantings and surrounded by a rural landscape. The perimeter plantings of Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey Cypress), Cupressus maerocarpa 'Horizontalis Aurea' (Golden Cypress), Cupressus torulosa (Bhutan Cypress) and Pinus radiata (Monterey pine) are significant aesthetic features of the site. The front gateway with its overhanging trees and vista to the church beyond is another aesthetically significant aspect. The aesthetic value of the site is enhanced by the collection of gravestones and other examples of funerary art.

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    • History

      ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY - History

      Contextual History:

      History of Place:
      The first German Lutherans settled in the Freshwater Creek district in the early 1850s. They were "Old Lutherans" who did not want to join with the Lutheran congregation in the area but wished to join the South Australian synod. Their pastor C. W. Schuermann had to travel some 150 miles from the Hamilton area to serve the congregation. In the early years services were held in the homes of members until the first church, a wattle and daub structure, was built in 1859. It was known as the Waldkirch: the church in the forest. For the early Germans the church was almost as important to them as a place to bury their dead as it was as a place of worship. The first burial took place in 1860 when Louisa the 18 year old daughter of the Seiffert family died of pneumonia.

      The present bluestone church, designed by architect Robert Tuffs, was commenced in 1866 by church members with stone quarried from the Seiffert property along Thompson's Creek. The congregation sent for a stonemason from Germany to help them cut the stone. The locals apparently did all the manual work. Many of the families contributed financially to the building of the church. The church and cemetery were part of the social and and cultural life of the congregation as well as their place of worship.

      The architect R. S. Tuffs lived in the Grovedale (Germantown) area and was a surveyor and the first engineer for the local shire. He was also responsible for the Methodist Church in Grovedale, St Paul's Lutheran Church, Grovedale and the Grovedale Primary School.

      Assessment Against Criteria

      ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY - Assessment Against Criteria

      Criterion A
      The historical importance, association with or relationship to Victoria's history of the place or object.
      St David's Church and Cemetery have historical importance for their associations with the German Lutheran settlers who came to the area in the 1850s and associations with the wider history of German/Lutheran immigration to Australia in the 19th century. Dr Alexander Thomson, a Geelong pioneer, was instrumental in bringing out a number of German families to the region. Settlements formed at Grovedale and then at Freshwater Creek.

      Criterion B
      The importance of a place or object in demonstrating rarity or uniqueness.
      St David's Cemetery is one of a small group of churchyard cemeteries in Victoria.

      Criterion C
      The place or object's potential to educate, illustrate or provide further scientific investigation in relation to Victoria's cultural heritage.

      Criterion D
      The importance of a place or object in exhibiting the principal characteristics or the representative nature of a place or object as part of a class or type of places or objects.

      Criterion E
      The importance of the place or object in exhibiting good design or aesthetic characteristics and/or in exhibiting a richness, diversity or unusual integration of features.

      Criterion F
      The importance of the place or object in demonstrating or being associated with scientific or technical innovations or achievements.

      Criterion G
      The importance of the place or object in demonstrating social or cultural associations.
      St David's Church and Cemetery are of social significance as a place highly valued by the German community and their descendants. As a place to worship, celebrate, congregate, socialise and bury their dead, the church and cemetery were integral to the social and and cultural life of the congregation.

      Criterion H
      Any other matter which the Council considers relevant to the determination of cultural heritage significance

      Permit Exemptions

      ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY - Permit Exemptions

      General Exemptions:

      General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

      Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

      Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

      Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

      Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

      Specific Exemptions:

      General Conditions:
      1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object.
      2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible.
      3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it.
      4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions.
      5. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable.

      General:
      * Interments, burials and erection of monuments, reuse of graves, burial of cremated remains, and exhumation of remains in accordance with the Cemeteries Act 1958, and amendments.
      * Stabilisation, restoration, and repair of monuments.
      * Emergency and safety works to secure the site, and prevent damage and injury to property and the public.
      * Monument works undertaken in accordance with Australian Standard, Headstones and Cemetery Monuments AS 4204.

      Memorial entrance gateway:
      * Minor repairs and maintenance.

      Exterior of church:
      * Minor repairs and maintenance which replace like with like.

      Interior of church:
      * Painting of previously painted surfaces provided that preparation or painting does not remove evidence of the original paint or other decorative scheme.
      * Removal of paint from originally unpainted or oiled joinery, doors, architraves, skirtings and decorative strapping.
      * Installation, removal or replacement of carpets and/or flexible floor coverings.
      * Installation, removal or replacement of hooks, nails and other devices for the hanging of mirrors, paintings and other wall-mounted artworks.
      * Installation, removal or replacement of smoke detectors.

      Layout
      * Maintenance of gravel driveway. A permit is required for new kerbing and paving.

      Landscape
      * The process of gardening and maintenance to care for the cemetery landscape, planting themes and removal of dead plants.
      * Management of plants in accordance with Australian Standard, Pruning of amenity trees AS 4373.
      * Removal of vegetation to maintain fire safety and to protect monuments, paths, and registered building.
      * Removal of plants listed as Prohibited and Controlled Weeds in the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994.
      * Replanting to retain the existing landscape themes and character.

      Permit Exemption Policy

      ST DAVID'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY - Permit Exemption Policy

      St David's Lutheran Church and Cemetery is a significant and rare example of a churchyard cemetery in Victoria. Important elements include the church, the collection of graves, the exotic plantings, in particular the perimeter planting of cypress and Monterey pines, and the memorial entrance gateway.

      The purpose of the permit exemptions is to allow works that do not impact on the significance of the place to occur without the need for a permit. Alterations that impact on the significance of the exterior and interior are subject to permit applications.

Public contributions

Note: Developments may span multiple time periods
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