Churches of Tasmania

Middleton is a small rural settlement on the Channel Highway approximately 40 kilometres south of Kingston. The settlement was originally named Long Bay before it changed to Middleton in 1892. The name was derived from a barque named Middleton built by shipbuilder John Watson, a former overseer of the shipyard at Port Arthur. Middleton was the family name of Watson’s wife, which was also appropriated as the name of the Watson home at Long Bay. Middleton had two Anglican churches both of which were destroyed in the bushfires of 1906 and 1967. The first attempt to build an Anglican church at Middleton dates back to 1871 but this was abandoned by 1875: “The committee have to regret that the steps hitherto taken to remedy…the unhappy state of affairs…in connection with the undertaking of building a church at Long Bay have been unsuccessful….It is earnestly to be hoped, however, that something will be done….for when it is considered that there is not a single consecrated place of worship

Ranelagh is a township situated on the Huon River approximately 2 kilometres north of Huonville. Formerly known as Ranelagh Junction it had previously shared the name ‘Victoria’ with neighbouring Huonville. Four religious denominations have been represented at Ranelagh including Methodist, Anglican, the Salvation Army and Catholic. Ranelagh’s first Catholic church; Sacred Heart, was built in 1901 [ see No. 680 ]. In 2014 the original church was replaced by a modern building, St Mary of the Cross, dedicated to Saint Mary Mackillop. The church was officially blessed and opened by Archbishop Porteous on Sunday 10 August 2014. The church is a part of the Huon parish which comprises of four churches, including St Joseph’s in Geeveston, Mary our Hope in Dover and St James’ in Cygnet. A history of the Catholic church in the Huon region can be found on the link at the end of this page. Photograph courtesy of the Huon catholic Parish Photograph courtesy of the Huon ca

West Pine is a small rural community approximately 8 kilometres south west of Penguin on the North West Coast.  Located west of Pine Road, the area was originally called "Pine Road West”. It was locally known as "West Pine” which was eventually adopted as the official name of the district. The history of the Anglican church at West Pine is complex but can be divided into three distinct periods: 1. 1895 -1924. The first church-school was built in 1895 and was destroyed in a fire in 1924.  2. 1925 -1944. The church-school was replaced by a parish hall. 3. 1944 - 2008. The parish hall was replaced by materials from a church previously located at South Riana. This was effectly a new building and was consecrated as the Church of the Ascension in 1945. A previous article on Churches of Tasmania [ No. 659 ] traced the history of West Pine’s first church-school and the parish hall which replaced it.  This article will focus exclusively on the Church of the Ascension

Tyenna is a settlement on the Tyenna River in the Upper Derwent region and is situated approximately 80 kilometres west of Hobart. Only a remnant of a once thriving rural community remains. Tyenna was officially gazetted as a town in 1918 after timber workers built sawmills in the area. Before the establishment of the towns of Fitzgerald and Maydena, Tyenna was a supply base for Adamsfield’s osmiridium miners. Bushfires have have destroyed much of old Tyenna over the years. Two religious denominations were established at Tyenna. The Anglican’s used the settlement’s public hall after a sanctuary was built in 1921 to allow for religious services. Methodist’s were active in the valley from the turn of the 20th century. In a letter to the Mercury in 1921, prominent Methodist Vincent Shoobridge outlined the early activities of the church: “For the past 20 years the Methodist Church has conducted Sunday schools and church services at Westerway, National Park, Tyenna, and Maydena, now ca

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. Margate’s Methodist church closed almost 50 years ago when the building was purchased by the Christian Brethren. It is now known as the Margate Christian Church. The early history of Methodism at Margate is unclear. In ‘Tasmanian Methodism’ written by Reverend Max Stansall, he states that the records of Methodist activity in Margate have not survived but the church was established as a result of a “venture of the Worsley family”. Published accounts of the church’s early years are minimal. While the Hobart Mercury published a report on the ceremonial laying of the church’s foundation stone in October 1901, the copy of the report is badly faded and difficult to read. However, a few basic facts can be deciphered.  Methodism at Margate dates

Upper Mount Hicks is a rural settlement situated approximately 13 kilometres south of Wynyard. Two churches were built at Mount Hicks; a Methodist church that opened in the 1890’s and a Gospel Chapel which was established in the 1950s. Both churches have closed. Early Christian Brethren meetings at Mount Hicks were held in local homes with support from the Brethren Gospel Hall at Wynyard. Worship also took place in the Yolla Memorial Hall. While meetings ceased for a time, a Brethren community was reestablished with the opening of the Upper Mount Hicks Chapel on 11 November 1956. The chapel closed early this century and was sold and converted into a house. Additional information and sources about the church and building are most welcome as all articles are updated. I can be contacted through this page or my Facebook page "Churches of Tasmania" which is linked here: < Churches of Tasmania > A Google Streetview image of the former church now converted into a hou

Pyengana is rural settlement in north-east Tasmania which has been based on dairy farming for well over a century. A community was established after pioneering settlers George and Margaret Cotton settled at a property called St Columba in 1875. Two churches were were established in the area; an Anglican church, St Michael and All Angel’s (1894) and a Catholic Church, St Augustine’s, which opened in 1923 . Around the turn of the 20th century Pyengana was enjoying significant growth and development as a result of tin mining activity in the district and the establishment of a butter factory in the 1890’s and a cooperative cheese factory in 1902. In 1903 Launceston’s Daily Telegraph reported: “During the past twelve months, Messrs. P. Haley, J. Jestrimski, O. Nicklason, and W. R. Rattray, have built new houses, and it is doubtful whether any backwoods settlement in Tasmania can boast more rosy cheeks and cosy homes than are to be found at Pyengana….The State school is attended by

Bridgewater is situated on the eastern shore of the Derwent River and is a suburb of the Municipality of Brighton. A large Housing Department estate was built on the eastern side of the Midlands Highway between 1970 and 1980 however the older part of the settlement dates back to the 1830s when a convict causeway was built. The original name for this area was Green Point but this was changed to North Bridgewater. When the railway was built the name was again changed to ‘Bridgewater Junction’ but with time this was shorted to Bridgewater. In the 1920’s there were concerted efforts to build a Catholic church in the old Bridgewater settlement. In the 1880’s Mr James Collin donated three-quarters of an acre of land to build a Catholic church but for reasons not known little progress was made for 40 years. In March 1924, the short-lived Hobart newspaper, 'World', reported: "The Catholic community at Bridgewater having no church nearer than Brighton, a distance of four miles,

Ranelagh is a township situated on the Huon River approximately 2 kilometres north of Huonville. Formerly known as Ranelagh Junction it had previously shared the name ‘Victoria’ with neighbouring Huonville. Four religious denominations have been represented at Ranelagh including the Methodists, Anglicans and Salvation Army. Ranelagh’s original Sacred Heart Church was built in the early years of the 20th century but little information about its establishment has survived. The earliest direct reference I have unearthed about the church’s founding comes from a report published in the Mercury in November 1900: “The Roman Catholics held a bazaar in aid of the building fund for their new church at Ranelagh. A steamer was chartered to bring people from Esperance and river ports…..The church is to be commenced immediately, and will be finished shortly after the new year. There will then be five places of worship within a quarter of a mile of one another at Ranelagh, besides another at Huonvil

Wynyard is a town on the North West 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. Wynyard’s Romanesque style St Brigid’s Catholic church is unique in Tasmania. It replaced an older church which was built in 1876. [ see No. 662 ] The new church was largely funded by the sale of valuable church-owned land in the centre of Wynyard. The Federal government purchased one block of land for £260 for the construction of a new post office. A corner block was sold for £700 as a site for the Commercial Bank. This money, together with fundraising by the Catholic community allowed for the construction of an unusually large church fo