St Peter’s, Eastern Hill is one of Melbourne’s oldest churches. To the street, it presents as a discreet complex, as the church itself was designed to address the eastern extension of Bourke Street, an urban initiative that was changed with the siting of Parliament House. Instead, the dominant focus of the St Peter’s complex is the wayside cross located on the corner of Albert and Gisborne Streets. The cross was constructed by the Parish as a memorial to parishioners who left for World War 1 and never returned. It was the first permanent memorial constructed in Victoria to commemorate the WW1 fallen and stands today as a powerful and much admired urban statement. Its design reflects similar wayside crosses erected in villages and across the countryside of Northern France, the setting for much of the tragedy of WW1.

While it is a unique feature of Melbourne, the cross and its setting have, over the years been compromised by the clutter of surrounding urban development. In addition, the presence of the St Peter’s Church complex required a renewed approach. With this in mind and to commemorate the centenary of WW1 Armistice, the parish initiated a building project to undertake building repairs to the cross and provide it with a setting that was both commensurate with its importance and an appropriate entrance space to the St Peter’s Church complex.

The resultant small plaza with its bluestone paving and landscaping, curved benches and signage draws visitors into the Church property and is the setting for one of the Parish’s social ventures, a coffee cart providing income and opportunity for the homeless. The restored wayside cross has an enhanced position within the plaza, located on a low circular plinth and acting as an entrance marker to the plaza and the parish complex