Our history

A group of people standing in front of the stone church in Mittagong, about 1905 — The church in Mittagong, about 1905.

Presbyterians have worshipped in Mittagong since 1868, and our stone church on the corner of Alice and Edward Streets opened in 1885. Today we meet with the Bowral and Moss Vale churches as Southern Highlands Presbyterian Church.

Timeline

1868. Presbyterian services begin in Mittagong, led by the catechist C. J. Mood, with regular visits from the ministers at Sutton Forest. Mittagong was then part of the Sutton Forest charge.

1884. Three local men, a storekeeper, a tailor and a builder, buy the land on the corner of Alice and Edward Streets.

1885. The stone church is opened by Rev. Dr Grant of Shoalhaven. It was built largely for the Scottish families working the oil-shale mines at Joadja Creek. The same year, Mittagong and Joadja Creek become a parish of their own.

1886. Rev. John MacIntyre becomes the first minister.

1889 to 1897. Rev. James Goudie is minister of the Mittagong and Bowral parish. A manse is built next to the church in 1890 and 1891; it was sold in 1903.

1897 to 1899. The church has no minister for two years after the Joadja Creek mine closes and many families leave the district.

1899 onwards. Mittagong and Bowral are served together as one parish, sharing a minister for most of the twentieth century.

1958. A new Sunday school hall opens in the church grounds.

2015. The congregation celebrates 130 years of worship in the stone church.

2026. We join with the Bowral and Moss Vale Presbyterian churches as Southern Highlands Presbyterian Church, and continue our ministry in Mittagong.

Our church today

We have a particular concern for people with disabilities and special needs, and we support scripture teaching in local high schools, Presbyterian Inland Mission, Transport for Christ and Southern Highlands Christian School.

Sources

James Cameron, Centenary History of the Presbyterian Church in New South Wales (1905), pages 258 to 259. The 1905 photograph is from plate 77 of the same book.

Wingecarribee Shire Council, Community Heritage Study 2021 to 2023, Mittagong and Renwick evidence sheets (2023).

Berrima District Historical and Family History Society, A guide to historic sites of Mittagong (2013).