Thomas Magarey arrived in South Australia via New Zealand in 1845. He moved to Noarlunga after he was married to Elizabeth Verco on 10 March 1848. He worked in the local flour mill at the Horseshoe and for the 18 months to two years they were at Noarlunga, worshipped with the little group of disciples led by John Aird. Others in the congregation were: Watsons, Browns, Greenshields, Robert Lawries and Scotts. At the beginning of 1850, two years later, the Magareys returned to Hindmarsh, where Magarey wrote glowingly of the time spent with John Aird and the church at McLaren Vale.