Rookwood Necropolis remains the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and the largest still operating Victorian Era cemetery. When it opened in 1867, it was very much a “city of the dead,” complete with its own railway line. The All Saints Anglican Church was first built as a railway station for Rookwood. It was originally known as Cemetery Station No. 1. 

After a fire destroyed the roof of the station, Reverend E. G. Buckle purchased the ruins around 1951 for £100. He then had it carefully dismantled stone by stone and shipped to Ainslie. It was rebuilt there in 1957, with a few alterations, such as the bell tower being switched to the opposite side of the structure. A locomotive bell from the Wolgan Valley Railway was donated by the Australian Railway Historical Society in 1958 to act as the church’s bell.