The land for the church was donated in 1848 by the South Australia Company, who received it from George Brunskill.

[2] Percy Grainger's parents, architect John Harry Grainger and Rose Annie Aldridge, daughter of a local hotel-keeper, were married in St Matthew's in 1880, and Percy's funeral was conducted there after his body was flown back from the United States in 1961.

[4] The church was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate on 21 March 1978.

[7] The church communities described themselves as "gospel-centred" and evangelical in theological stance.

[10] Notable South Australians buried on the grounds of St Matthews include:[3]