After what feels like an age of dramas, medical appointments and hospital visits, I have had a normal day today.
We have our girlie lunch on the fourth Wednesday of every month and today it was so nice to catch up with friends and have a leisurely lunch.
At the moment I am posting photos taken at the township of Paterson a few weeks ago.
Paterson is a small township in the lower Hunter Region of New South Wales and its present population is 345. It seems to have more churches than population. I have never seen so many churches in a such a small area.
The area was once occupied by the clan of the Wonnarua people, a group of indigenous people of Australia. The first known European in the area was the man whose name the town was to adopt, Colonel William Paterson, who, in 1801, surveyed the area beside the river that Governor King named in his honour.
When large-scale settlement of the Paterson area began in 1822 the religious needs of local residents were serviced by the Rev. George Middleton who was Church of England Chaplain to the penal settlement at Newcastle and the only resident pastor in the district at the time. When Middleton resigned in 1827 he was replaced by the Rev. Frederick Wilkinson who was suspended in 1830 and replaced by the Rev. Charles Wilton.
Presbyterians, however, were the first to have a full-time resident minister at Paterson when the Rev. William Ross arrived in late 1838.
In August 1839 a meeting was held in Paterson to erect a 'Church of Scotland' Ross and his parishioners were quick to start building and tenders were called in April 1840. By May 1840 nearly £800 had been subscribed. In October 1841 the outside walls were nearing completion after extended delays. St Ann's Presbyterian Church was completed in 1842 and officially opened on 27 August that year by Ross.
St Ann's served as one of the oldest continually operating Presbyterian churches in Australia until its closure and decommissioning about 2009. It has since been sold.
Sorry I am a bit absent at the moment. I did intend catching up last night after we got home, but I was so tired I went to bed early.
Axshame that this church is empty Babs! Do they convert churches into houses in Oz I wonder....don't answer that you haven't time!!! Glad you had your girlie lunch, would do you good!
@happypat Yes they do convert churches into houses in Oz, but I don't think it is as popular as it is in the UK. They usually turn them into tourist information centres or museums here.
I can type fast. I learned to touch type at school and it has come in handy ever since.
It is a lovely building. Glad you have a return to normality. Don't worry about the project - you are top priority at the moment and it will take a while to get back into any sort of pattern.
I can type fast. I learned to touch type at school and it has come in handy ever since.
Thanks too for your well wishes. I had a lovely 'normal' day yesterday.