Ebenezer Church (Australia)

Worship began on the site as early as 1803, when 15 families, under the leadership of Pastor James Mein, met beneath the tree which still stands adjacent to the church today.

The Covenanted Membership of the Church which was formed in 1806, was made up of people of Methodist, Anglican and Catholic backgrounds with a core group of Coromandelers.

When Lang went overseas in 1830, McGarvie went back to Sydney to officiate at the Scots Church in Jamison Street and assist in the associated college.

[5][1] The pioneer families who worshipped at the Church were a vital part of the development of the Hawkesbury as the food bowl for the colony.

[7][1] Sloping site with graves broadly west of the building complex, with some paved forecourt area from the street in to the church flanking the graveyard's northern edge.

This eastern slope of the church yard is predominantly grassed or grassland with some scattered remnant native Cumberland Plain Woodland trees.

[1] The schoolmaster's residence is of the same heavy construction as the church but has an unusual jerkinhead roof and raised stone window surrounds.

[6] This original annex was approximately 2.5m wide and ran from the living room door to the western corner of the schoolhouse.

The east and west elevations were clad in vertical slab, while the north face appears to have been a rough weatherboarding.

[8] The remains of the original pergola and grape vine that extended to the living area door and smaller kitchen annex still exist.

The simplicity and sturdiness of the buildings, particularly the church, can be seen as a manifestation of the way of life, taste and customs of the early Scottish Presbyterian settlers.

[1] Ebenezer Church was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

[10][1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The simplicity and sturdiness of the buildings, particularly the church, can be seen as a manifestation of the way of life, taste and customs of the early Scottish Presbyterian settlers, while preserving the autonomy of the schoolmaster's house.

The simplicity and sturdiness of the buildings, particularly the church, can be seen as a manifestation of the way of life, taste and customs of the early Scottish Presbyterian settlers.

[12][1] This Wikipedia article was originally based on Ebenezer Church (Uniting), Old Schoolhouse, Cemetery & Tree, entry number 00138 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on {{{accessdate}}}.

View through the cemetery