ST ANDREWS CHURCH

St Andrews is a town in Victoria, Australia, 36 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the Shire of Nillumbik. At the 2011 Census, St Andrews had a population of 1,138. St Andrews is well known for its alternative market, which is open every Saturday from 8am to 2pm. It also contains a hotel, primary school, bakery, CFA, general store and a community centre, as well as the small church from which the town takes its name.

Originally called Queenstown, the area was surveyed in 1858 and a town proclaimed on 25 February 1861. St Andrew Post Office had opened earlier on 1 January 1856 and was renamed St Andrews in 1923. It experienced population growth during the Victorian gold rush, when prospectors mined the hills around the town. The first discovery of gold in Queenstown was recorded in The Herald on 9 and 11 March 1855 and was attributed to a George Boston and two Scotsmen.

On 7 February 2009 a major bushfire destroyed houses on Ninks, Muller, Jacksons and Wild Dog Creek Roads, as well as Buttermans Track and Olives Lane. Its progression toward the town centre was halted by a southerly wind change, which saved the rest of the town, but drove the fire front further east, destroying the towns of Kinglake and Marysville.

This post is part of the Spiritual Sundays meme,
and also part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.