Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, a Union Church is a

church building A church, church building, church house, or chapel is a building used for Christian worship services and Christian activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 AD and 256 AD. ''Church'' is also ...

owned and maintained by a local

trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust (bu ...

and available to multiple denominations. Such churches were once common in rural areas. Some were available to all denominations and even to other religions, others specified particular beliefs, such as the

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

. Many still exist and are in regular use.

Existing Union Churches

New South Wales

Araluen Union Church

There is a Union Church at Araluen. It was built, in 1911, on land donated by William Mundy, on the condition that the building could be used by any denomination. It is used currently for

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and Uniting services on alternating weeks.

Caloola Union Church

Caloola Caloola is a locality in the Central West region of New South Wales. There once was a small village of the same name but it is a ghost town today. At the 2016 census, the locality had a population of 88. Location Caloola is 28 km south-w ...

, New South Wales, this is still maintained by a Trust, and has a historic cemetery. It opened and was dedicated in 1865. As of 2021, four interdenominational Sunday services are conducted each year, with clergy from several denominations attending each.

Meroo Union Church

Mangrove Mountain Union Church

Moonan Flat Union Church

The Union Church in the village of

Moonan Flat Moonan Flat is a village in the Upper Hunter Shire local government area, about north-east of Scone in the Upper Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is about from Sydney, the state capital. The Village Moonan Flat the close ...

, in the Upper Hunter Valley, New South Wales, is used for Anglican and Uniting Church services.

Neurea Union Church

The small Union Church at the locality of Neurea, south of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, is currently in recess, but not officially closed.

Queensland

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, union churches are often titled using words such as "non-denominational", "undenominational", "united" and "community". * Caboonbah Undenominational Church * Purga United Church * United Welsh Church, Blackstone * Community church,

Mount Mee Mount Mee is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Mee had a population of 519 people. Geography Mount Mee (also known as Bonnie Knob) ...

* Hemmant Christian Community Church * Ravenswood Community Church

Historic Union Churches

New South Wales

Awaba Union Church

There is a small disused Union Church building at

Awaba, New South Wales Awaba () is a town and locality in the City of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia, inland from Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by populati ...

Beckom Union Church

There is a disused Union Church building in the village of Beckom.

Brocklesby Union Church

The building that was formerly the Union Church, at

Brocklesby Brocklesby is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the West Lindsey Non-metropolitan district, district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south of Habrough, south-west of Immingham, it is located close to the borde ...

is now privately owned.

Burraga Union Church

There was a Union Church at Burraga.

Cooks Myalls Union Church

There is a Union Church at the locality Cooks Myalls, north-west of

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

, It is probably disused.

Craven Union Church

The building that was formerly the Union Church, at the locality of Craven, south of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, is now privately owned.

Girilambone Union Church

A Union Church was opened at

Girilambone Girilambone is a small village in western New South Wales, Australia. It is located north of Nyngan and 610 km north-west of Sydney. The name is also applied to the surrounding area, for postal and statistical purposes. At the 2016 census, the ...

, New South Wales, in January 1913. It was in use until at least the mid 1930s.

Glen Alice Union Church

There is a Union Church building at the small settlement of Glen Alice. Its status is uncertain, but it was in use in 2014.

Glen Innes Union Church

The building that was formerly the Union Church at Glen Innes is now privately owned.

Gulgong Union Church

The first church in

Gulgong Gulgong is a 19th-century gold rush town in the Central Tablelands and the wider Central West (New South Wales), Central West regions of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. The town is situated within th ...

, New South Wales was a Union Church, built around 1870. It was a pole and bark building that stood in Medley Street, probably opposite where the Memorial Hall stands today. After the various denominations built their own churches, the building was used, for a time, as the town's Catholic school.

Larbert Union Church

There was a Union Church building at

Larbert, New South Wales Larbert is a locality in the Queanbeyan-Palerang Region of the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales. It lies mostly north of the Kings Highway between Bungendore and Braidwood where it crosses the Shoalhaven River. At the , it had a ...

, from around 1878 to some time in the 1970s. All that remains are its steps, foundations and the adjoining cemetery.

Marrangaroo Union Church

The heritage-listed stone building at Marrangaroo, was once a Union Church. It was opened in 1897, by

Joseph Cook Sir Joseph Cook (7 December 1860 – 30 July 1947) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1913 to 1914. He held office as the leader of the Fusion L ...

. Half the iron for the roof was donated by Lithgow ironmaster,

William Sandford William Sandford (26 September 1841 – 29 May 1932) was an English-Australian ironmaster, who is widely regarded as the father of the modern iron and steel industry in Australia. Early life in England Sandford was born at Torrington, De ...

. Title was ceded to the Anglican Church, in 1972, and it continued to use the building until around 1980. In 1983 the building was used as a library block for the Gateway Christian School. It reopened as a church, 'Marrangaroo Prayer Chapel', from 1989 to 1997''.'' It is now privately owned.

Rydal Union Church

There is a Union Church in Rydal, opened in 1899. Its status is uncertain.

St John's Union Church, Running Stream

There is a now disused Union Church, with a small cemetery, at the locality of Running Stream, off the

Castlereagh Highway Castlereagh Highway is a state highway located in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. From north to south the highway traverses South West Queensland and the North West Slopes, Orana (New South Wales), Orana, and Central West (New South ...

to the south of

Ilford, New South Wales Ilford is a village in New South Wales, Australia, beside the Crudine River within the Mid-Western Regional Council. It is located on the Castlereagh Highway (locally referred to as the 'Sydney Road'), about 220 kilometres north-west of Sydney. ...

. It opened in 1906, although it seems that the associated cemetery predates the church building.

Turill Union Church

The building that was formerly the Union Church at the locality of Turill, south-west of Cassilis, is now privately owned.

Walcha Union Church

There is a disused Union Church at Walcha. It opened in 1885.

Yathella Union Church

There was a Union Church at Yathella, a locality between

Junee Junee () is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in par ...

and

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

. According to its plaque of its foundation stone, now located in the Broadway Museum in Junee, the stone was laid on 15 October 1937. The building was subsequently relocated to Kooringal, but has since been demolished. There was also a public school at the locality from 1880 to 1936.

South Australia

Renmark West Union Church

Made from the union of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational Churches. The Church began operating in June 1918 in the Renmark West School with Rev. E. W. Sanders (Methodist) and Rev. A. E. Francis (Congregational) and built their own Church on donated land, starting on 6 November 1919, and opened on 31 October 1920. The Church continues operating today under the Uniting Church of Australia and celebrated its Centenary in November 2019. Services are conducted by the Renmark/Loxton resident Minister every Sunday at 8:30 am.

References

{{reflist Union churches in Australia