There is also evidence to suggest that the occupation of these lands continued after European contact, through discovery of intermingled glass and stone flakes in archaeological surveys of the place.

[1] Prospect Hill, Sydney's largest body of igneous rock, lies centrally in the Cumberland Plain and dominates the landscape of the area.

Very early after first settlement, on 26 April 1788, an exploration party heading west led by Governor Phillip, climbed Prospect Hill.

[1] During the initial struggling years of European settlement in NSW, Governor Phillip began to settle time-expired convicts on the land as farmers, after the success of James Ruse at Rose Hill.

[1] The arrival of the first settlers prompted the first organised Aboriginal resistance to the spread of settlement, with the commencement of a violent frontier conflict in which Pemulwuy and his Bidjigal clan played a central role.

On 1 May 1801 Governor King took drastic action, issuing a public order requiring that Aboriginal people around Parramatta, Prospect Hill and Georges River should be "driven back from the settlers" habitations by firing at them'.

The meeting was significant because a group of Aboriginal women and a young free settler at Prospect named John Kennedy acted as intermediaries.

The Sydney Gazette report of the meeting is notable for the absence of the sneering tone that characterised its earlier coverage of Aboriginal matters.

When Governor Macquarie paid a visit to the area in 1810, he was favourably impressed by the comfortable conditions that had been created.

Henry Robertson is thought to have been the architect for the building although it is highly possible that William Lawson, a surveyor by training, was designer of the church.

[1][4]: 15–16 [5] The condition of the church deteriorated throughout the mid-twentieth century, and a dwindling congregation and lack of financial support led to its closure in 1967.

A group of citizens interested in preserving the church formed The Prospect Trust in November 1967 under the chairmanship of Robert Brown.

Parts of the original box pews and joinery, an 1850s organ brought to St Bartholomew's in 1888, a pulpit and lecterns from 1908 and all pressed metal ceilings were lost.

), and Bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii), and African olive (Olea europaea var.africana) clumps are found alongside the fence at either side of the entrance gates to the church.

[1] The building is a plain, rectangular brick structure in the Victorian Georgian style, built on an east–west axis comprising nave, chancel and vestries with a tower at the west end.

[1] The church hall, relocated from its original location in Wetherill Park in 1908, is a one-storey, rectangular building.

St. Bartholomew's remains a dominant landmark in the surrounding landscape due to its prominent siting, striking design and mature tree plantings.

[1][3]: 8 [4]: 100 St Bartholomew's Anglican Church & Cemetery was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

[1] The church hall provides an element associated with the construction of Prospect Reservoir, a major engineering achievement within the district.

[1][3]: 8 The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The site is an important surviving fragment of nineteenth century cultural landscape; an historic icon; a virtual oasis, and de facto public heritage green space, in a once notable rural area now surrounded by the effects of rapid urban, industrial and commercial development.

[1][3]: 8 The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

[1][3]: 8 This Wikipedia article was originally based on St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church (former) & Cemetery, entry number 00037 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 1 June 2018.

Media related to St Bartholomew's Anglican Church and Cemetery, Prospect at Wikimedia Commons