The History of Our Church
In the ‘olden days’ (pre 1960), Methodists and Presbyterians met monthly for worship in the dis-used Coolagolite Hall situated on the Bermagui-Cobargo road. Some members of the present congregation recall memories of hot summer sunday mornings complete with suited gentlemen and ladies in finery, sitting among freshly baled hay stored to one side of hall. Memories return of old wooden pews, sand filled fire buckets, and an old out-of-tune piano that stood on three legs, covered with a thick film of dust stirred up by passing cars. The minister's sermon, interrupted on occasion by the scurrying of quarrelling mice or a sleepy possum disturbed from slumber.
At this time a section of the congregation expressed the desire for a church to be built in Cobargo. Initially it was envisioned that the old Corunna Methodist Church might be relocated to Cobargo but this was discounted due to the cost of renovation. And so one family donated a block of land, another pledged the flooring, others promised bricks, and various building materials, and perhaps most important of all their time, labour and skills. When opened IN 1962, the church was virtually debt free.
The minister at the time was Mr. Les Pearson who completed his theological instruction and ordination during his tenure with the Narooma Methodist Circuit. Rev. Les was a builder of church buildings and congregations. He prepared the plans and supervised the construction by the volunteer work force. The seating was obtained from a refurbished suburban cinema and consisted of very comfortable theatre seats complete with arm rests. Rev. Les constructed the church furniture including alter railing, pulpit and wooden cross. His building legacy is evident throughout the parish in the form of the Narooma church hall and the Bodalla church.
The new Cobargo Methodist Church was opened in 1962, just in time for our current elder Mary and her husband Brian to be married.
In later years the late Ernest Green left a generous bequest to the Cobargo Uniting Church and as a consequence, new seating was purchased, carpet laid and a new electric organ purchased. It was following this period that the kitchen, toilets and meeting room were added in 1986 and opened by Moderator Freda Whitlam. Once again the project was largely completed using voluntary labour. The project leader on this occasion was elder Colin Boreham.