100 years of St Ambrose

The church of St Ambrose belongs, in a wider sense, to all the people of Gilgandra as a memorial to the vision of reconstruction for the peace that had been won at so great a sacrifice.

It is a memorial to those who were killed in action in the great war and to those who took part in the recruiting march to Sydney for which Gilgandra is now famous.

The church was built from starting funds donated by the parish of St Ambrose in Bournemouth, England as a peace thanksgiving for the area which had done the most for the war effort in the Great War and as a token of the brotherhood with the men and women of Australia who fought with England for the freedom of the world.

The balance of the funds to build the church was raised locally in Gilgandra. Gilgandra was selected based on the Coo-ee March, which was the first and longest recruiting march for the war effort.

The 35 men who left Gilgandra arrived in Sydney one month later and their numbers has increased to 263.

The building as it stands today was consecrated on July 26, 1922. To honour those who fought for our freedom in the Great War and those since, we have renamed our church to include the word ‘memorial’.

There will be a thanksgiving service to mark the centenary of St Ambrose Memorial Church with our Bishop Mark Calder in attendance.