No. 23 - St Oswald's Anglican Church Trevallyn - Two Churches Not One!

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St Oswald’s Anglican church on Bain Terrace overlooks the city of Launceston. It was established in 1894 and is listed with the National Trust of Australia. St Oswald was a King of Northumbria in the 7th century who, with his Bishop, St Aidan converted many in the north of England to Christianity (see details on  photo below).


The land on which the church was built was donated by Mr. Cecil Fawns and Mrs. Barnes wife of the then owner of the Trevallyn estate. The foundation-stone was laid on December 5, 1893, by Bishop Henry Montgomory, father of Field Marshall Sir Bernard Montgomery. The church was opened on April 30, 1894, and the first service was held the following Sunday, 6th May. St. Oswald's formerly belonged to the Beaconsfield parish but on the departure of Mr. Cecil Fawns' for England, it was handed over to St. John's, Launceston.

  In 1897 the idea of moving the church further down the hill was discussed but the idea was dropped. In the 1920’s the rapid growth of Trevallyn led to further discussions about moving the church to a more central site in the suburb but ultimately the lack of suitable land in the area brought this to an end. In 1925 a porch and vestry were added. In 1927 the problem of space was still an issue and a hall was needed for a Sunday School and in that year a former Wesleyan Church (see photo) was purchased and moved next to St. Oswald's for use as a hall. The origins of the Wesleyan church hall is still bring investigated and any information on this would be most welcome.

 Notes on architectural style:

The style is Victorian and it features a steeply pitched gabled roof with ventilators and stucco walls with battens.







The former Wesleyan Chapel that was purchased and moved next to St. Oswald's for use as a hall


The former Wesleyan Chapel that was purchased and moved next to St. Oswald's for use as a hall







Sources used:

Examiner Thursday 4 May 1944.

Daily Telegraph Wednesday 13 April 1927.

Launceston Examiner Tuesday 13 March 1894.

Tasmanian Saturday 17 March 1894.

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