St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church is excited to be celebrating its 145th anniversary. A service of thanksgiving to God will be held this Sunday, 20 September, at 9am, followed by a special morning tea. During the service, Mrs Meg Melzer and Mr Darryl Eisenhauer’s 50th year jubilee of service as elders of the church will also be celebrated. Everyone is invited to attend. The earliest known reference to Presbyterian witness in Temora is found in the August 1880 edition of the magazine Presbyterian and Australian Witness, written by the Reverend A. M. Tait. As Rev. Tait enters Temora, he writes of seeing campfires, the white tents of miners, and the bark huts of butchers, bakers and storekeepers. Towards the end of the article, Rev. Tait raises the question: “Is Temora worth all this trouble? May not the whole thing collapse in a few weeks or months at the furthest?” Temora at that time was a blossoming town with an uncertain future. Rev. Tait’s response was yes. Temora was worth the trouble. He recounts: “I feel satisfied from what I have seen and heard that it will be a pretty considerable time at least before any such collapse takes place; but even if the diggings were abandoned next week, Temora will remain a permanent and important Township.” The church hall is the oldest brick building in Temora. It was the original Presbyterian church building, built in 1881. The current church building was erected in 1930, replacing the older church to accommodate the growing congregation.
