Did anyone else read/hear about the fascinating find of a time capsule at Lang Park, near Wynyad Station, on the former site of St Philips Anglican church - the site of the first Christian service held in Australia?

The time capsule dates back 66 years, and contains things like the Anglican Church Record (ACR), and a history of St Philips church printed in 1906.

All this was reported in “Central” - 2nd July - a free magazine they drop off at your doorstep if you live in central Sydney.

Of particular interest is a look at one of the ACRs, that has the headline “Aboriginal Sunday, February 1, 1942”. which features a cover image of an indigenous man in traditional dress with a caption “Is he worth saving?”.

The sydney council archivist Mark Stevens says:

This was a time when the stolen generation was being forcibly removed and the prevailing attitude was that indigenous Australians were a dying race.  It was predominantly Christian communities who deviated from this view, trying to raise awareness and appreciation of indigenous people and their suffering”.

He then says the ACR article was “an effort to prove indigenous Australians deserved equal rights”

Anyway - it was a fascinating read, and a brilliant write up in a magazine that is often anti-Christian.

Apparently the “Anglican Church” will say nothing further until the Archbishop returned from overseas.

I would love to hear more about the ACR articles.

Mike