Visit to Christ Church Cooma March 2025

CRHR Visit to Christ Church Cooma March 2025

The Monaro’s oldest church, Christ Church on Church Road, Cooma, has the distinction of being the oldest on the Monaro and is classified by the National Trust of Australia as a building of interest and architectural merit.

Christ Church Cemetery, Cooma, is the final resting place for many Monaro pioneers.

It was only in June 1823, at Billilingra, that Europeans first, formally, sighted this Monaro area. (Captain John Currie, Brigade Major John Ovens, Joseph Wild and at least one aboriginal.)

It lay outside the Limits of Location set by NSW Governor Darling beyond which the acquisition and occupation of land were prohibited.

Those who settled here did so in defiance of the government and became known as squatters.

Victoria did not become a separate state until 1851 so that, in 1845, it was still part of NSW and the Monaro area was regarded as taking in county extending from Michelago well into what became Victoria.

Not surprisingly, it took years for people to settle here in significant numbers and for decades there was no town of Cooma – rather, there existed a “locality”.

A burial ground developed on land along the road that led to Myalla. It is believed that there are several graves here for which there are no records or markers.

Of graves that are recorded, the oldest is that of Johanna O’Rourke, from Tipperary in Ireland, who died aged 21 in 1842.

Another of the early graves is that of Murray Mitchell, the son of the explorer and surveyor Sir Thomas Mitchell, who died aged 18 in 1846.

In 1843, the Reverend Edward Gifford Pryce was appointed by the Church of England as Missionary Chaplain to Monaro and the South Coast. He was the last of the Missionary Chaplains to be sent from England to Australia by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and after months of homelessness, he took up residence at The Grange, a house near the burial ground.

This house remains. At that time, there was no church on the Monaro.

Early in 1845, Bishop William Grant Broughton (the first and only Church of England bishop of Australia) visited this area and while here, after consultation with Pryce, John Lambie (Commissioner for Crown Lands) and Government Surveyor McCabe, decided to build the Christ Church on land adjoining the burial ground, belonging to William Bradley.

Bishop Broughton also designed it, while staying at the Kirwan Inn, Cooma and on 17 February that year, he laid the foundation stone.

But financial and labouring problems beset the project and the building was not completed until 1850.

The site of the church was absorbed into what became a cemetery.

The cemetery, following Crown Land subdivisions, was broken up into sections along denominational lines – Roman Catholic, Church of England, Wesleyan, Presbyterian, Quaker, Jewish and ”other denominations” in accordance with the practice of the time. 

Early in the 20th century, the Church of England bought from the Crown that section of the cemetery on which the church stood.

From 1845-1850, the town of Cooma developed quickly and even by the time the construction of Christ Church was completed, it had become apparent that it had been built in the wrong place and was too small.

Services took place at Christ Church from January 1850 until 1872 when a new church, St Paul’s, in town was completed.

Since then, it has been used for Church of England services infrequently – some years not at all.

There have been a few periods when the church was used for services by other Christian groups. It has also been used for special services, most recently in 2011, for descendants of the early settlers of this district buried in the cemetery, and from time to time is visited by groups of people during historic church/building tours.

Following the development of the present cemetery off Mittagang Road in Cooma (~1876), the old one was closed to further burials except for a few people who had a close ancestor who was a worshipper at the church during the 22 years that it was the sole Church of England church in the district.

Records show that 243 people are buried in the cemetery, with all but 50 to 60 having died in the 1800s.

With the ravages of time and weather, the church has periodically fallen into disrepair and it underwent renovations in 1936, 1960 and 2001.

The building now stands as a memorial to the early settlers and pioneers of the area, and to Bishop Broughton.

Ref: aboutregional.com.au  4 Apr 2023 by Gail Eastaway 

On 20 Mar 2025 a small group of people from CRHR visited Christ Church with some of the local Trustees to see the church and graveyard.  Although many graves have deteriorated, with some memorials unreadable, it was good to see many that are in reasonable to good condition.  The theme of ‘Remembrance’ prompted much discussion in regards to how should we / society reflect and remember those buried so long ago. 

It was great to see that The Snowy Monaro Regional Council only last week placed a QR code at the Church entrance sign. This, new work, provides access to the cemetery burial data base and a map of all known graves. https://www.snowymonaro.nsw.gov.au/Community/Cemeteries/Cemetery-Search-Tool  You have to look for and use the “Old Cooma Cemetery” not Christ Church on the site.  They have done a great job. Noelene Whiting is the Environmental Management Administration person leading this initiative. Here is an example:

On 23 Mar 2025 Rob and Margaret Quodling joined a number of local Cooma families at Christ Church for the 180th Anniversary Commemorative Service. Jim Litchfield provided a brief welcome and history. Reverend Martin Christensen (Canberra based) led the service. The Right Reverend Mark Short, Bishop of Canberra & Goulburn provided the Message of the day. Locals, Heather Little provided the Thanksgiving prayer and Sue Litchfield, the Bible reading.

ABOUT CRHR - Background, Aims, Membership, Activities, Contact

   

Background:

Canberra and Region Heritage Researchers was established in 2020 as an informal group to provide mutual support for people at every level who are interested in researching the history and heritage of Canberra and the Region. We currently have more than 30 members.  Most CRHR members are also members of other history and heritage groups, and we work collaboratively with these organisations to mutual benefit.

Aims:

The group has an outward focus.  It is committed to fostering new research and disseminating results widely to raise public awareness and understanding of local history and heritage issues through the collaborative sharing of new knowledge, skills and expertise.  We also support members who research for interest rather than for publication.

CRHR is founded on the key principle that cooperative working can bring together different skills and interests and lead to outcomes that are beyond the capacity of singular research efforts, particularly in a digital environment which offers exciting opportunities for collaboration. 

We have a particular interest in using digital heritage resources such as Trove, the National Archives, ACTmapi and the NSW Land Registry Services, and in the use of new analytical tools and techniques such as spatial and imagery searches, and the responsible use of AI.  Members at all levels of technology skills are valued.

We also aim to encourage the production of high quality and compelling history and heritage research in a variety of formats such as videos, blogs, walks, talks and articles that can be disseminated to a wide range of audiences through our combined knowledge of history and heritage groups, publications, web sites and other channels.

Membership:

Membership is open to anyone who shares this interest, from beginners through to experienced researchers.  The group has no formal officers, constitution or membership or other fees, and the group relies on members contributing their expertise and skills.  Members are encouraged to take on responsibilities for organising events, and to share administrative tasks.  Members are also encouraged to share their knowledge and provide mentoring and assistance to other members, and to publish their findings in innovative ways.  

The current membership has found that moving out of individual silos and being exposed to others’ interests provides a broader context for their individual research which enriches perspectives at every level of experience.   It has become a core value of the group -  members helping members to produce better history and heritage research. 

We have been very fortunate that the founding membership has a remarkably wide range of experience, interests and expertise.  And we are hopeful that CRHR will expand and new members will also bring their various expertise and experience to the network. 

Research Methods:

CRHR is evolving in a research environment which is constantly changing.  Digital technologies are transforming the ways in which history and heritage research is conducted, the way archival collections are stored and accessed, and the ways in which research outcomes can be shared.  Many new and exciting research discoveries are being made as a result.  CRHR assists members to share their knowledge and skills in these new processes, keep up to date and develop new skills.  CRHR received a 2023 Heritage Award from National Trust (ACT) for Digital Research: Collaborative Research and Promotion.

Activities:

CRHR currently links members in the following ways:

• A regular schedule of Zoom and face to face meetings, offering presentations by members and outside experts on topics of general relevance, and a forum for airing ideas and seeking support.
• Chinwag meetings – regular meetings where members can provide updates on their research, request information or assistance, and share information on useful sources they have found.
• Group visits to archives, heritage places etc.
• A digital forum (currently the CRHR Google Group platform) that provides a forum where members can post questions or share new information that they have found which might be relevant to others.  This has led to many useful collaborations and helped many to progress their research.
• Cooperative working – e.g. some members have worked in small groups to research and produce short heritage videos.  These bring history and heritage to new audiences.
• Many member projects draw on skills and information from other members. The group is increasingly contacted by other history and heritage organisations, researchers, authors, libraries and government and community bodies to assist with research queries, analytical tools etc.
• CRHR operates a stall at the annual National Trust Open Day during the ACT Heritage Festival. Some members contribute to this and other events, for example through presentations, publications etc.

Contacts:

If you would like to find out more or join CRHR contact the co-conveners Tony Maple and Rob Quodling at crhresearchers@gmail.com