A funeral sermon on the Rev. Andrew Mitchell Ramsay, the late pastor of St. Enoch's Presbyterian Church, 96 Collins Street, Melbourne, was preached on Sunday, January 9, 1870 by the Rev. Robert Hamilton, who was intrusted by the presbytery with the melancholy duty of formally declaring the church vacant.

A large number of the members of the congregation were present, some of whom seemed much affected. Taking as his text a portion of 2nd Timothy, chapter i: verse 10 (" . . . of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel"), the Rev. Robert Hamilton proceeded to earnestly direct the attention of his auditors to the efficacy of the atoning blood of Christ to blot out man's transgressions, and to smooth away the terrors of the passage to the other world by the hopes of eternal happiness held out to all who trusted in the Saviour. He concluded by giving a short but highly-interesting sketch of the life and labours of the deceased pastor of the church.

The Rev. Andrew Mitchell Ramsay was, he said, born in Shettlestone, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, on March 5, 1809. During the early years of his life he was brought up under the ministry of the Rev. William McIlquham, of Tollcroft Relief Church, in which his father filled the office of the eldership. He resolved on prosecuting his studies with a view to the office of the holy ministry, and accordingly he entered the Glasgow University in 1825, and acquired honourable distinction in the study of the classics, philosophy, and science. His theological studies were pursued under the late Rev. Professor James Thomson, D.D., of Paisley.

In the end of 1832 he was licensed to preach by the Glasgow Relief Presbytery, and on the 29th May of the following year was ordained to the pastorate of a congregation at Hawick by the Kelso Presbytery, and there he ministered for 13 years. He entered the marriage relationship in 1840. The most striking circumstance in connexion with his ministerial work in the south of Scotland was the active part he took in connexion with a remarkable religious revival which spread over a great portion of Roxburghshire, and even beyond its limits, in 1839, producing the most decided results in the conversion of sinners.

In 1846 he resigned his charge, and emigrated to Melbourne, where he arrived on January 4, 1847, by the "Anne Milne," with his wife and two children. He officiated for three months in the Scots Church, Collins Street, but on account of his decided views against all establishments of religion by the civic power, he had to decline a pressing invitation to assume the pastorate of the church.

He, with others, succeeded in establishing a Presbyterian church organised on the basis of the United Presbyterian body in Scotland. Within a short time after the commencement of his pastoral labours, several other ministers holding the same opinions as himself arrived in the colony, and formed congregations, based on the purely voluntary principle, in different districts of the country. With the view of uniting these brethren in a closer bond, a synod was formed, consisting of four ministers, on January 18, 1850.

His congregation, at length, secured by a free purchase the site of the present church of St. Enoch, a building was put up, and the church was opened for Divine service on March 30, 1851. It was then in an unfinished state, but was completed in 1864.

In the course of 12 years from the time of his arrival, the Rev. Mr. Ramsay was concerned in the formation of 15 churches. He also endeavoured to promote the prosperity of the denomination to which he belonged by his pen. Soon after his arrival he started a monthly periodical for the maintenance of scriptural principles and the diffusion of gospel truths. In 1849, after a terrific tempest and flood, which occasioned great destruction of life and property, he published a pamphlet entitled "The Voice of the Storm." He also published a paper setting forth his views with respect to the connexion between church and state, and he was a frequent contributor at home to the periodical of the denomination.

He lent effective aid to the cause of temperance, and gave most valuable assistance to the Legislature in the framing of several important measures since enacted, and succeeded in preventing the passage of others which he foresaw would prove injurious.

The great rush of population which set in after the discovery of gold involved him in a large amount of care, expense, and toil - for his heart, his hand, his home, and means were all at the command of those who applied to him. The friends at home of the emigrants whose interests he so kindly promoted were so impressed with the debt of obligation under which he had laid them that they forwarded for his acceptance a valuable mark of their thankfulness and love.

A prominent point in his character was his tenacity of principle. His preaching was plain and faithful, evangelistic and practical, and he ever cherished a thoroughly catholic regard for all classes of Christians, some of his most valued friends being amongst the members of other denominations.

His declining, along with a number of his brethren, to enter into an incorporated Presbyterian Union in 1859 was not by any means a violation of Christian catholicity, but simply an uncompromising adherence to principle.

In his visitations of the sick he was peculiarly at home, and his charities to the poor were so many and of such a self-denying character as to form a prominent feature of his life. As a husband, a father, a pastor, a friend, or a Christian, he was equally entitled to praise and emulation, and he has passed from the scenes of his ministration beloved, respected and regretted by all with whom he had come in contact.

In conclusion, the Rev. Robert Hamilton formally declared the church vacant, and intimated that the duty of appointing another pastor rested with the presbytery.

The "Argus" of Saturday thus refers to the death of the Rev. Mr. Ramsay, father of Mrs. Garlick, of Bacchus Marsh: -

"We have to announce with deep regret the death of an old and much esteemed colonist and minister of religion. We refer to the Rev. A. M. Ramsay, the oldest resident clergyman in Melbourne, who died about half-past ten last night. Mr. Ramsay was born in March, 1809, and was consequently in his 61st year. He was for many years minister of the Relief Church in Hawick, in the south of Scotland, but arrived in this colony, with his wife and family, on the 4th of January, 1847, and shortly afterwards commenced the formation of the first Presbyterian Church in Melbourne unconnected with the State, both in theory and practice. In this work he was assisted by the late Dr. Peter Macarthur, of Arthurton; Mr. William Kerr, formerly Town Clerk, and others; and the result of the movement at last culminated in the erection of St. Enoch's Church, Melbourne, of which Mr. Ramsay has been for so many years the respected pastor. For some time past Mr. Ramsay's health has been failing, and a second paralytic stroke with which he was visited about a week ago has unexpectedly removed him from our midst."