Churches of Tasmania

Dunalley is village on the Arthur Highway approximately 60 kilometres east of Hobart. It stands on the narrow isthmus connected to the Forestier Peninsula. The Denison Canal runs through the village and connects Blackman Bay and Fredrick Henry Bay. Dunalley was badly affected by bushfires in January 2013 with the town losing over 60 buildings including the Police Station and school. St Martin’s is the only public building left standing after the fires. St Martin’s Anglican has recently featured in the news following its sale. It is one of over 50 churches to be sold to meet the Anglican Church’s commitment to the National Redress Scheme. St Martin’s is an unusual church into two respects. Firstly, it is constructed from stone from the former Government stores at the old Coal Mines penal station at Saltwater River, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Secondly, the church was built as a memorial to the men of the district who fought and died in the Great War. As such, the buildin

Upper Blythe was a rural settlement centred on a ford on the Blythe River approximately 20 kilometres south west of Penguin. The area is now part of Camena. Researching the history of churches in the Penguin hinterland is complex as churches were moved around the district and settlements were renamed and went by different names. Two Methodist churches were built at Upper Blythe. The first was a Primitive Methodist church built in 1901. This was replaced by a new church in 1911 after the original building was destroyed in a fire. The latter church was moved to Cuprona in 1939. This article will be limited to the history of the first church at Upper Blythe (Camena). The establishment of a church is first mentioned in the North West Post in March 1900: “Arrangements are being made for erecting a new church at the Upper Blythe, and to this end the offer of a site for the building by Mrs Westcombe, sen., is most welcome. The building will be used for school purposes also, and is very nec

Kimberley is a small settlement approximately 20 kilometres northwest of Deloraine that established at a fording point across the Mersey River. The area was previously known as Kimberley's Ford when it was the site of a convict probation station established in 1845. Kimberley was once a thriving village with a school, railway station, a store, a public hall, a hotel and three churches. The Gospel Hall was the first church established at Kimberley (although the short-lived probation station had a chapel). It was built by the Plymouth Brethren in 1903, before the establishment of an Anglican church in 1912 and a Catholic church in 1926. The Christian Brethren (also known as the Plymouth Brethren) once had a significant presence in the Deloraine and Sheffield region and Gospel halls were built at Kimberley, Mount Roland, Paradise, Railton, Beulah and elsewhere. The Brethren place an emphasis on weekly communion, the baptism of believers by immersion, and evangelism. The Christian Br

Ellendale is a village situated approximately 10 kilometres north of Westerway in the Derwent River Valley region. The settlement was originally known as Monto's Marsh before it was renamed after the wife of the local Member of Parliament, Nicholas Brown of Meadowbank. There are two churches at Ellendale, St Colman’s Catholic church (1890) and St Andrew’s Anglican church (1889). In 1885 a “visitor” to Ellendale took a pessimistic view of the settlement’s future: “An excellent bridge across the Derwent, and from it I took my departure for Monto’s Marsh, or Ellendale as its more euphonious name it. I think the people call it eight or nine miles, and the route is by a natural road through, and by far the major portion, poor land with a few farms by the way in the better gullies. Ellendale is a centre where a number of farmers have selections; but with few exceptions they cannot be called first class land. As a rule, I think, where a man has 50 acres in a block, he is lucky if more

Quoiba is a southern suburb of Devonport situated on the western bank of the Mersey River. The general area was previously called Spreyton Station before Quoiba was adopted. Quoiba was in fact a railway siding a short distance from the railway station. In the 1940s there was move to change the name to South Devonport but this was rejected by residents. Quoiba is now largely an industrial area and is virtually indistinguishable from neighbouring Spreyton. The former Quoiba Methodist church no longer exists and little information about it has survived. The church was originally a hall alongside the Methodist church at Melrose. It was moved and reconstructed on a site at Quoiba by Mr W.J. Brown. Later two rooms were added at the back of the church. The Quoiba Methodist church was officially opened on 1 June 1952 by Reverend E.L. Vercoe, superintendent minister at Devonport. A Sunday school was established in the same year. The original trustees of the church were W. Richards, L. Baldo

Lymington is a coastal settlement south of Cygnet in the Huon Valley region. Lymington was the site of a convict probation station established in the 1840’s when the area was known as Copper Alley Bay. By the late 19th century Lymington had developed as an orchard-growing district. In 1912, a decade after Lymington’s Methodist church had been built, the local correspondent for the Hobart Mercury wrote an article describing this picturesque area: “One of the prettiest settlements in the Huon district is Lymington, … it is getting its share of attention in the wave of progress and prosperity so noticeable throughout the Huon is easily discerned by the number of now houses, and the even increasing area of land being cleared and planted. The sweep of the well-sheltered bay, with its fringe of native bush, the well kept houses, with their neat gardens and orchards, sloping from the hills at the back to the very water's edge, form a picture that never fails to attract the eye of the vi

Glenora is a country village in the Derwent River Valley approximately 20 kilometres west of New Norfolk. It is situated in the centre of a hop-growing district on the banks of the Styx River. In 1888 the Derwent Valley Railway reached Glenora enabling the growth of the fruit and hop growing industry. Glenora’s only place of worship, a Uniting Church, has been closed for many years. After its closure the old heritage listed church was converted into a house in 1998. When I visited the area earlier this year the property was up for sale. [See link at the bottom of the page] The church’s origins date back to 1896 when a Wesleyan Methodist church was built as part of the New Norfolk circuit which at the time included churches at Back River, Mount Lloyd and Uxbridge. The foundation stone for the Glenora church was laid on 16 September 1896 in a ceremony led by Reverend William Shaw from Hobart. The church was officially opened in mid December 1896. The Hobart Mercury published a re

In October 1854 Launceston’s third Anglican church opened at a site on Frankland Street. This was a temporary church for the new parish of St Paul’s. The church served south Launceston for almost seven years before it was replaced by St Paul’s Church which was built at a site on nearby Cleveland Street in 1861. On Saturday 14 October 1854, Launceston’s Cornwall Chronicle drew the attention of its readers to an advertisement in the newspaper announcing the opening of a ‘new’ church in St Paul’s parish: “The building in Franklin-street, formerly used as a school for the Church of England children, has been fitted up for temporary service until the Church for St. Paul's Parish is built. The very large population in the neighbourhood has long required attention to its spiritual necessities, and it will be a source of sincere gratification to every Christian heart to learn that means are in progress for supplying them. At the close of the service to-morrow a collection will be made, t