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his son, Thomas in 1813. This Sunday school was later moved to St John's Church. So popular
did the school become that leading Dissenters and Methodists formed the New South Wales
Sunday School Institution in December 1815. Those on the committee were Rowland Hassall,
John Eyre, Thomas Hassall, John Hosking, E.S. Hall, Thomas Bowden, Francis Oakes. The
Treasurer was Edward Eager and Secretary was James Smith. 55

During the period when Bligh was governor, Hassall began to minister to the Calvinistic
Methodist and Presbyterian settlers at Portland Head on the Hawkesbury and Preached once a
month, as he stated to the Bigge enquiry at ''Mr James Meins, at other times at Mr Davidsons and
last Lords Day we had services at 2 new places and both morning and afternoon could hardly hold
the People that attended''. 56 He helped build the Dissenting Chapel (since 1824 exclusively
Presbyterian) on land given by Owen Cavanough at Ebenezer and which was completed in 1820.
He preached there until the appointment of the Reverend John Youl in 1809. 57

[Picture]
Ebenezer Church, Wilberforce.
From Proudfoot, Helen, Exploring Sydney's West.

Gradually Hassall withdrew from his itinerant preaching activities and concentrated on
services held in barn at his house in Parramatta on Sunday and Friday evenings. The house was
on a four acre block at the corner of George and Charles Streets. His grandson, James Hassall, in
his book, In Old Australia, recalled that the house had been provided by the government for Hassall
and ''There was a great mulberry tree in the garden and the largest English oaks in the colony were
there''.

55 Ibid, p.161.
56 Bigge Appendix, B.T., Box 49, Missionary Vol.1, p.285.
57 Gunson, Neil, ''Hassall, Rowland (1768-1820)'' in Australian Dictionary of Biography 1788-1850,
Vol. 1, p.251.

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