This beautiful little church, being the oldest in Western Australia was built circa 1838 by Richard Edwards.  Many early settlers came to pray at this idyllic spot on the Swan River and claimed a piece of Perth, now known as Henley Brook, that they then called home.

When I happened on this place all I could hear were the birds in the trees, and a sense of total peace moved through me.

I have since become a regular visitor to pray for those long gone!

Settler’s Rest

Whispers from the trees, blow through the old church yard

Where no one comes to visit, nor, to stand guard 

No one loves or cares for, the stones of those long gone 

For they have since joined the throes, of heavens twilight song 

Forlorn and forgotten lilies stand like sentries that have wept

Over seeing unkempt  graves whilst they fight to stand erect 

The lives of those that settled here, so many years ago

Are recorded on these blocks of stone as proof they weren’t alone 

All Saints on Swan is where they rest, and where it was I found them

And so that they are not forgot, said a prayer for those residing

© Cheryl Mary Coleman, 2017 – Expression #114 22.3.17

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