St Aidan’s, Aireys Inlet

Anglican Church Services were held in Aireys Inlet from 1883 in private homes and some business premises. Even though land was acquired by the Diocese on Bambra Road in 1858, it was not until 1938 that a church was built and dedicated by Bishop J.J. Booth, Bishop of Geelong in 1939. Regular church services were conducted by the priest in charge of All Saints Lorne. While the Church was built as a holy place for Christian worship, it was possible to screen off the Sanctuary allowing the remainder of the building to function as a hall. Over the years, it was used by local organisations such as Red Cross and also it was used at a polling booth for both State and Federal Elections.

In 1983, St Aidan’s was completely destroyed in the Ash Wednesday bushfires; however Church services were continued in one of the rooms of the newly constructed school. The site in Bambra Road was sold and land purchased in a more prominent position on the Great Ocean Road, opposite the General Store. After much hard work and careful planning it was rebuilt as it stands today.
The new church contained the altar furnishings from St John’s Lethbridge, which had closed. Service books were donated by parents and students of Geelong Grammar School and parishioners of St Mark’s Sunshine. A link with the former Bambra Road Church has been preserved by the restoration of the wrought iron gate which was salvaged from the ruins. That gate is now mounted on the exterior wall of the Church facing the memorial garden.
On 11 May 1986, the new St Aidan’s was consecrated by Archbishop David Penman, assisted by Bishop David Shand, Bishop of Geelong.
Visitors almost always comment on the beauty and serenity of the church, the stained glass windows and the triptych.

The church was shared with our brothers and sisters from the Uniting Church and the Roman Catholic Church until 2020.

Across the years St Aidan’s has been an home of gifted artists, including Ray Woods sharing his skills with the Anglesea artists community and holiday Kids Bash and Pauline Reeve who hosted a Painter’s group for 20years. The site was also room was also a location on the Surf Coast Arts Trail for several years.

Under the initiative of assistant Rev’d Jenny Dunn, a successful kids club built bridges with the local community and school. While this has not continued, Keith and Mary Bremner from the Uniting Church also spent a number of years coordinating the Community Christmas event with the local school. 

By 2020 the Catholic community made the difficult decision to conclude meeting in Aireys Inlet. 

For St Aidan’s Anglicans a point of change had also been approaching. The remaining local Anglicans could not easily gather because of health and transport challenges but were still in good spirits. During the pandemic no services were held, and restrictions created further strain.  Everyone felt this loss deeply.

As restrictions lightened 10 members shared Christmas lunch at the end of 2020. This turned out to be a last supper for our community who dispersed or went home to the Lord over the following few years.

While we are not currently gathering as Anglicans, we are glad to enable the Uniting church to continue ministry and we value sharing with them during Lent and Advent studies.