The Scots' Church. Melbourne
Biography
The Scots' Church in Melbourne was the first Presbyterian congregation established in Victoria, officially on 3 February 1838. The history of Scots' Church since then includes a number of ups and downs: three times—in 1846, 1883, and 1975—a highly popular minister has left, either to start a new church or to join another. Yet the 1850s brought prosperity and the allegiance of many extablishment families; a splendid new church building was erected in 1874; and by 1900, given that 40 percent of Australian Presbyterians were living in Victoria, Scots' had become the flagship Presbyterian Church in Australia. Indeed, it was regarded by some as having similar significance to Victorian Presbyterians as St Giles' Church, Edinburgh, did to the Presbyterians in Scotland. _Rev Douglas Robertson, Senior Minister, The Scots' Church Melbourne 2014.