Churches of Tasmania

The Presbyterian Church at Glengarry was established in 1887 and the church was sold in 2014, after which it was repurposed as an art gallery.   Although it is a small rural church w ith the destruction of the Presbyterian church at Sidmouth (Auld Kirk) by fire on September 6, 1900, for a time the Glengarry chapel became a centre of worship in the West Tamar district. I will do further research on this church and in time this blog article will be updated. The report from the Mercury on the church's 50th anniversary in 1937 outlines the activity of early Presbyterianism in the district, with services being held in barns for 10 years before the church was built in 1887. Mercury Monday 6 September 1937 The 50th anniversary occurred on Saturday of the opening of the Presbyterian Church at Glengarry, in the district of West Tamar. The history of Presbyterianism in the parish dates back almost 100 years. It is thought that the first service was conducted by Mr James Reid, of Rich...

Exeter Uniting Church is a rather plain looking weatherboard building but its history is of interest.  It is in fact not one church but two, and as such, it has also deserved a mention in my Vanished Churches of Tasmania companion blog!  Established 1916, it is Exeter’s oldest existing church but it actually has an even older history. In December 1951, the church became the new home for the Winkleigh Methodist Church, which was transported to Exeter as an extra building on-site.  (see advertisement for tender below) The two sections were later joined to make one larger building. The form of the old Winkleigh church can best be see in the black and white photo below. The church celebrated its centenary in 2016 but Methodist services in Exeter took place at least two years before the church was built with meetings taking place at the Gravelly Beach Hall and the Exeter Showgrounds Hall.  The earliest Methodist Church in the West Tamar region is the historic church ...

It is a challenge to find freely available histories of small rural churches and St. Canice at Glengarry is no exception. A report on the opening of the church in 1894, appearing in the Examiner was a real find.   One of my objectives for this blog is to make contact with people who are ‘keepers of history’ before sources are lost. As with all posts on churches, they will be updated as information comes to hand. The report from The Examiner ha s been edited and a link to the full story can be found at the end of this post.   CHURCH OF ST. CANICE. OPENING CEREMONY   The  Examiner 29 January 1894   A piece of land was purchased at public auction from the Government, and on this acre some short time ago the foundation of what will: in a short time become a very pretty little building was laid. This was recently completed, and yesterday the …Bishop of Hobart (the Most Rev. Dr. P. Delany) solemnly blessed and opened the building in the presenc...