Revd Peter R Dunstan BSc.Dip Hort Sc.BD
Parish minister
The Rev Peter Dunstan has been the minister of the Annandale Leichhardt Presbyterian Church since his induction in February 2004. Originally trained as a Botanist and Agricultural Chemist and then as a Horticultural Scientist specializing in Australian Native Plants, Peter answered God's calling to enter the ministry in 1983 and completed the Sydney University post-graduate Bachelor of Divinity in 1987. After serving as a Home-Missionary at Greenwich (NSW) in 1987, he was appointed and subsequently ordained into the ministry of the Presbyterian Church at West Wyalong in 1988, later moving to the parishes of Clunes-Dunoon-Bangalow in 1991, to North-Sydney Greenwich as an assistant (1995-6) and to St David’s Toukley in 1996.
Although he has served on a number of State and Federal Church Committees Peter's main work for many years was as Convenor and previously Treasurer of the NSW Assembly's Historical Records and Library Committee which oversaw the Ferguson Memorial Library, the Archives of the Presbyterian Church and Australia until mid-2008. Peter now serves as a board member of Presbyterian Aged Care which oversees the NSW Church's Aged Care facilities.
Peter is a trained singer (Bass-baritone) having trained under the late Noel Melvin and has been involved in many church and secular choirs and local musical societies over the years. Other ministry qualifications include accreditation to administer the Prepare-Enrich premarriage and marriage guidance programme (see Wedding
page) and have also completed two units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) (Hospital and Chaplaincy qualification).
His Vision for Hunter Baillie is “to seek to turn our landmark building into a landmark Church” through faithful parish ministry and particularly through the preaching of God’s Word, the teaching of SRE (School Scripture), Bible Study, prayer and pastoral and hospital visitation and outreach into the community while supporting efforts to address the urgent need for restoration of the fabric of the building.