Posted previously, but a good read all the same .... The Oldest Church in Australia : The demolition of the first St. John's Church, Parramatta, removed from the Church of England the honour of possessing the oldest place of worship in Australia, and secured that distinction for the little Presbyterian Church at Ebenezer, on the banks of the Hawkesbury River. The old Hawkesbury ! What memories of the past slumber beside its placid flow. Here an old homestead nearly 100 years old, or an old mill around whose crumbling ruins cluster many old associations, almost forgotton. As I sit and ponder o'er the past, as I watch the willows dipping their branches in the stream that flows past my feet, as I note the soft silver sheen stretching across the water's surface from shore to shore, where the sunlight is bathing its warm ardour in the stream, I seem to see a long procession of boats coming down the river; they are coming so slowly, and I can hear the regular dip of their oars, and I watch them, as they reach a little cutting in the bank, lift something covered with a sheet from out of the foremost boat, and they follow it, two and two, up that rough hewn path, towards the little churchyard that overlooks the river. And I remember again the story of old Ebenezer and its little chapel. It is just a plain stone structure, without any ornamentation at all, no lofty spire crowns it, no beautiful archway of finely wrought stone work shelters its little doorways; upon the inside there are no vaulted ceilings, no pillars, no side aisles and no memorial windows; but there is a quiet dignity there, and the neat and clean interior looks bright in the sunshine that streams in through four large windows. As I walked up that faded strip of carpet, and stood in that ancient pulpit, I felt that the place whereon I stood was holy ground. One hundred and eight years ago is a long way back in Australian history. In 1802 a number of English and Scottish nonconformists arrived as free settlers in Sydney. Many of them attempted to settle in the neighbourhood of Auburn and Rookwood, in consequence of which we have the name Liberty Plains handed down to us. That part of the colony offering but poor inducements to intending settlers, most of them formed a settlement on the Hawkesbury. No sooner were they settled in their new homes than they commenced to raise money towards the erection of a chapel and schoolhouse, as Governor King testifies in October, 1802. Having formed a society or congregation, the members soon went to work towards the erection of their church, they cut the stone into blocks, and brought it to the site, some contributed produce off their farms, Thos. ARNDELL and W. HALL being authorised to accept such, the proceeds of which were used to pay accounts with. Some of the timber work was paid for in wheat calculated at 10s per bushel, or fresh pork at 1s per lb. Mr David DUNSTAN, the founder of the famous Hawkesbury family of that name, completed the carpenter's work. And thus this little band of devoted men worked until 1808, when their chapel was completed, and, except for two small alterations, it remains the same today. When they finished their chapel, one of themselves, James MEIN, an elder of the Kirk, became their preacher, a position he filled for many years. He, and several members of the first congregation, are buried in the adjoining churchyard and many of their descendants worship in the little building today. The first ordained minister to dispense the Holy Communion within its walls was the Rev. Samuel LEIGH, the pioneer Wesleyan misssionary in Australia; the date of his visitation was 1816. The Rev. Dr. LANG was the first Presbyterian clergyman to officiate there, this was in 1822. The first regular minister was the Rev. John McGARVIE. Surely the history of Ebenezer Church will interest many besides Presbyterians; and the fact that it still remains a landmark of better things of the past is an evidence of the good work that love and loyalty did so many years ago. William Freame - 1910 (extract from the Cumberland Argus) Diane