Faithfully abandoned

It's a while, since I've 'Abandoned' anything, so now at this time of yuletide, are some abandoned churches. Nowdays old churches are being converted into private homes, quaint B&Bs, and pizza restaurants, but some have just been left alone after the last congregation left.

For some like the Kalkee Methodist Church, only a few bricks and the entrance remain at the site.

The first Wesleyan church of sun dried bricks was established in 1876 one km north of the present site. In 1885 a new wooden church was completed, this was severely damaged by white ants and the dust storms of the 1902 Federation drought. A new church on the present site opened in 1905, it closed on 17.8.1975 and the building was sold for removal.

The church in 1974

Ebenezeer Church

Ebenezeer Mission Station was first established in 1859 by the Moravian Church, for the Aborigines of the area. The Mission was located on the banks of the Wimmera River, south of Lake Hindmarsh, near the town of Antwerp.

The missionaries opened a school for the Aborigines, hoping to educate the Aborigines to read and also to ‘civilise’ them into European ways. The Aborigines on the station were involved in the building of the stone and wood cottages, as well as hunting, fishing and farming for the men and domestic duties for the women. The mission was successful and a model for other missions in Victoria.

The mission closed in 1904 after the last missionary had died in 1903, and due to the government's assimilation policy which only allowed full-blooded Aborigines to live on the stations. The land was divided up and sold for farming, except for a small section on which the buildings still remain. These are the oldest surviving mission buildings in Victoria, and have been stabilised and partly restored. The historic station property is now jointly operated by the National Trust and the Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Co-operative.

Rev. Kramer's grave