Background
See also: Reformed Presbyterian Church (denominational group)A number of Reformed Presbyterians had migrated from Scotland or Ireland to Australia. A number who did not join other branches of the Presbyterian Church were against occasional hearing, and they wanted a minister of their own. They wrote to the parent church requesting this. The Rev. A. M. Moore eventually answered. He was ordained in Belfast 18 August 1857, and arrived in Melbourne in late December 1857, to commence the work in Geelong which he served until his death in 1897. Geelong was the only congregation for many years, the most notable minister after Moore being H.K. Mack who served 1909-46. Congregations were begun in McKinnon, Victoria (1933 begun/1946 organised, Rev. W. R. McEwen), Frankston, Victoria (1971/1977), and Sunbury, Victoria (1979/1981, closed 2006).
In 1959, the Rev. A. Barkley, RP minister in Geelong, became the founding principal of the Reformed Theological College.
In 1974, the Australian Presbytery petitioned the parent body, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland, and was made a separate denomination on 12 June. In former times, church law required members to believe that the Solemn League and Covenant were still binding and forbade them from participating in government because the Constitution does not explicitly make the Australia an officially Christian country; these provisions have been repealed.
Read more about this topic: Reformed Presbyterian Church Of Australia
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