The Hobart assembly of Christian Brethren came into existence as a group of Chrstians meeting together in the early 1870s. Henry Lewis Garrett (1847-1893) joined the group in 1877 and rapidly became a leader, helping to formalise and guide the growing church in its formative years. Although Brethren churches have a multiple leadership, Garrett undertook a key pastoral and teaching role, and his diary and letters are the foundational research material for this article.