Who We Are

The Uniting Church in Australia was founded on 22 June 1977 when the predecessor churches, being congregations from the Methodist Church of Australasia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia, and churches from the Congregational Union of Australia came together by way of the Basis of Union. The Basis of Union is the foundational document for the coming together of the predecessor churches, outlining both a vision for the Uniting Church in Australia and its mission and, further, a governance structure for the Uniting Church in Australia.

The Synod of Victoria and the Synod of Tasmania (as they were at the time of Union), being the regional councils responsible for the Uniting Church in Australia's Victorian and Tasmanian arms respectively, were established at the same time as the Uniting Church in Australia. The Synod of Victoria and the Synod of Tasmania merged on 22 June 2002 to become the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania as now constituted.

The Presbyterian Church of Australia

The Presbyterian Church of Australia was not formed until 1901, however the first Presbyterian Minister in Australia was Reverend Archibald Macarthur (?-1847), who arrived in Hobart in 1822. At a welcome meeting on 3 February 1823 the Presbyterian Church in Van Dieman’s Land was officially formed. Land and partial funding were given by the government for a church in Bathurst Street which had its first service on 12 September 1824.

Reverend John Dunmore Lang (1799-1878), was the first Presbyterian Minister in Sydney (and the second in Australia behind Reverend Macarthur) arriving in May 1823. Lang had tensions with the Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane, which made sourcing private funds essential to finance the expansion of the Presbyterian Church. Lang built the first Presbyterian Church in Sydney, Scots Church, in 1826.

Lang continued to form the Assembly of NSW in 1837 which was not recognised within the Church Building Act 1836 (NSW) (which was an Act providing government subsidies for clerical salaries and for new church construction). Lang formed the view that it would be cheaper for the Presbyterians to support themselves voluntarily, rather than rely on government funding dependent on taxation. Lang went to Scotland for a time and returned with new recruits, but those recruits were not put in a position of authority with government stipends.

Presbyterian growth was hindered due to personal feuds in the Church triggered by Lang, or due to the influence that he was seen to wield, which led him to be perceived as a divisive character in the early formation of the Presbyterian Church. Generous gifts to the Presbyterian Church in the early 20th century gave the Church a strong base from which to build and overcoming Lang’s resistance to taking government funding. The New South Welsh Presbyterians had a turbulent element to their organisation, while the Victorian Presbyterians were seen to be cohesive.

Lang also built the Australian College in Sydney, partially using his own considerable funds inherited from his father. The Australian College opened in 1831 and went on to produce the first Australian-educated minister in 1847.

The Presbyterian Church of Australia was formed in 1901 when the Presbyterian Churches of the six States federated in accordance with a Basis of Union.

In 1977, the majority of the congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Australia chose to join the Uniting Church in Australia. Some congregations, however, did not. The Presbyterian Church in Australia continues to exist, as does the Victorian arm of the Presbyterian Church in Australia, through the congregations that chose not to join the Uniting Church in Australia.

The Methodist Church of Australasia

The Methodist Church of Australasia was not formed until 1902. The Wesleyan Methodist Mission Society in England was formed sometime between 1814-1818 and sent Samuel Leigh (1785-1852) to Australia on 10 August 1815. He was the first Methodist missionary in Australia, having trained at a Congregationalist seminary in England.

The first Methodist Chapel was built in NSW and opened in October 1817 at Castlereagh. Soon after in 1819, two more Chapels were built in Sydney. By 1819, Leigh had established the first Methodist Circuit, which comprised of 14 preaching places. The first Methodist mission to NSW under Leigh is deemed a failure by some historians, suffering multiple setbacks, until Rev Joseph Orton took over in 1831. Orton worked closely with Robert Howe, a devout Wesleyan and editor of the Sydney Gazette. The Wesleyan mission had little success with convicts, and in 1831 the society claimed 112 members and 137 students attending Sunday school, which are considered over-estimates.

The Churches Building Act 1836 (NSW) brought major expansion to the Methodists and the Presbyterians. A swell of Methodism, or ‘a gracious revival’, occurred in Sydney during the 1840s, and in Hobart during 1864 there was a 50 percent increase in Methodist membership in that year alone, followed by a ground swell of Methodism in Victoria due to the Gold Rush.

Methodism in Australia was given a boost towards the end of the 1800s when the Central Methodist Mission was given generous gifts by wealthy solicitor and philanthropist Ebenezer Vickery. The Methodist Church of Australasia was formed in 1902 when five Methodist denominations (the Bible Christian Church, the Methodist New Connexion, the Primitive Methodists, the United Methodist Free, and the Wesleyan Methodists) came together.

The Methodist Church in Australasia ceased in 1977 upon the formation of the Uniting Church in Australia.

Congregational Union

The Congregational Church (also called the Independents) was formed in the United Kingdom in 1788 and emphasised the autonomy of local congregations, resulting in minimal centralisation and governance.

The first Congregational Minister to arrive in Australia was Minister Frederick Miller (1806-1862), who landed in Hobart in 1830. Miller built the denomination's first chapel on Brisbane Street, Hobart, which was opened on 20 April 1832. Congregationalists, as part of their ethos, had strong criticism of government grants, and preferred self-help. However, in 1835, Congregationalists in Hobart requested a grant or a loan of £1000, of which they received £500. Miller believed taking aid was ‘injurious to genuine Christianity’ and refused a government stipend of £200 offered by Lieutenant-Governor Sir George Arthur. His view was that compulsory contributions through taxation undermined Christian generosity by making it permissible to have an easy way to earn a living, which undermined church Independence from the State:

by accepting funds raised from such a source, it is conceived that the moral dignity of the Christian Churches is impaired, the prejudices of religious persons are strengthened, and the process of Divine truth seriously impeded.

In 1837, the Congregational Union in Van Dieman’s Land was established, and by 1847 it had 14 chapels.

The Victorian churches created a Union in 1852 but internal divisions over whether their church could accept any state aid led the Union to end in 1856. The members uniformly rejecting receiving state funds towards salary of ministers, but there was division about accepting grants of land. The Union was restored in 1860 and by 1869 there were 72 churches in Victoria's Congregational Union with an average attendance of 13,100. By 1900 there were 46 churches in Victoria, and the 20th Century saw the church decline further.

The Church became a body corporate through The Congregational Union Incorporation Act (Vic) 1922. A national Congregational Union held its first assembly in 1892, the second to ninth assemblies met every 3 years from 1904 to 1925, and thereafter they met every two years until the 1970s.

Since we began in 1977, we have been following Jesus, working for justice, growing as disciples, and serving communities in these lands now called Australia.

From our capital cities to the heart of the outback, you will find around 1600 congregations and faith communities joyfully worshipping in more than 45 languages, including First Nations languages.

In Australia’s 2021 Census, more than 670,000 people identified themselves as having an affiliation with the Uniting Church.

In the work of our agencies, we serve alongside local communities and our Church Partners across the Pacific, Asia and Africa to inspire a better world.

We believe all people are made in the image of God and deeply loved. As members of the Church, we make up the one body of Christ. We encourage one another to learn more about and grow with God, to care for each other and God's creation, to seek justice and to live lovingly in the world.

Read more about the Uniting Church in Australia, union and what we stand for.