The contractor however withdrew and fresh tenders were called in the same year: The advertisement notes that plans and specifications were with the prominent Colonial architect John Verge.

[4] Work on the parsonage however proceeded, allowing the formal appointment of the first resident minister to the Parish of Bungonia, in effect the Southern Highlands, in 1841.

The rector serving Christ Church from Marulan over the same period is the last known "parson" to have occupied the parsonage which was then leased and then in 1958 sold.

[7][1] Loss of most of the diocesan records has meant that the new "church" effectively passed into de facto "oblivion" for much of the twentieth century.

The few surviving documents suggest that isolation and lack of funds to support a local clergyman in remote parishes such as Bungonia continued to preoccupy the Diocese.

In spite of the long distances over unmade roads, the churches were expected to provide much of the "grass roots" social support in the rural communities.

Predictably, the move provoked a fear amongst Bungonia residents that Christ Church (with an equally small congregation) would also be closed.

[1] Interest in Christ Church and the Bungonia village as historic places surged in the 1980s when the number of persons residing in or visiting the district rose substantially.

[10][11] The walls are made of a visually attractive local rubblestone with smoothly dressed sandstone used for buttresses, quoins and surrounding the single, double and triple-light lancet windows and arched doorways.

[1] The interior of the church is divided into the traditional sectors of nave, Chancel-Sanctuary by a corbelled chancel arch made of dressed sandstone.

Exceptions are the boundary fence (intact but decayed), the Nave floor (badly affected by dry rot) and one interior wall (signs of rising damp - said to have been fixed).

[1] Christ Church's form and (fixed) internal fabric have remained intact since its building in 1878-1893 except for the roof cladding and some windows.

[1] The foundations of the 1836 church (visible at the western end of the 1870s building) offer an excellent opportunity for historical archaeological research.

With its parsonage, glebe, and cemetery, it provides one of the few largely intact groups of linked heritage places that can be associated with the southward expansion of the Church of England beyond Sydney after 1820.

It mirrors many of the political and social forces which have shaped European settlement in southern New South Wales, in particular the seminal role played by the challenging location of major road and rail links between Sydney and Melbourne.

[12][1] Christ Church Anglican was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 1 October 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

Christ Church (and Bungonia Village) occupy a central position within a group of closely linked heritage places that reflects the evolving pattern of European spiritual and community life on the Southern Highlands from 1820s up to now.

[1] It is associated with, and reflects the impact of, significant events in the cultural history of the Southern Highlands, in particular the development of the Great South road between 1820-1840 and its subsequent re-routing and upgrading into the Hume Highway linking Sydney to Melbourne after 1840.

It has a very strong visual appeal due to its stone construction, homely size, "Early English" architectural style and Gothic, Aesthetic and Arts and Crafts interior features, in particular the font, pulpit, Sanctuary furniture and stained glass.

It is clearly identified with a valued institution (Church of England) that has provided a focus for both spiritual and social activities (including schooling and basic health services) to isolated communities on the Southern Highlands since European settlement.