The long-struggling South Australian outback town of Oodnadatta has a new lease on life with the building of a new church.
It also has a new community healing garden symbolising resilience, restoration and hope for a town long shaped by hardship and disconnection.
The once thriving railway community has been semi-abandoned since the train station closed decades ago.
Today it faces significant social and economic challenges, compounded by geographic isolation.
OODNADATTA’S DREAM BECOMES A REALITY
For over 20 years, First Nations bush chaplain Julia Lennon has faithfully served its people.
Without a permanent space, she led Sunday school and services from lounge rooms, sheds and open paddocks, often under harsh outback conditions.
Thanks to the support of Frontier Services, the South Australian Regional Council of Congress, the South Australian Synod and dozens of dedicated volunteers, the community’s long-held dream of a dedicated community gathering space has become a reality.
LONG SERVING PASTOR SAYS NEW CHURCH AND GARDEN FEEL LIKE HOPE
“This church isn’t just a building. It stands on land with deep meaning and serves as a place for healing, connection, culture and country,” Pastor Lennon said.
“We never imagined we’d have a building. We just knew we needed a place to gather, to worship and to hold community events.”
“Now that it’s here, it feels like hope. Even for locals who aren’t churchgoers, they know it is a place of peace and community where all are welcome.”
“A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN HEAL, BELONG AND BELIEVE AGAIN.”
“This is sacred ground and now it’s a place where people can heal, belong and believe again.”
“We’ve walked a long road to get here and now our young people will carry it forward.”
The land where the new church and garden stand once housed the original Colebrook Home which was a government-run institution where many Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families during the Stolen Generations.
Frontier Services says the transformation of this site into a sanctuary for community gatherings and spiritual growth marks a powerful act of reclamation and healing from the site’s past trauma.
“A SAFE PLACE FOR RECREATION, REFLECTION AND STORYTELLING”
Part of the project involved transforming and clearing a vacant, debris-filled block to create a community healing garden.
Volunteers from the Outback Links program built shaded areas, fire pits and wicking garden beds designed as safe spaces for recreation, storytelling, cultural gatherings and reflection – particularly between elders and young people.
National Director of Frontier Services Rob Floyd praised the community’s strength and the volunteers’ dedication.
“This is what Frontier Services is all about; walking alongside remote communities, supporting local leaders and cultural histories and helping people build the future they both desire and deserve,” he said.
ABOUT FRONTIER SERVICES
Frontier Services is Australia’s oldest bush charity which has been operating for more than a century.
It is an agency of the Uniting Church dedicated to helping and connecting people in regional and remote Australia.
It wants to see them cared for and supported under a mantle of safety and well-being.
