ADD TO THIS The first church was built in 1880. It was a small building made up of a chapel for the missionaries and Aboriginal converts, and a classroom for the Arrernte children. This building was destroyed by heavy rain. In 1895 a new church was commissioned. It was built by a South Australian man called Haemmerling with the assistance of native labourers. The church was finished by 1896 (or 1897 – check). The text on the commemorative stone at the front of the entrance reads: ‘Enter the temple gates with the thanksgiving and go into its courts with praise’ followed by a line from the bible in Arrernte, German and English: ‘Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it’.
