No. 270 - Holy Trinity Anglican Church at St Marys

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All that remains of the original Holy Trinity church at St Marys is the foundation stone.  The timber church was demolished, ostensibly because of structural concerns. It was replaced with a functional brick building some years ago. The reason for the church being demolished rather than restored is unclear and there are still questions as why this course of action was taken.

There is very little substantive information about the old church on Trove although there is a report in the Daily Telegraph about the laying of the foundation stone on Wednesday 22 July 1896:

“Wednesday… was quite a red-letter day here, the event being the laying of the foundation stone of Holy Trinity Church. At 3pm a procession was formed at the Sunday school-room, headed by the children bearing their banners… The church committee, etc., were arranged on a platform. The office was read by the rector, assisted by the Rev. C.F. L’Oste, and during the service the secretary read a copy of the document placed in the bottle, and on behalf of the committee presented Mrs L’Oste with a handsome silver trowel suitably inscribed, and requested that she would lay the stone…”

The church had a lucky escape in 1926 and came close to burning down. The Examiner reported that:

 "The services in Holy Trinity Church... was interrupted on Sunday evening by the failure of the lights. In relighting them some petrol that had dripped from a burner to the matting in the aisle was set alight. A young man and the rector, Mr. Hammond, who promptly used his surplice to smother the flame, extinguished it before any damage was done, and the service was resumed".

It was not fire but demolition that brought an end to the century old church. The original foundation stone is on display in the foyer of the new building and its bell hangs in a small bell tower outside. Holy Trinity is now part of the Break O’ Day Anglican parish which comprises of two other churches at St Helen’s and Pyengana.


The Weekly Courier Thursday 28 January 1908

The foundation stone of the original church - photo: Duncan Grant 2018

The original church - date unknown - source Geoffrey Stephens - The Anglican Church in Tasmania

The new brick church - photo: Duncan Grant 2018

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018

Holy Trinity at St Marys - origin of photo not known

Holy Trinity in the centre of the aerial shot  - Source LINC Tasmania NS5748 (date not given)

Sources:

 Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 29 July 1896, page 3
The Examiner, Wednesday 9 June, 1926, page 5

 Stephens, Geoffrey and Anglican Church of Australia. Diocese of Tasmania, (issuing body.) The Anglican Church in Tasmania : a Diocesan history to mark the sesquicentenary, 1992. Trustees of the Diocese, Hobart, 1991.

 Henslowe, Dorothea I and Hurburgh, Isa Our heritage of Anglican churches in Tasmania. Mercury-Walch, Moonah, Tas, 1978.
Location: Holy Trinity Anglican Church, 13 Main St, St Marys TAS 7215, Australia

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