Broken Hill Celebrates 130 Years of Pioneering

Wesley Uniting Church in Broken Hill has celebrated 130 years of being a pioneering church, part of the local community since the beginning.

Uniting Church NSW/ACT Moderator Rev. Simon Hansford preached at the commemorative service, which took place on Sunday, 29 July.

In his sermon the Moderator reflected on how the story of Wesley Uniting Church was one of pioneering, “One that has never been short of courage and character.”

Rev Hansford spoke of the number of prayers and lives, “embedded in the mortar of the of the church since the foundation stone was laid some 130 years ago.”

The church has been part of the community since the very beginning, with the stones first laid on 31 July, 1888, three years after Broken Hill started as a mining community.

“Today is a celebration. Wesley Uniting Church Broken Hill is a hospitable and magnificent space always in the heart of the community not just represented by these walls but wherever that may be,” Rev. Hansford said.

The Moderator paid tribute to the church’s continual resilience over these years, especially now that the community faces another drought.

“As the community faces another drought-stricken year, we hear God’s call into a new space,”  he said.

“We are on this journey together as a whole church.

“We are disciples of Christ not just because of the evidence we see but because of the hope that we have.

“We need courage to renew. And hear how the church is calling them into this new space. We are disciples of Christ because of the hope we have not just because of the evidence we see but the hope.”

Rev. Hansford said that the commemoration marked a “fine weekend.”

Wesley Uniting Church was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 23 April, 2010 when herritage classifications were changed. The building is recognised as having State significance as a place dating back to the town’s pioneer days. It is also recognised for its Victorian Gothic design.

The church is also known for being featured in an advertisement with the late artist Pro Hart in 1988.

Part of this story first appeared in the Barrier Daily Truth.

Image by Mattinbgn

Jonathan Foye is Insights’ Editor