Bethel South Australia |
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Bethel Lutheran Church in 2015
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Coordinates | 34°19′40″S 138°50′15″E / 34.32784°S 138.837630°ECoordinates: 34°19′40″S 138°50′15″E / 34.32784°S 138.837630°E | ||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 5373 | ||||||||||||
Location | 9 km (6 mi) W of Kapunda | ||||||||||||
LGA(s) | Light Regional Council | ||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Stuart | ||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Wakefield | ||||||||||||
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Bethel is a locality and former settlement in South Australia, west of Kapunda. Its name is derived from the German word for Place of God.
Bethel was settled by German-speaking people in around 1854 seeking to establish a Moravian Brethren community. From 1856 there was also a group of people of Wendish origin. They also spoke German. Some of these settlers initially worshipped with the Moravians, however a new church was built named Steinthal and many worshipped there instead. The Bethel congregation severed its links with the Moravians and called a Lutheran pastor in the 1890s. The Steinthal church closed and combined in 1906.