The Uniting Church (The Methodist Church) 1885

The Uniting Church was opened in 1885. Thomas Parramore gave the land and the first stone was quarried from the Beaufront Quarries. Percy Oakden, (son of Phillip, an old Horton College Student) was the architect.

The foundation stones were laid by Mrs Parramore of Beaufront, Ross, and Mrs Elizabeth Horton (wife of Capt. Horton of Somercotes) on 13th December, 1882. The commemorative trowel can be viewed by appointment in the Wool Centre Museum.

The Church is in traditional Gothic Style, with an interior ceiling of Oregon pine and pews made from Tasmanian Blackwood. The current Uniting Church did replace the first Methodist Church, a chapel, which fell into disrepair. When the new Church was built in 1885, the old Chapel was given to the Anglican Church in 1932. They used the stone to build The Kermode Wing onto the Anglican Sunday School. Stone and pillars from the first Chapel are sited on the Northern side of the present Church, they were unveiled in 1936 for the Church Jubilee.

Shortly after the Church opened, it was due to the generosity of local pioneering families, such as Horton, Riggall & Parramore, that the debt in connection to the building was paid in full. The total cost for its construction had been 4350 pounds.

The church was a large part of the community in the 1800s, with locals attending regular church services. During one such service, the barrel organ, gifted by Thomas Parramore, had a funny turn! The organ was designed to be wound up like a gramophone and could play 24 tunes, but on this occasion something went wrong and the organ would not stop playing. It had to be carted out and left to play – in the paddock!

For more on the history of Ross, visit our local history Museum. Open 7 days.