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The Congregational Union of Australia was a Congregational denomination in Australia that stemmed from the Congregational Church as settlers migrated from England.
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Congregational Churches existed in all states and territories of Australia. The oldest Congregational Church was founded in Hobart in 1830.
History
One of the earliest and most influential Congregational ministers in early times was Thomas Q. Stow, who built the first church in South Australia.
Some of the first Congregational Churches established in each Australian state were Pitt St in Sydney, Stow Memorial (now Pilgrim Uniting) in Adelaide, Collins St (now St Michael's) in Melbourne, Trinity (now Trinity Uniting) in Perth, and National Memorial Church (now City Uniting) in Canberra.
The Congregational Church was the first Christian denomination in Australia to ordain women, with the first female ordinand being Winifred Kiek in 1927.
Formation of Uniting Church in Australia and Fellowship of Congregational Churches
260 of its congregations joined the Uniting Church in Australia, which was formed in 1977 by the union of congregations of the Congregational Union, Methodist Church of Australasia, and Presbyterian Church of Australia.
The remaining 40 congregations formed the Fellowship of Congregational Churches. Some of the ecumenically aligned congregations left that denomination in 1995 to form the Congregational Federation of Australia.