[4] It was surveyed in 1871 as a result of demand for housing from those involved in the nearby Wallaroo Mines, forming one of four "occupation blocks" in the area.

[6] In 1874, the local newspaper stated that "the name is not considered suitable to the place, and generally strikes the ear of a stranger as somewhat ridiculous", while the local Bible Christian minister stated that "dog-fighting, wombat and wallaby-hunting were the regular Sunday exercises, and sin had stamped its wretched impress upon the whole neighbourhood.

[8] The main Jerusalem football team merged with the Kadina club in 1908,[9] and the "Jews" football and cricket teams were later based at Jerusalem in the 1920s, competing in the local Kadina competitions.

[10][11] The Jerusalem Methodist Church opened in January 1922, built by voluntary labour on a block of land donated by the Wallaroo and Kadina Mining Company.

[14] Prior to the church's opening, the Wallaroo Mines Gospel Mission Band had been holding open-air and cottage meetings at Jerusalem for three years.