It was consecrated in 1859, and served as church, priest's residence, and schoolhouse for the Toodyay Valley Catholic School.

Most of the recently arrived Enrolled Pensioner Guards and Irish immigrants were Catholics, as were other ticket-of-leave holders.

They had neither church nor chaplain, and Bishop Rosendo Salvado made it his business to move among the local people to serve their needs.

For a while, Martelli lived in an unfinished Pensioner Guard cottage next to the new Toodyay Convict Hiring Depot located upstream from the townsite.

When, in May 1856, he was asked to vacate, he moved to an old straw hut belonging to young Pensioner Guard, David Gailey.

[5]: 135  The church building also contained a small schoolroom and modest accommodation for the parish priest.

By comparison, the newly established town of Newcastle remained comparatively undamaged, apart from the loss of its bridge.

The Church of Sancta Maria in Old Toodyay continued to serve the community until approximately 1867, after which it appears to have been no longer in use.

[7] In early 1872, Martelli was appointed parish priest for the St John the Baptist Church.

[5]: 288 Mary Ann Markey, a widow, made the old vacant church her home until her death, in 1907, at the age of 84 years.

[citation needed] This article incorporates text by Alison Cromb available under the CC BY SA 2.5 AU licence.