No. 300 - The Breadalbane Union Church

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Breadalbane is a small settlement that lies approximately 12 kilometres south Launceston. It was named Breadalbane by Governor Macquarie after the Earl of Breadalbane, who was the cousin of his wife Jane. Before this the general district was variously known as 'Cocked Hat', 'The Springs' and 'Brumby's Plain'. In colonial times there were three inns at Breadalbane: The Albion, The Temperance Hotel, and The Woolpack Inn. Only the Woolpack Inn still stands.

The Union Church was a stone and brick structure built in 1838 with the use of convict labour. The church was maintained by trustees for use by all denominations. By the turn of the twentieth century it appears to have been used almost exclusively by the Methodists. The church was also used as a schoolroom with one end of the building curtained off for church services.

In February 1948 a fire gutted the church and also an adjoining cottage. According to a report in the Examiner, the fire started when dead floral material and other decorations from a harvest festival were burnt in the church’s fireplace which spread to the buildings ceiling. The church was completely destroyed by the fire and was subsequently demolished. The Methodists built a small church at a new site Breadalbane in September 1948. There were plans to replace the Union Church with a weatherboard chapel, this never proceeded.

The site of the church is mark by a stand of large pine trees near near the airport junction near the Midland Highway. The photograph below was taken in 1907 when the chapel was used as a State school. Photographs of the destroyed church are from the archives of the Hobart Mercury.

A cropped photograph for social media publication - see the full photograph with credits below.

Photographs of the ruined church - from the archives of the Mercury. Courtesy of Damian Bester

Photographs of the ruined church - from the archives of the Mercury. Courtesy of Damian Bester
The Breadalbane Union Church in 1907 - Source: The Weekly Courier


A report from the Examiner, Wednesday 31 March 1948

Sources:

The Weekly Courier, Saturday 15 June 1907, page 18
Examiner, Monday 25 September 1911, page 3
Examiner, Wednesday 6 July 1938, page 9
Examiner, Wednesday 31 March 1948, page 1
The Mercury, Wednesday 31 March 1948, page 6
Examiner, Saturday 3 April 1948, page 2
Examiner, Tuesday 28 September 1948, page 6
Examiner, Wednesday 9 September 1953, page 8

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