Ariah Park Uniting Church - Former

Foundation stone records: This stone was laid by - Mrs C Howard - to the Honour & Glory of God - 6th August 1910 - Rev A Brown, Minister.

A heritage plaque records: This church is one of four Christian churches in Ariah Park, all of which were erected between 1910 and 1912. Their construction was a direct response to the rapid increase in the number of new residents flooding into the district as the railway extended westward from Temora.- Mrs Margaret Clarke at Broken Dam and Mrs Dorthy Howard at Quandary were prominent among local pioneering Methodists in the 1890s, and by 1901 regular mointhly Methodist services were being held in 'Ariah Park'. Believing that Ariah Street would develop as the main street of the town...on 12th February 1908, Ernest Stead Macauley and Thomas Jenkins purchased adjoining lots 4 and 5 ...on Ariah Street for 7 [pounds) each, on behalf of the local Methodists, as the site for a new church...Mrs Dorthy Howard was invited to lay the foundation stone on 6th August 1910...In 1916, responding to concerns that the church was not well sited in the town because Coolamon Street rather than Ariah Street had emerged as the commercial centre, the trustees purchased the present site from the Estate of the late Dr M A Gibbs. 'The reloaction of the church building was undertaken under the direction of Walter Judd...The motive power was supplied by one small Suffolk Punch horse harnessed to a block and tackle...Reflecting the wider trend in the social life of Ariah Park itself, what had been a diverse and vibrant congregational life in the Ariah Park Methodist Church, commenced a steady decline after WWII...From 2003 until 2007, the congregation held joint services with the Ariah Park Baptist congregation, alternating between the two venues. On Sunday 30th September 2007 the Uniting Church held its final service...