This week, Roy was looking for somewhere quiet where he could explore a but also enjoy a little time quietly taking in beautiful country surrounds. Roy has visited many beautiful places over the years, and the ones which he thinks are best for quiet exploration and contemplation are Churches. The question then was which Church to visit next? New South Wales is full of beautiful, historic Churches, but Roy knew of one which was not too far from the city which he had been meaning to visit for some time. This appeared the perfect opportunity to do so.
If you would like to visit St Thomas Anglican Church it is located in Mulgoa, not far from Penrith. To get there, turn off the M4 Western Motorway onto Mulgoa Road. Follow Mulgoa Road and eventually the Church itself will appear to the side of the road, and up the hill a little. When Roy visited the gates to the Church were shut, so Roy parked by the side of the road and walked up the drive to the Church and the historic graveyard beyond it. Do be careful of snakes if you are visiting in warm weather – when Roy visited there were signs warning about them, but he didn’t see any.
Settlement in Mulgoa began in 1810 when the first land grants were awarded. Within a year the famous explorer William Cox had built a cottage in Mulgoa. Cox’s sons George, Henry and Edward followed in their fathers footsteps, building homesteads in Mulgoa Valley. The Cox family (many members of which are buried in the graveyard of St Thomas) were great pioneers of the area, and in 1836 the three sons were involved with a committee established to ensure the completion of the local Church, St Thomas itself.
The first Church service was held in 1827 at ‘The Cottage’, the home built by William Cox, and presided over by ‘the galloping parson’, Thomas Hassall who was based at Cobbitty (near Camden). The Church itself and the rectory were not actually completed and consecrated until 1838, more than 10 years after this first service. The first resident rector was Thomas Cooper Makinson and soon after he arrived he established a school which was held in the rectory. The school closed in 1871 but the Mulgoa Provisional School opened the following year and catered to the same pupils. As well as providing education for these early residents of the area, the Church was the heart of the community. Today the Church continues to be an important part not only of our heritage, but of the local community.