Ebenezer Church

Ebenezer Church at Ebenezer in the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales is the oldest extant church building in Australia, completed in 1809. Located on Coromandel Road overlooking the Hawkesbury River, the simple Colonial Georgian sandstone chapel was built by pioneering Presbyterian settlers. It remains an active Uniting Church, with an adjacent cemetery, schoolhouse museum and picnic grounds, and is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.

Visitors can expect a simple, whitewashed sandstone chapel with cedar joinery, box pews and a small pulpit set in a rural riverside landscape. The site includes the church interior, a historic cemetery with graves of early Hawkesbury pioneers, the 1817 schoolhouse now operating as a museum, and grassed picnic grounds with river views. The setting is quiet and village-like, with interpretive displays about early colonial settlement.

Built in 1809 by early free settlers under the leadership of James Mein, Ebenezer Church is the oldest extant church building in Australia. Constructed from local sandstone by the Presbyterian community on the Hawkesbury River, it served as both church and school. The adjacent cemetery and 1817 schoolhouse reflect early colonial settlement patterns. It is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register for its rarity and association with the earliest period of European settlement.

The church holds continuing cultural and religious significance as a Presbyterian foundation now part of the Uniting Church in Australia. It represents the faith and community life of Hawkesbury pioneers and remains a place of worship, weddings and community gatherings, illustrating continuity of use for over 200 years.