Mission Hall
Kilmore / Heathcote Area Youth Group
Below are some extracts from Rev. Robert Green’s book:
“My Story: A Record of the Life and Work of Robert H. Green”, published 1978.
PROTESTANT CONNECTION
Eddie Hayes and Ada 'Millie' Green's were the only couple to be married at the Mission Hall on Spring Farm in Baynton. Millie's brother, Rev Robert Green recorded the marriage on pages 10-12 of his book about the Green family and his travels.
On pages 6 & 7 of his book, Robert Green described the complex interweaving of Protestant roots for the various families arriving into the Kilmore / Heathcote area:
“Our Australian founders were Baptists. My father was a Baptist: he married a member of the open and liberal Brethren. Amongst us at present there are two Baptists and one twig of Brethren. Of my nine brothers and sisters, Annie, the eldest (unmarried) alone followed the Green denominational tradition. Most branches and twigs on the family tree are of the Presbyterian or Methodist shade. This is due to the fact that the Presbyterian was the only church for miles in the Baynton area, Protestant or Roman Catholic, and that two of the boys (Harry and George) came under the influence of a deep religious revival while in Shepparton with their uncles (Edward Septimus and Octavius George) who were also drawn into Methodism, as were the Fletchers, Methodism being the only church in that district at the time.
Of the ten children of William Green, Annie, the second eldest, never married, and remained a Baptist; this may come under the Law of Cause and Effect! 0f the others, four married Methodists, forming three Methodist families and one Presbyterian. Three married Presbyterians, forming two Presbyterian families and one Methodist. Two married Anglicans and formed one Anglican family and one Methodist family.“
On pages 6 & 7 of his book, Robert Green described the complex interweaving of Protestant roots for the various families arriving into the Kilmore / Heathcote area:
“Our Australian founders were Baptists. My father was a Baptist: he married a member of the open and liberal Brethren. Amongst us at present there are two Baptists and one twig of Brethren. Of my nine brothers and sisters, Annie, the eldest (unmarried) alone followed the Green denominational tradition. Most branches and twigs on the family tree are of the Presbyterian or Methodist shade. This is due to the fact that the Presbyterian was the only church for miles in the Baynton area, Protestant or Roman Catholic, and that two of the boys (Harry and George) came under the influence of a deep religious revival while in Shepparton with their uncles (Edward Septimus and Octavius George) who were also drawn into Methodism, as were the Fletchers, Methodism being the only church in that district at the time.
Of the ten children of William Green, Annie, the second eldest, never married, and remained a Baptist; this may come under the Law of Cause and Effect! 0f the others, four married Methodists, forming three Methodist families and one Presbyterian. Three married Presbyterians, forming two Presbyterian families and one Methodist. Two married Anglicans and formed one Anglican family and one Methodist family.“
FAMILY CONNECTIONS
Edward Hayes (Senior) told us in his booklet, Early History of the Tooborac Wesleyan Church and Sunday School,”that the first people to gather for a church service in 1864 at Thomas Blake’s home were the owners, Thomas & his wife, Mark & Maria Hayes, William & Annie Green from Baynton and Mrs Capstick. Edward himself was a child among the five children present.
On page 9, Robert Green includes the following obituary for his father William Green as printed in the “Kyneton Guardian” in June 1928:
"The late Mr. Green (age 84 years) did not at any time seek a prominent place in the public or civic life of the community. He was of a home-loving disposition, and found his greatest happiness in the family circle. Although an Australian by-birth, he took a keen interest in the affairs of the motherland, and always spoke with fervent pride of the race from which he came, and with loyal devotion to the royal family. He regarded the Bible as an unerring guide and on its teaching he patterned his life.”
Mark Hayes’ grandson Eddie and William Green’s granddaughter Ada ’Millie’ married in 1909 in the Baynton Mission Hall.
On page 9, Robert Green includes the following obituary for his father William Green as printed in the “Kyneton Guardian” in June 1928:
"The late Mr. Green (age 84 years) did not at any time seek a prominent place in the public or civic life of the community. He was of a home-loving disposition, and found his greatest happiness in the family circle. Although an Australian by-birth, he took a keen interest in the affairs of the motherland, and always spoke with fervent pride of the race from which he came, and with loyal devotion to the royal family. He regarded the Bible as an unerring guide and on its teaching he patterned his life.”
Mark Hayes’ grandson Eddie and William Green’s granddaughter Ada ’Millie’ married in 1909 in the Baynton Mission Hall.
YOUTH EAGER FOR CONNECTION
The occasion of Eddie Hayes and Ada 'Millie' Green's marriage at the Mission Hall is recorded in the following extract from Rev Robert Green's book on pages 10-12. Robert was Millie's brother.
“No record of the (Green) family and of Baynton should fail to make some reference to a rather remarkable movement, perhaps both religious and social, that began in 1892 and continued into the early years of the 20th century, when the district began to lose the young people of the first generation and before a second generation had made its appearance, and when both Baynton Schools — East and West — had closed their doors. Young people were in every home, and there was nowhere for them to go and little for them to do except strip wattle bark, milk cows, trap rabbits and go to school! There was, of course, a service once a fortnight in the two nearest Presbyterian churches — Baynton and Emu Flat. They were good services, well attended. Neither church had buildings or plans for youth work. There was no public hall for many miles in any direction. Something had to be done! And so, it happened! The genesis of it is locked up in the memories of those who, long ago, with few exceptions, have migrated to another realm. It is safe, however, to say that it was a human social youth explosion, that naturally took on a religious form, for it undoubtedly stemmed from what had recently happened in Tank Corner (Shepparton), previously referred to in this little fragment of history. People were brought together, and in a different way, who might never otherwise have met except when, leaning on the rail of a stock sale yard or at the dinner table of a country hotel. It united the district in a way that nothing else could have done and on a deeper basis and a higher and more mature level than the country dance or social (if there had been such amenities!). The initial drive, I should say, came from Mr. 0.G. Green (Uncle George), a lover of youth and very popular. Active supporters were Andrew and Jack Kilpatrick, my two brothers, Harry and George, Andrew Campbell, and others. It began with weekly meetings in the homes on Thursday and Sunday evenings. Few, if any, homes were closed against this spontaneous spiritual and social combustion of youth and need. They came in little parties, across the hills, almost exclusively on foot, carrying their hurricane lanterns and their Bibles and Hymn Books, generally singing as they went. Every meeting was crowded. It consisted of singing — plenty of it, short prayers, Bible reading, a five or six minute talk by someone selected for each meeting. There was always an opportunity for anyone to briefly say what he or she could not keep to themselves! Scores of young people were given new horizons and led into a truer view of life, that completely changed for them the purpose of living. The men of the district saw that things were happening and that something had to be done about it. A central meeting place was needed. Mr. Robert Kilpatrick gave a block of land; working bees built a stone hall about midway between the two churches (Baynton & Emu Flat). There was never any conflict with the churches and I would say that the warmth and freedom of this spontaneous stirring of the spirit was reflected in a better tone in the churches. |
My father, I would think, was the chief architect and mason, having built the “proper house”, referred to earlier, for his mother. It was “one of those days” for Baynton when, on a Sunday afternoon, the “Mission Hall”, as it was called, was opened, with a packed and overflowing congregation, by the Rev. J. R. Crocket, the young local Presbyterian Minister, who afterwards became Moderator General of his church in Australia.
Here, into the early years of the 20th century, the work continued in much the same form as it had begun, until the ending of the population explosion, which closed the schools and rendered the Mission Hall unnecessary. The activities in the Hall included 11 a.m. Sunday School, all ages 7 p.m. Sunday service, Thursday 8 p.m. Fellowship meeting or Class meeting, Saturday 8 p.m. Prayer meeting. All meetings were conducted by local people; some very good preachers, expositors and leaders came to light over the years. The door for self- expression was opened, something urgently needed at the time. Many districts have had similar self- expressive and spirit guided upsurges, but I am concerned only with Baynton. A choir was organised and anthems were attempted. The few musical minded visitors to the district found an outlet for their talent through this movement — an impossibility within the churches as things were. New tunes were introduced. Songs, such as the Holy City, etc., were first heard in Baynton in this way. The overall reflex action on the churches was very evident, not only in their musical programme, but in the character and meaning of their worship. The old sanctuary still stands (not yet listed as of national importance and worthy of preservation!) as an enduring granite reminder of a human and spiritual impulse that brought religion and ordinary life closer together: a movement that had its day but still goes on in widely scattered places through lives that it enriched. For the time it met the social and religious needs of a community. It was followed by the rise of a debating society which became very popular. Federation was a fresh fact of Australian history. A new nation had been born and local orators had to straighten things out - Alfred Deakin had to be emulated. Debates with surrounding towns and communities showed Baynton as a worthy opponent on questions of the day. Free Trade and Protection; Should State Parliaments be abolished? — Baynton decidedly said yes; Socialism, a heaven for debaters on both sides; that domestic servants make better wives than school teachers, were some of the unanswerable questions that engaged our attention. Names such as Metcalf, Anderson, Hayes and Thompson linger amongst the memories of those wordy conflicts. One of these would-be problem solvers was likened by a local school teacher to the great Alfred Deakin himself. ** Successful attempts were made at theatricals and a Glee Club flourished. Baynton had left behind the pre- Mission Hall era. It could never be the same again.” |