Kable Street Church - Windsor NSW

The life of Rev. Frederick C B Fairey, a Congregational Minister at Windsor from 1879 until 1881 and again from 1910 until 1912 was quite extraordinary. The Congregational Church in Windsor still stands on the northern side of Kable Street between Macquarie and George Streets, and up until Christmas 2004 was a furniture shop.
Apart from Rev. Fairey being a minister who preached his sermon from the pulpit every Sunday and who rode to pastoral visitation on his horse, he also carried the word of the Lord to parishioners by rowing up the rivers of the colony and landing at various properties on the way.

In 1875 he was called to the Congregational Ministry in Victoria where he trained. He became the incumbent at various churches in Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland before being called to the Congregational Church at Windsor in 1879.
It was a time of evangelicism and he must have considered just being a minister and preaching to his congregation was not enough so he bought himself a Rob Roy canoe and had it shipped from Lambeth, London, to St Kilda where he was the minister. With this canoe he envisaged that during his annual holiday he could visit settlers on the rivers and coasts of the colony. He felt that many of the people would seldom be able to hear the Gospel preached or see the face of a Christian minister.
The canoe, which he named Evangelist was sea-worthy, built of oak, mahogany and cedar and was 12 feet in length. He seems to have planned his canoe well because it had an enclosed bulkhead where he kept his clothing, food, water and equipment. It was also fitted with a sail and with an ingenious little cooking stove. The little vessel was a life boat having two air chambers that always kept it afloat. The canoe, which was large enough for Rev. Fairey to sleep in if necessary, had both single and double oars and he was able to operate the rudder with his feet whilst rowing.
During his ministry at Windsor he would row or sail depending on the weather up or down the Hawkesbury River, pulling his canoe in where he saw a farmhouse. People always treated him kindly and they would ride to advise any neighbours that a minister of religion had come to preach.
The Congregational Manse, where Fred Fairey lived, was on the corner of Macquarie Street and Kable Street, so lots of boys were needed to drag the canoe up the hill from the river.