The first church service in Dandenong was held on 21 July 1850 in Dunbar's Hotel and conducted by Rev. J.H. Gregory, a bush missionary. A local meeting was held soon after to discuss obtaining a permanent church building and a local committee was formed to coordinate its organisation.

And Alice Barrow's father gets mentioned by Rev Mereweather
May 18.1851 — Lunched at Mr. E 's station, and by nightfall arrived, after a forty-mile ride, at an excellent inn, called the Campaspie inn, kept by a most respectable man of the name of Barrow. On the table in the sitting-room were a quantity of books, among which I noticed the " Penny Magazine," some of Chambers' Works, and Bulvver's. A few yards from the doors were savages sleeping around their watchfires. Strange mixture of barbarism and civilisation !

St Matthew's Anglican Church, Cheltenham has among its treasures, placed in the chapel, a small silver communion set originally given by 44 residents ‘in or near Cheltenham’ to the Rev J H Gregory in 1859 in recognition of his ministry in the very early days of the district’s European settlement.

The Diary of a Working Clergyman,

Another web site records the story of Rev. John Davies Mereweather who on 28 June 1850 embarked on the "Sea Queen" and eventually arrived at Hobson's Bay, Melbourne on 7 July 1850. A visit to Geelong was made from 5 to 10 August 1850. Following his appointment to a government chaplaincy in Van Diemen's Land he departed Melbourne on 10 October 1850 per "Shamrock" for Launceston, V.D.L.
He arrived back in Melbourne on 20 March 1851 per "Shamrock" and on 1 May 1851 received word that he had been licenced by the Lord Bishop of Sydney to the charge of the Edward River District in New South Wales. Overlanded to the Moolamein area where he established a headquarters. His diary says he baptised a couple of children along the way and though it doesn't record their names he says that the details were recorded in a book at his headquarters on 24 July 1851. During January to March 1852 he made a return visit to Melbourne, overlanding both ways.
His stay in Australia was relatively short for he departed Sydney, N.S.W. by ship on 25 August 1853 on the first leg of his return journey to England. After visits to Batavia; Singapore; Colombo, Ceylon and Egypt he arrived at Southampton, Hampshire, England on 4 February 1854.

He published a second book "Diary of a working Clergyman in Australia and Tasmania, kept during the years 1850-53" (London, 1859) which commences on 17 June 1850 while he was in Adelaide waiting for a ship to Melbourne. From 1855 he was the English Chaplain at Venice which was then under Austrian rule and was within the Anglican Diocese of Gibraltar. As there was no English Church in Venice services were held in his own home. He was born in Bristol on the 7th day of September 1816 and died in Venice the 18th day of June 1896.

We accept that Jesus died about 33AD - date unknown, or He was crucified on what we now call 'Good Friday' in the year 36, this era. Ask the Internet using Google and at least 137 million web pages address this question. The Nazarene Way" comments - Based on inferences from Gospel accounts, Jesus was executed by crucifixion on a Friday, and on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan under the administration of Pontius Pilate. Pontius Pilate held his position from 26-36 and the only years in which Nisan 14 fell on a Friday are 27, 33, and 36 and possibly in 30 depending on when the new moon would have been visible in Jerusalem. Scholars have defended all of the dates.
WikiAnswers The traditional date is 33AD, but more-up-to-date and biblically-impartial scholarship taking into account
(i) the Passover dates
(ii) that there were two sabbaths that week (not just 1) and
(iii) Daniel's 70-weeks prophecy seem to put it at 32AD or 31AD,
so take your pick:- on 18 March 29 C.E, 28th March 31 AD, April 6th 32 AD - the choice comes down to personal preferences, but it really doesn't matter which year it was. If God had wanted us to know, then the Holy Spirit would have had it recorded for us - He hasn't, so it's unimportant. What is important are the consequences of Jesus Christ's atoning death for all, either one way or the other.

Whatever the date, the Apostles and the believers added by Pentecost quickly faced challenges that made them scatter. Their church and its teaching led to the idea that it posed a serious danger to the Jewish community. Saul was converted within 5 years, was renamed Paul and entered a community that already affirmed certain things about Jesus — things he had formerly found objectionable. Paul did not create Christian doctrine, although he was the first to write letters trying to explain various aspects to communities of believers a long way from Jerusalem.

Jerry L. Sumney does not give his credentials, but his very long essay 'The Place of Jesus’ Death Among First-Generation Believers in Christ: Evidence From Paul's Letters' ends with the observation 'His (Paul's) surprisingly numerous citations of earlier tradition indicate that he expects his churches to recognize these statements as allusions to the tradition and suggest that he belongs within the mainstream of the first-century church in much that he teaches. Such extensive dependence discredits any claim that Paul was the founder of Christianity or the one who invented the Christ-cult idea or the idea that Jesus’ death was vicarious.'

Nero (15 December 37 – 9 June 68) was adopted by his great uncle Claudius to become heir to the throne. Nero was proclaimed an adult in 51 at the age of 14. In 53, he married his stepsister Claudia Octavia. As Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, he succeeded to the throne on 13 October, 54, following Claudius' death. Rome had a hot summer in 64 AD and on 18 July a fire started among the shops clustered around the Circus Maximus. As many Romans lived in wood houses without masonry, the fire spread quickly through these areas. The fire was almost contained after five days before regaining strength and burning another 2 days. It even destroyed part of Emperor Nero's palace. It was probably started by accident - just two days after a full moon, a time which presumably would not have been chosen by arsonists who did not want to be seen.

According to Tacitus, the population searched for a scapegoat and rumors held Nero responsible. To diffuse blame, Nero targeted a sect called the Christians. He ordered Christians to be thrown to dogs, while others were crucified and burned.

Saint Paul established Christian communities on Cyprus and in Syria, Anatolia, and Greece. He was arrested in Jerusalem and deported to Rome, where tradition says he was executed some time between 62 and 67 AD (during Nero's reign, so possibly after the Great Fire of 64 AD).

Hostility to the Roman occupation of Judaea lead to a revolt. In 70 AD the emperor Vespasian dispatches his son Titus to crush the rebellion. Jerusalem is besieged and captured, and the Temple was destroyed. Jerusalem and Judea were left desolate, most of the people either killed or being held in captivity, or had become refugees fleeing to remote lands.

A point to ponder

But

On the principle that smaller is better, the codex appeared as an answer to the 'big-and-bulky' problem. Formed of papyrus sheets, both sides could be used for writing. And a codex was folded and bound on one edge, making it a sort of proto-book. The homely codex was used for everyday accounts and business transactions, for rough drafts and note-taking. In the first century, it wasn't readily associated with literature or religious texts in the Greco-Roman world. But it solved a problem. And it worked, on the time-honoured basis of smaller, cheaper, better.

Gordon Ramsay, in the TV program about revitalising restaurants, has some guidelines to bring new life to the fading dream, be it a business or a club loosing members.
Dare we also think of our congregations in a similar way? After all, the God business we are trying to support is the road to our future

St James Church of England records the baptisms, 1841 numbers 12698-12700 of three children of Catherine and John MacDonald, Lily Victoria, Janet Adelaide and Hector Cumming Albert, born at Darebin Creek.
Janet Adelaide McDonald died at Darebin Ck was buried 1842
Lilllias Victoria McDonald wed 1871 #2681 to Thomas Clark, no children registered in Victoria
Hector Albert Cumming MacDonald wed 1871 #930 to Emily Jane Hallam and had 11 children, 2 died as infants

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is a popular read for many Christians, especially 1 Cor 13, on Love. But how many of us like to start with Chapter 1 of a book - and get sidetracked by the first 4 chapters.

Paul appears to be in a contest with Apollo, who had also baptised some of their members - so Paul sets out to show that personal charisma is not important. He then uses the first 4 chapters to display his debating skills, each time saying it is better to be a fool for Christ, so the work of Christ is remembered, an followed, instead of being a follower of Paul.

I found several web sites discussing Paul's phrase 'Fool for Christ' - and have copied some notes from the basic lessons Paul and his friends are thought to have studied.

The Vanderbilt Library web pages on Art in the Christian Tradition, set me thinking, and using the Google Image search for 'John baptizing Jesus' led to Isaac's page Searching the Depths where he uses an Eastern Icon to illustrate his sermon. It is easy to slip into superficial trivia - quote "there’s John on the rough terrain of the left bank, baptizing Jesus. His right arm points us to Jesus’ head, while his eyes look toward the dove, and then there’s that left hand." (Oops John's back is towards us)

It is easy to take the first step, to turn to God, and ask for forgiveness, to allow God to begin in us His work of making sinners into saints. But how do we respond when the challenges come? Is it me who is important? To quote from Page 34, Myron Augsburger's 'Quench not the Spirit', The baptism with the Spirit is the crisis experience when He is given to the believer, while the filling of the Spirit is the continual experience of His possessing the believer. There is one baptism with the Spirit, but many fillings. ... The Spirit filled life is contingent on our active response to His will.