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St Ninian's Uniting Church
Lyneham, ACT 2602
Church Information
| Church Name: | St Ninian's Uniting Church |
| Church Previous Name: | St Ninian's Presbyterian Church |
| Denomination: | Uniting Church in Australia |
| Street Address: | 150 Brigalow St, Lyneham ACT 2602, Australia |
| Suburb: | Lyneham |
| State: | ACT |
| Postcode: | 2602 |
| Foundation Stone Laid: | unknown |
| Foundation Stone Notes: | A plaque records: St Ninian's Church - Dedicated February 13, 1873 - Re-dedicated February 15, 1942. An information board records: St Ninians - from slab building to stone church - Since the 1830s there has been a Scottish presence in the Canberra region. Many were assisted migrants who brought their Presbyterian faith and were valued for their shepherding skills. However, it was not until the introduction of Free Selection legislation in the early 1860s, which enabled people to own land, that a stable Presbyterian community could flourish. - Until this time there was no resident minister, services were irregular, and an official place of worship nonexistent. At one stage services were being conducted inside a woolshed at Duntroon. - The Kinleyside family is believed to have built the original church in 1862 with funds from members of the congregation, many of whom became prominent settlers in our region: Cameron, Cook, Gillespie and Kilby. - On 4 January 1863, the first official service was held nearby in a church made of slab and bark along the Old Yass Road. - A permanent stone church was constructed during the 1870s. Towards the end of the century, the local population had boomed, necessitating an extension. The church served the areas of Weetangera and Ginninderra. - By 1912 a drought, a depression and the resumption of land by the Federal Government for Australia's new capital city saw resident numbers plummet. Without a viable congregation the church fell into decline. For a brief period it was used as a sheep barn. - The minister of St Andrew's Church in Forrest, Reverend Harrison, campaigned to have the church restored in 1941. Christened St Ninian's, both these churches' names reflect their Scottish heritage. In 1977 the congregation elected to became a part of the Uniting Church of Australia. |
| Date Opened: | 15-02-1942 |
| Date Closed: | unknown |
| Email: | admin@churchesaustralia.org |
Comments
The St Ninian's Uniting Church, Lyneham is in the Canberra Region Presbytery of the Uniting Church Synod of NSW & ACT. The earliest visiting minister to the area was the Rev W Hamilton, from Goulburn in the late 1830s, and his visit was not encouraging. By 1861, regular monthly services were conducted by the Braidwood minister and later by the minister from Queanbeyan. These services were held in the Canberra School House in Reid, but when the use of the school was withdrawn, the congregations need for their own building became urgent. A slab and bark church building was erected, with the first service held on 4/1/1863. This was the beginning of the church as an outstation of the Queanbeyan charge. A little stone church building followed and was dedicated and opened on 13/2/1873. But by 1887 it had become too small and plans were made for enlargement. Despite the depression of the 1890s and the drought of 1895-1903, the extensions were carried out in the period 1898-1901, and the building re-opened on 27/10/1901. The resumption of land for the national capital added to the farming community's problems, and the decline in the population led to the formal closing of the church in 1920, as no longer required. This changed with the arrival in 1940 of the Rev H Harrison as minister of St Andrew's, when he made a dedicated effort to have the church building re-established as a place of worship. On 15/2/1942 the church, now named St Ninian's, was re-dedicated and re-opened for worship. In 1957 it became a separate charge. With the growth of the Canberra population and the congregation by 1961, the Sunday School met in the Lyneham Primary School, while a new hall was erected. In 1977 the church became a part of the Uniting Church. In 1979 and again in 1994, further building extensions were undertaken to meet the needs of the growing congregation. The Benedictus contemplative church also meets in the church facilities. More historical information/photographs of the church/congregation are invited. Photographs uploaded 2/11/2025.
For more of the Church story see - Gardiner, Lyndsay, Witness in stone: the story of the Presbyterian Church in North Canberra. (1958). Illuminate, accessed 02/11/2025, https://illuminate.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/1600 AND https://stninians.org.au/history/
