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countryside.

The Hassalls moved to Berrima in 1853 where he was minister of the Holy Trinity Church which had been designed by Edmund Blacket. This was the first Blacket commission to design and build for the Church of England under Bishop Broughton who had appointed him the diocesan architect at the age of thirty. Holy Trinity was designed in the style of an English parish church, derived from St Peter's, Biddestone, Wiltshire with the distinctive bell-cote directly copied from Wiltshire church. The foundation stone was laid on 7 April 1847 and two years later on 9 June 1849 the church, built for £900, was opned - Broughton described it as "one of the best and handsomest churches in the diocese".

The Hassalls were delighted to move to Berrima, a parish of about ten miles in diameter instead of 100 miles as Bungonia was. Because there was no suitable parsonage the family lived at first with his wife's Oxley relatives at Wingecarribbee, Bowral, a gift to the Oxley family made in 1855 by Governer Darling, in recognition of the meritorious services rendered to the colony by their fathe, John Oxley. The house there was a fine mansion constructed of prefabricated iron sections shipped from England. There must have been some criticism from the local District Committee that Hassall was not adequately carrying out his duties so he was forced to write to explain the situation. In his letter he said that he had come to Berrima with promises and the district understanding "that I should have the best house that could be procured for me in Berrima and rent paid". A house was found but when two years had elapsed and repairs were not completed he realised that he would have to pay for them from his own pocket. He explained to the committee that he was therefore forced to spend time on his own affairs but insisted that although his time and attention had been taken from his ministerial duties he had always carried out the most urgent requirements of the parish.

The parsonage he was eventually forced to build was a handsome building designed by Edmund Blacket and set in 30 acres of wooded grounds bordering the river and which still stands. After passing into private hands including Paul Sorenson, landscap gardener of Leura's Everglades, and Sir Charles and Lady Llyod Jones, it was owned by the National Trust and is now again privately owned. To build this parsonage, Hassall sold some land at Braidwood in 1855 although he ha hoped in 1851 tht gold could probably be found there. It was land on which he ran sheep and though it never became as profitable as he had first hoped he was able