Welcome to Churches of Tasmania

I love history and photography and also have an interest in architecture. When I started this blog in 2017 I had the goal of photographing every historical church in Tasmania. This was initially driven by the proposed mass sell-off of Anglican churches. I was concerned that these buildings would be modified and no longer be accessible once in private hands.

As the years have passed this goal has changed to writing short histories of each and every church built in Tasmania, of which there are about 1600.  

My earliest posts are rather amateurish but my research and writing has improved somewhat over the years.  In time my hope is to revise and update every article to a publishable standard. I have received an overwhelming amount of material from followers of the blog and I will incorporate this into the articles in the revision phase. Eventually I hope to publish the best of the articles.

At present the blog attracts about 1000 views per day and I hope that this will continue to grow. 

Consider joining and contributing to my Facebook group 'Churches of Tasmania'. A link to the group is <HERE>.

Searching for a church?

Here is a link to my Google Earth page which enables an easy map-based search of churches (1100+ uploaded so far)

The link is HERE

Churches can be located through a search on the map or by using the the drop-down list on the side bar. 

Double-click on an icon or listed church name and a photo of the church will appear. A link beneath the photo will take you to an article (and further photos) on the ‘Churches of Tasmania’ Blog.

Icons are colour coded:

Red - The church is still open.

Yellow - The church has closed but the building is used for other purposes.

Blue -  The church has been demolished or moved. An asterix * indicates that the exact location of the church is not known at this stage.

Green - Churches planned but never built.

This is work in progress - another 500 buildings are yet to be added to the blog/map.

I am happy for followers of the blog to share my photographs for non-commercial purposes. If needed for other purposes, please ask and credit the source. No charge will be sought.

I welcome feedback and if I have made errors and typos please let me know. I suck at proofreading my own work.

St Mary the Virgin - Gretna







Comments

  1. Beautiful photos and very interesting information. You write so personably.

    While at the moment I'm surrounded by much older (and often very ostentatious!) Italian churches, the dignified simplicity of Tasmanian churches is quite lovely.

    Keep them coming ...

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  2. Thanks for the site and work, I am enjoying reading. I have a few old post cards of churches from Lilydale and Scottsdale when you do that area.

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  3. Thank you Fran, any old photos are most welcome. I am working on a few churches in the Lilydale area, including the old Methodist church from Tunnel which is now the hall behind the Uniting Church. I believe the old Salvation Army barracks may have been moved to Invermay. I would also like to find out more about the Presbyterian church in Lilydale as well as the Presbyterian church built in North Lilydale. So many mysteries but it is great fun solving them.

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  4. Hello Duncan, I like your work and am looking for The Church of St Helena and St Stanislaus which is a Catholic Church in St Helens on the east coast but cannot find it here. They are celebrating the anniversary on the 5 March this year and I wondered what you have on it as in some newspapers it says 100th anniversary but I have been told it was built in the 1870's. Looking forward to a reply, Peggy Bogar.

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    1. Hello Peggy, I am in the process of writing an article on the first church. I have supplied the Archdiocese with some information and this should appear in an article to be published in the March edition of the Catholic Standard. The record of the first church is patchy - it opened in 1871 and although a fairly rudimentary building, it served St Helens' Catholic community for 50 years. I will post the article on the first church at the beginning of next month and will follow this up with an article on the second church once I have photographed it. I hope this is helpful, Duncan.

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  5. Thank you. It has been altered since it was built-the existing one I mean.

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    1. Yes, I think in 1988-9 the church was extended and the entrance was moved and the old entrance alcove was turned into a small chapel. Stained glass windows commemorating the founders of the church were added at this time. I last attended Mass there about 20 years ago. It is a beautiful little church.

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    2. It is and I last went there on World Day of Prayer last year. I hope to attend the 100 year anniversary on the 5 March. Church opens at 1pm for the viewing of photos and displays and Archbishop Porteous will celebrate Mass at 3pm. I will encourage my 90 year old mum to come and my daughter from Launceston.

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  6. Sorry that should say the Church 100 year anniversary opens at 1.30pm. 5 March 2022.

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  7. What an amazing project Duncan! I admire your dedication. I'm in the (slow) process of restoring a church in Queenstown which I bought in 2021. I look forward to maybe seeing it pop up here one day. Awesome work.

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  8. What an interesting project. Well done!
    I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
    Our family moved to the Deloraine area in the early 1970s and we attended church meetings in Spreyton in a hall next to a sports oval until the chapel was built in East Devonport, overlooking the river.
    I also helped in small ways with its construction in wheeling barrows of cement, painting and other small jobs.
    My husband was a building missionary in the late 1970s/early 1980s and worked on the extensions of the East Devonport Chapel in a voluntary capacity.
    He is a member from Glen Huon. His father, paternal grandparents and other relatives are in the photo of the old 1927 Glen Huon Chapel you have posted.
    I've also attended meetings in the Launceston, Burnie, Glenorchy and Rosny chapels over the years.
    I have lived and attended church in Glen Huon for approximately 40 years and was in the choir which sang at the dedication of the Glen Huon chapel's extensions in 1990.
    I just wanted to make a correction that the church members in the Deloraine/Weegena area used to travel to Spreyton and meet in a hall until the chapel
    at East Devonport was built. We continued to attend church meetings in East Devonport. We didn't attend church in Launceston as stated in the Deloraine chapel segment.
    The only time those living in the Deloraine/Weegena area attended church in Launceston was for conferences and other special occasions.
    I too was saddened with the sale of so many of the old Anglican churches.
    A friend of mine bought the old church in Franklin which is significant to her family.
    My husband's ancestors are buried in the surrounding graveyard of that old Anglican Church in Franklin too.
    Thanks again for sharing your passion for the history of churches in Tasmania!

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