This morning we worshipped in the little church at the Pioneer Settlement with the old prayers and the King James translation of the Bible, and hymns written before 1850. We celebrated the life of the Reverend John Davies Mereweather who served in the area for 16 months during 1851-2. I used information from the Merewether website and a copy of part of his Diary of a Working Clergyman in Australia and Tasmania, kept during the years 1850-1853 (London, 1859), that my sister sent me in the sermon. Click here if you would like to read this portion.
The church was full, and waistcoats, shawls and shady hats added to the fun. People travelling through Swan Hill who had read about the service came along, and some visitors to the Pioneer Settlement dropped in part way through. After the service we ajourned to the Pioneer Settlement tea rooms for refreshment, and found the Happy Wanderer’s Jazz band were there on the opposite veranda to entertain us. There was dancing in the street.