No. 494 - Beulah Baptist Church - "My Heaven and my Home Forever"

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Beulah is a small settlement approximately 15 kilometres southeast of Sheffield and nests in the foothills of Mount Roland. The name Beulah is taken from the Bible and means ‘my heaven and my home forever more’. The region south of Sheffield encompasses hamlets at Paradise and Promised Land, whose names reflect the settlement of this area by Baptist and Plymouth Brethren communities in the late 19th century.

Beulah’s Baptist church opened for its first service on Sunday 21 December 1913 in a ceremony led by pastor Britton of Sheffield. Land for the church was donated by Mr Williamson.

Little is known about the church’s history. Services were held for about 30 years before the building was sold to the Anglican Church in 1944. The seats, organ and pulpit were removed and taken to the Baptist church at Paradise. Under Anglican stewardship, the church was dedicated to St Matthew in 1949.

The church also forms a part of the Anglican story at Beulah and this will be the subject of an upcoming blog entry.'


An undated photo of the Beulah church (Jennifer Hemsley) - original source not inicated
 Beulah showing the public hall in the background.

Beulah's location in Northern Tasmania (placenames.gov.tas.au)


Sources:

North West Post, Saturday 2 August 1913, page 2
North West Post, Thursday 18 December 1913, page 4
Daily Telegraph, Thursday 1 January 1914, page 8
The Advocate, Friday 21 April 1944, page 4

Hemsley, Jennifer Around the country circuits : reminiscences of the Baptist Church family throughout "Tassie's top half". Regal Press, Launceston, Tas, 1996.

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