Freestone

History

Mount Dumaresq was named by explorer Allan Cunningham on 8 June 1827, probably after road engineer William John Dumaresq, the brother-in-law of the New South Wales Governor Ralph Darling. Later the church was relocated on the Wilson's property to its present location (165 Freestone Creek Road) where it was enlarged to be . Following the amalgamation of the Methodist Church into the Uniting Church in Australia in the 1970s, it became the Freestone Uniting Church. On 2 February 2020 following a renovation, the church was re-dedicated to the glory of God. In March 2020 the congregation decided to replace their 9am service with a 2pm service to avoid clashing with the milking times of the local dairy farmers. Freestone Creek State School opened on 1 August 1870. In 1876 it renamed Freestone Creek Lower State School. In 1940, it was renamed Freestone State School. The Freestone Creek (Lower) Receiving office opened in 1873 and became a full Post Office in 1875. On September 1, 1876 it was once again listed as a Receiving office. The name of the Receiving office was changed from Freestone Creek to Lower Freestone Creek in January 1880. It was listed as a Post Office in 1927, and closed in May 1973. The branch line was closed around 1 November 1960. On 5 June 1883, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge based in London gave £20 towards constructing a wooden church at Freestone Creek. The land was donated by the Palmer family. However it was not until August 1898 that the church (also described as a mission hall) was built at a total cost of £175. Although not entirely completed, it opened for its first service on Sunday 4 September 1898. The church was at 185 Paynes Road (). Seven years later, the "new" church was dedicated to St Luke by the Anglican Bishop of…

Geography

Freestone is predominantly flat farming land (500–600 metres above sea level) with the northernmost part of the locality being the Mount Dumaresq Conservation Park containing Mount Dumaresq () at .

Most-observed species

• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,582
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  1,378
• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  1,317
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  1,172
• Little Corella

  Cacatua sanguinea Gould, 1843 · Aves
  1,146
• Crested Pigeon

  Ocyphaps lophotes (Temminck, 1822) · Aves
  1,121
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  1,069
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,051