Barneys’ blast from the past

Demolition workers have unearthed a 97 year-old time capsule on the vacant site of the old St Barnabas Church at Broadway.

The glass jar contained a Church newsletter, several coins, and editions of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Telegraph.

The capsule was buried on March 29, 1913, the day the Memorial Stone of the Church Hall was set.

Archaeologists have been working on the site, at which plaques, stones and subterranean structures have also been discovered.

Parish Council Member Mario Falchoni said they had been taking precautions while clearing the site, but didn’t expect the capsule.

“It was left there for someone to chance upon it I guess,” he said.

Reverend Mike Paget said it was fantastic to have a tangible connection with an earlier generation of the ‘Barneys’ family.

“The discovery has really made us think about what messages or objects we would like to leave for future generations when we open the new St Barnabas at the end of 2011,” he said.

The old church, built in 1859, was destroyed by a fire in May 2006

The ‘time bottle’, as it was called in 1913, will be on display with photos from the fire, at an art exhibition fundraiser at the Barneys Rectory in Glebe on May 28 at 6:30pm.

A new church has been designed by award winning architects Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp, who won a competition for the project.

The buildings will include a 600 seat auditorium, meeting rooms and underground parking.

By Lawrence Bull