Ebenezer, New South Wales

Ebenezer is a historic town in New South Wales, Australia, in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. Ebenezer is located 69 kilometres north-west of Sydney and about 5 kilometres from the larger centre of Wilberforce. It sits on the banks of the Hawkesbury River and like typical early 19th century villages in NSW, it straggles along the roads rather than compactly around a village centre.HistoryThe town was named after Eben-Ezer in the Bible, 1 Samuel 7:12, wherein Samuel set up a stone between Mizpah and Shen and gave the name to Ebenezer.ChurchEbenezer Uniting Church, on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, was originally a Presbyterian chapel which is the oldest standing church building in Australia. The area was settled in 1803 by a number of free settler families who sailed to Australia on the Coromandel in 1802. These settlers worshipped under a local gum tree, which still exists on the opposite side of the road from the church. James Mein, an elder of Galashiels Kirk started holding informal services in his house at Portland and from these meetings grew a desire to build the church at Ebenezer.One of the important families in the area was the Grono family, early boat builders who built boats up to 200 tons on the Hawkesbury. They and other local families. mostly Scots who had emigrated from London, assisted in building a simple sandstone church, which was cut from sandstone along the banks of the river. The church was built in 1808-09 but not finally fitted out until 1817. Its restoration has been done with recognition of the church's importance and is still used for Sunday services. More like a crofter's cottage than a church, the stone entrance porch was added in 1929 and the eastern vestry in 1966. The cedar bookcase in the porch belonged to the first minister, Dr John McGarvie, who lived in Ebenezer from 1826-1831.