Explore Australia's oldest Catholic church at Bungonia this weekend

The two-day celebration will include a country market, veteran and vintage car display, heritage tours, a bush dance and screening of the film "Journey Through Country".

Two plaques with the names of 200 people buried in Bungonia's cemetery will also be unveiled.

Bungonia and District Historical Society secretary, Anne Wiggan, said Bungonia was looking particularly glorious with all the Autumn colours out at the moment.

She said people from Canberra and Sydney had already called to book places for the tours.

Tours will be $10 for adults and free for school children.

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"The tours will give people access to historic places that would otherwise be locked," she said.

Bungonia is home to the oldest Roman Catholic Church in Australia, St Michael's, as well as Christ Church Anglican Church which stands on the opposite hill.

"St Michael's is the oldest Catholic Church on the mainland of Australia still in use as a church, still in its original footprint without major changes to its historic shape, size or condition," Ms Wiggan said.

"Another part of the reason for celebrating Bungonia's history is that it was the first town settlement outside of the Sydney Basin."

Ms Wiggan said it always surprised her how little people from Goulburn knew about Bungonia.

"A lot of people think that it's the other end of the world, but in actual fact we're two hours from Sydney, an hour and 20 minutes to Canberra, 90 minutes to the coast and between 15 and 20 minutes to Goulburn," she said.

"Many people are selling up in Sydney and Wollongong and moving to Bungonia, so there's been a real push here to make Bungonia more of a destination."

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The free bush dance will take place in the evening on Saturday night from 6pm to 10pm with food available.

"There will be some wonderful Bundanoon folk musicians," Ms Wiggan said.

"They'll teach us how to dance all sorts of old bush dances so you don't have to know how, it will be great fun."

Bungonia Progress Association will also be running their weekly Sunday morning breakfast before a screening of the film "Journey Through Country" at 11.30am.

"The cafe on the Sunday morning is really getting a reputation for very good, solid, country style food," Ms Wiggan said.

A raffle will also be run with prizes ranging from a collectable hand made games quilt to a lolly tree.

Sunday afternoon will see the unveiling of two plaques with the names of 200 people that were buried in the Bungonia Cemetery without headstones.

The plaques were made after an extensive research project was carried out by Moira McGinity, who won the Goulburn award, and Ann Smith.

The women completed extensive and seminal research on the "Bungonia and District Cemetery and Burial Records" from 1829 to 1996.

Moira McGinity and Julie Young will unveil the plaques, Julie is Ann Smith's daughter.

"There are a lot of people for whom their families reach right back to this time," Ms Wiggan said.

"And for people who are looking for their ancestors, there's nothing more depressing than a cemetery with none of the names recorded, they can't find them.

"Now this record will be there, and so the people who are hunting their family tree will be able to look them up," Ms Wiggan said.

To book a heritage tour or find out more about the weekend, call 0408 666 196.

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