[1] The first visit by an Anglican priest to the Diamond Fields, in 1870, came from the Free State when the Revd Charles Clulee, born in 1837 Birmingham, England, spent part of a winter holiday there from Bloemfontein.
Ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Diamond Fields – which, like the Diocese of Bloemfontein as a whole, lay beyond the Queen’s dominions – was first officially extended with the arrival of Archdeacon Henry Kitton from Grahamstown in November 1870.
Anglican services and rites were to be performed only by the archdeacon or clergymen he had authorized – until permanent arrangements were made.
Moving swiftly to consolidate an Anglican presence, Kitton convened a meeting of the English Church Committee in December 1870.
Murray, accepting office as secretary, advocated the erection of a church building and in February 1871 the British High Commissioner Sir Henry Barkly, during his visit, laid the foundation stone.