A Short History of the Church

George was a gambler. Every farmer has to gamble against the season and current prices, but he was also a God fearing man. In horse and buggy days the journey into Clare took about 1 1/2 hours. Each Sunday, instead of travelling to Clare to attend church, George would gather his staff together and read from the Bible. This "service" was conducted in the woolshed, the property's first building. As the sheep increased in number, so did his staff and the story goes that when his "woolshed Congregation" reached 100 people (men, women and children) he thought it necessary to construct a proper church for them.

Indeed the church is the only building on the farm actually designed by an architect. Edward Hamilton, a colonial architect at the time, who also happened to be George's brother-in-law, was called in to assist.

If you look at the photograph above you will see the church complete with its beautiful stringybark roof which was covered by iron in the mid 1880's. Today, if you stand close to the walls and look upwards you can still see those originals shingles under the corrugated iron.

When the church was opened 1864 by Bishop Short, George was disappointed to find the congregation had shrunk to less than half... not all of his woolshed congregation were Anglicans, (members of the Church of England). In those days the divisions between the different religions was greater than today. Those of his staff who were not Anglican preferred to catch a horse, harness up the buggy and trot off to the church in Clare, a three hour round trip.

Consequently, George handed Saint Michael's Church over to the parish in 1871 and since then our congregation has continued to fluctuate. We still have services in the church on a regular basis and our average congregation would number about eight people.

We have made some wonderful friends since we opened Bungaree Station to the public. Many people have a link with Bungaree and visit us in search of information about their families who lived or worked here and may have been married in the church or buried in the graveyard. Today about a dozen weddings every year are held in the Church, which makes a wonderful venue, with its old handpainted stainglass windows and historic character.

Inside St Michael's Church

Bungaree Station
Email: Bungaree Station
Telephone: 08 8842 2677
Outside Australia Telephone: 618 8842 2677
Fax 08 8842 3004
PO Box 231
Clare South Australia 5453
Australia