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Showing posts from February, 2020

No. 668 - Wynyard - St Stephen's Anglican Church - "Delays and Disappointments"

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Wynyard is a town on the northwest coast approximately 20 kilometres west of the city of Burnie. The area around Wynyard was originally named Table Cape by the explorers Bass and Flinders. The name was changed to Wynyard in the 1850s, in honour of Edward Buckley Wynyard, Lieutenant-General of the New South Wales Corps. In his capacity as commander of troops in New South Wales, Van Diemen’s Land and New Zealand, Wynyard visited Table Cape in 1850-1. Until the 20th century Wynyard remained a small town with a population of less than 500. The focus of this article is on the last of the three Anglican churches established at Wynyard. The first small church was built in the mid 1850s and this was replaced by a larger building in 1873. [see No. 652 ] This replaced in 1920 by the present brick ‘English style’ church. The construction of a new Anglican church at Wynyard became possible following the death of Mr. Edward Stutterd in 1907. Stutterd, who had never married, left a bequest of £1000

No. 667 - Margate - St Joseph's the Holy Saviour Catholic Church (1930-1989)

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Margate is a coastal town on the Channel Highway approximately 7 kilometres south of Kingston. The original settlement was closer to the sea however the modern commuter town is now centred along the highway where the town’s churches are located. For many years Catholic Mass was conducted in Margate’s public hall. Once a fortnight members of the congregation would carry “the necessary paraphernalia from their homes to erect the altar”. In 1920 the gift of land by Miss Mary Ann Clare initiated a period of concerted fundraising by a “committee of ladies” to build a church. By the close of the decade work on building the church began. St Joseph’s was formally opened 25th May by Archbishop William Hayden. The newly appointed Archbishop had arrived in Tasmania earlier that month and the opening of the church was his first public function in Tasmania.  The Mercury carried a detailed report of the church’s opening: “On a commanding site adjacent to the Main Road running through the township

No. 666 - Ridgley - Holy Trinity Anglican Church

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Ridgley lies approximately 15 kilometres south of the city of Burnie and in recent years the settlement has effectively become a commuter suburb. Ridgley was originally a small farming centre established in the 1880’s by the Van Diemen's Land Company. The town has been well served by a number of religious denominations including Anglican, Methodist and Catholic. Ridgley has had two Anglican churches, the first lasting only 10 years (1916-1926) while the second church, which replaced it, closed in 1998. Anglican services were initially held in the Ridgley Hall from January 1916 and it did not take long before parishioners sought to acquire a church of their own. On the anniversary of the first service in January 1917 the North Western Advocate reviewed the progress which had been made: “Just a year ago services in connection with the Church of England were commenced at the Ridgley Hall, and were continued for some time. The parishioners, however, decided to provide a church, and a c

No. 665 - Margate - Seventh-Day Adventist Church

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Margate is a coastal town on the Channel Highway approximately 7 kilometres south of Kingston. The original settlement was closer to the sea however the modern commuter town is now centred along the highway where the town’s churches are located. The Seventh-Day Adventist Church was established in Tasmania in 1888. The denomination originated in the USA in the 1860’s and in 1885 a group of Adventists travelled to Australia and began preaching in Melbourne. After a church group was established in Melbourne in 1886 members moved on to Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart. Public tent meetings were held in Sandy Bay in 1888 which led to the establishment of a church at Collinsvale and then Hobart and Launceston soon after the start of the 20th century. The Adventist church at Margate is situated on Crescent Drive. It is one of 13 Adventist churches active in Tasmania. *Additional information and sources about the church and building are most welcome as all articles are updated. I can be contacted

No. 664 - Glen Huon - 'The Church of the Latter Day Saints' - "Diamond-Shaped Shingles"

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Glen Huon is a small settlement on the banks of the Huon River approximately 10 kilometres west of Huonville. The area was once a major apple-growing district. The settlement was referred to as part of the Upper Huon before the 20th century. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or ‘Mormons', first appeared in Tasmania in the 1850’s, when missionaries began to proselytise in Hobart. In the face of opposition, congregations were established in Hobart in 1894 and in the Upper Huon in 1899. The first chapel opened in 1924 at Lefroy Street, North Hobart, followed by a chapel built at Glen Huon in 1927. In the late 19th century the response of many of Hobart’s citizens to “Mormon” preachers visiting from America was generally one of curiosity, especially about the perceived practice of polygamy. In 1874 a visit by an ‘elder’ from Utah drew crowds but many were disappointed when it became apparent that the visitor was proselytising and would not be drawn into responding to p

No. 663 - Mornington - MacKillop College - 'St Joseph's Chapel'

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Mornington is an eastern shore suburb of Hobart that was established by the Housing Department in the late 1960’s. The suburb is named after “Mornington”, an old estate dating back to the mid 19th century. MacKillop Catholic College was founded in 1994 following the restructuring of Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Hobart during the early 1990s. Moves to establish a Catholic secondary school on the eastern shore of Hobart began in the 1960s. In 1993 the Catholic Church purchased the site and buildings of Mornington State Primary School, which had closed at the end of 1992. MacKillop College opened on 9 February 1994, with an enrolment of 59 students. Its establishment was supported by the Christian Brothers who provided the first Principal and Deputy Principal. St Joseph’s Chapel is a more recent addition to the school and is used for weekly community prayer. Following the canonisation of Saint Mary Mackillop in 2010, a Communion bowl from the Papal Beatification Mass was ac

No. 662 - Wynyard - St Brigid's (1876-1912) - "One of Mr Hunter's most economical"

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Wynyard is a large town on the northwest coast approximately 20 kilometres west of Burnie. The area around Wynyard was originally named Table Cape by the explorers Bass and Flinders. However this was changed to Wynyard in the 1850s, renamed after Edward Buckley Wynyard, a Lieutenant-General in the New South Wales Corps. Until the 20th century Wynyard remained a small town with a population of less than 500. Wynyard’s Romanesque style Catholic church is one of the most striking churches on the north west coast. This church, which opened in 1912, replaced an older church, Wynyard’s first Catholic church. The history of this simple building which served as a church for almost 40 years is the subject of this article. The opening of Wynyard’s first Catholic church in 1876 was the culmination of a long struggle that dated back to the early 1850’s. In 1853 Bishop Willson applied to the government for a grant of land for a church, presbytery and a school. However, the three acres given was “

No. 661 - New Norfolk - St Paul's Uniting Church

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New Norfolk is a historic town on the banks of the Derwent River approximately 40 kilometres north west of Hobart. It grew dramatically when settlers from Norfolk Island moved into the district after 1807. When Governor Lachlan Macquarie visited the township he named it Elizabeth Town after his wife. However, it was later decided to adopt the name New Norfolk, to acknowledge the large number Norfolk Islanders. New Norfolk is home toTasmania’s oldest Anglican church with part of the building dating back to 1825. The town is also the location of Australia’s oldest continually used Methodist (Uniting) church which opened in 1836. Methodist activity at New Norfolk began in the early 1820’s. Two preachers, Benjamin Nokes and Samuel Dowsett, have rival claims as to having been the first who gathered the Methodist-minded residents together for a service. In 1821 Reverend William Horton, the Methodist minister at Hobart Town, extended his ministry to the Derwent Valley, preaching in the home