Churches of Tasmania

Yolla is small rural town on the Murchison Highway approximately 20 kilometres south of Wynyard. When first settled in the late 19th century the area was named Camp Creek but this was changed to Yolla in 1906. The first Methodist church in the Yolla district was a small church built at Camp Creek in 1896. [ see No. 689 ] It was located on the road to Mount Hicks, less than a kilometre from present day Yolla. The opening of a butter factory in 1906 led to the growth of a settlement in its vicinity which is now known as Yolla. In 1922 the Methodists decided to move the old Camp Creek chapel closer to the emerging settlement. In 1962 the church’s trustees decided to build a new church which was opened on 17 December 1967. The Yolla Methodist church became a part of the Uniting Church in June 1977. The old Camp Creek church was converted into a hall and later renovated and extended in 1989. It still stands behind the new church. Sadly, declining attendance and the diminishing ranks of the

Herrick is a small settlement on the Gladstone Road, approximately 40 kilometres west of Scottsdale. The area had previously been known as Davids Creek and Nekah. Herrick was once the railhead for the North-Eastern Line which was completed in 1919. About this time it was renamed after a railway surveyor who explored the area. Herrick has only had a single church, a Presbyterian church, which had previously served as a church at Springfield near Scottsdale [ see No. 706 ] The building was cut into sections and moved by lorry and was reassembled at Herrick by local parishioners. A report in Launceston’s Examiner described the official opening of the church in December 1952: “A large crowd attended the opening and dedication of the new Presbyterian Church. The service was conducted by the Rev. E. McLean Shugg, Director of Home Missions, Melbourne. The Rev. A. J. McAdam (St. Stephens, Launceston) Mr. N. Gill (Scottsdale) and Deaconess V. J. Beel assisted. Visitors included Mr. and Mrs.

Springfield is a rural settlement on the Tasman Highway west of the town of Scottsdale. When it was first settled in the mid-19th century it was a saw-milling and timber producing area then slowly turned to farming. Springfield and neighbouring South Springfield have been well served with places of worship which have included Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian churches as well as a Union Church and a Gospel Hall. An article in Launceston’s Daily Telegraph describes the settlement at Springfield in the early years of the 20th century and also provides the location of two of the settlement’s former churches: “Agriculture generally receives as full attention as conditions in Springfield country will permit. Its hilly and broken formation, while rendering ploughing a task, do not militate against grazing, and, of course, dairying. Many farmers find it easier to drive a fat beast to market than to cart cereals. Again, cattle may be prepared for sale irrespective of season, and farmers ar

Cormiston lies at the northern end of the Launceston suburb of Riverside. The area is named after the farmstead Cormiston, which was established on the banks of the Tamar River by Scotsman Archibald Thomas in 1824. The farm once covered a large portion of Riverside before it was broken up into smaller farms including ‘Brownfield’ and ‘Cleghorn’ which are remembered in the names of roads in the area. In the 1860’s an artillery battery was erected on the farm in response to the “Russian scare” and guns were positioned to repel attacks from hostile Russian fleets attempting to approach Launceston by the Tamar River. Although the attack never materialised, the battery is immortalised in the name of another local road; Fort Street. Methodist and Anglican churches were established at the settlement around Cormiston after the turn of the 20th century. Anglican services were initially held in the Cormiston State school until a building was acquired in 1921 to serve as a church. The origin o

Blackstone Heights is an outer western suburb of Launceston built on the Blackstone Tier after which the suburb is named. The South Esk River flows along its western side and Lake Trevallyn on the northern end. Blackstone Heights is one of Launceston's newer suburbs. The Blackstone Christian Centre is associated with CRC Churches International, formerly known as the Christian Revival Crusade, is a Pentecostal Protestant Christian denomination founded in New Zealand and Australia by Thomas Foster (Melbourne) and Leo Harris (Adelaide) Previously known as City View Christian Church, the Blackstone Christian Centre is located on Neptune Drive. Photograph - Duncan Grant 2019 Sources and Links of Interest: https://crcchurches.org/churches/59-blackstone-christian-church-blackstone-heights-tas https://crcchurches.org

Sandfly is small settlement approximately 10 kilometres south of Kingston. Sandfly was first settled in the 1850s and its economy was originally based on fruit growing. Bushfires have had a significant impact in the history of the area with devastating fires in the late 19th and early 20th century. During the hot and dry summer of February 1967, the ‘Black Tuesday’ bushfires swept through Southern Tasmania leaving 62 people dead and over seven thousand homeless. Around 1400 houses were lost as well as 128 significant buildings including schools, halls, hotels and churches. Sandfly’s Methodist church and St Luke’s Anglican church at nearby Longley were both lost. Neither church was rebuilt but were instead replaced by a conjointly owned Methodist-Anglican Church built in 1969. The new ‘union’ church was named St Lukes and was built on the site of the Sandfly school. The church was also used by the Catholic community. St Luke’s closed in 2008. * All photographs are my own.

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 and the building was subsequently purchased by the Christian Brethren. It is now known as the Margate Christian Church. The following information is taken from the Margate Christian Church website: “The first service of Margate Christian Church (MCC) was held on Sunday 17th February of 1974, although it was then called Kingborough Chapel. Christians from a Brethren (non-exclusive) background had moved into the rapidly growing Kingborough area and wanted to establish a Brethren style Church. They began meeting in a disused Methodist church building that was built in 1901and later purchased by MCC and extended" .  "Since then, MCC has had a vibrant history that has seen it hang o

Beaconsfield is a former gold mining town in the the Tamar River Valley and lies approximately 40 kilometres north of Launceston. Commercial gold mining began in the 1870s which led to a boom in the town’s population. Originally known as Brandy Creek, the township was renamed Beaconsfield in 1879 in honour of British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield. The Jehovah's Witness diverges from the mainstream doctrines of Christianity in that it is a non-trinitarian tradition. Jehovah's Witnesses believe their denomination is a restoration of first-century Christianity. It is a ‘closed’ church and its practices have led its critics to regard it as a sect. The persecution of members of the Jehovah’s Witness in many countries, including Australia, has no doubt contributed to this culture of seclusion. For this reason the tradition is a challenge to research and articles about Kingdom Halls on ‘Churches of Tasmania’ will be limited. The following information abou

Huonville is a town on the Huon River which is situated approximately 35 kilometres south of Hobart. Huonville was not originally intended as the site of a town as nearby Ranelagh (then known as Victoria) was planned as the main centre. However Huonville’s location at a bridge crossing the Huon River led to it supplanting Ranelagh as the larger of the two settlements. Most of the areas historic churches were located at Ranelagh. The first Salvation Army Hall was established at Ranelagh in the 1890’s. This was replaced by a second hall in 1917 after the original hall burnt down. In the 1950’s the Salvation Army relocated the hall to Huonville as the town had by this time become the more important centre. The hall was officially reopened on Saturday 5 September 1953 by Major H. Maunder on a site on Wilmot Road. The building is now a modern structure which replaced the original timber hall at an undetermined date. It is likely that cement block structure on the right of the building is a

Burnie is a port city on the northwest coast of Tasmania. When it was settled in 1827 by the Van Diemen’s Land Company it was known as Emu Bay. In the 1840’s the settlement was renamed Burnie after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company. On Thursday 22 November 1900 the citizens of Burnie witnessed a partial eclipse of the sun. This was an auspicious sign for it was also the day that the old Primitive Methodist Church on the corner of Ladbroke and Mount Streets was removed to make way for a new church. This was an auspicious occasion for another reason. This new church was effectively the first church in Australia to be built under the banner of the newly established Methodist Union. Burnie had led the way in the movement for Methodist union in as much as the town’s three Methodist denominations had effectively merged in 1900, two years before the official Australian Methodist Union. Before the union the three Methodist denominations at Burnie were: 1. The Prim

Montagu Bay is a suburb of Hobart located on the eastern shore of the Derwent River, about four kilometres from central Hobart. The name "Montagu Bay" appears to come from Algernon Montagu, who was an Attorney General and the judge in Van Diemen’s Land. He established a property, Rosny House in the Montagu Bay area. The building featured in this article is better known as St James Anglican church which was established in 1966. However the building was originally a Congregational church that was built and opened in 1933. This article will focus on the period in which the building belonged to the Congregationalists and the history of the Anglican’s at Montagu Bay will be the topic of a seperate article. When the church opened in August 1933, the Hobart Mercury’s coverage of the ceremony provides some interesting detail about the churches origins: “The newly-erected Congregational Church at Montagu Bay was opened in the presence of a large crowd, including many visitors From Hob

Royal George is a village in northeast Tasmania on the St. Pauls River and lies approximately 15 kilometres southeast of Avoca. The township is named after the Royal George Mine which began operations in 1912 following the discovery of tin in the early 1890’s. Royal George has had only a single church, St Paul’s Anglican Mission Hall. The origins of the Mission Hall date back to May 1915 when Bishop Reginald Stephen visited Avoca for a confirmation service. It was on this occasion that “Rev. C. Cox (Fingal) introduced the Bishop, and the Rev. J. Taylor (Avoca).… In the course of his remarks he brought under the Bishop's notice the necessity of a room to hold service in at the Royal George”. Progress was soon made to this end with a fundraising event to establish a place of worship at the settlement. In July 1915 the Daily Post reported: “A social was held at the Royal George Tin Mine on Wednesday night….the proceeds which amounted to £2, will be donated to a fund to build a room

Sandfly is small settlement approximately 10 kilometres south of Kingston. Sandfly was first settled in the 1850s and its economy was originally based on fruit growing. Bushfires have had a significant impact in the history of the area. Sandfly’s Methodist church was established in the late 1890’s at a time of devastating fires and was destroyed in the 1967 bushfires, the worst in Tasmania’s recent history. The foundation stone for the Sandfly church was laid in late October 1897 but two years were to pass before building work was completed due to uncontrolled fires in the summer of 1898. The foundation stone-laying ceremony was described by the Tasmanian News and this report provides a rich glimpse into the life of the Sandfly community: “The Wesleyan body at Sandfly turned out in holiday attire yesterday to witness the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of their new church by Captain Evans, M.H.A. Webster's brake [carriage] conveyed a large number of Hobart adherents and

Ridgley lies approximately 15 kilometres south of the city of Burnie and in recent years the settlement has 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, Catholic and Christian Brethren. The Ridgley Bible Chapel, previously known as the Hebron Hall, was established in 1941 by a group of ‘evangelical Christians’. In September of that year the Advocate reported: “For the past month or so residents of Ridgley have been interested in the erection of a new hall by a company of Christians which formerly met in the Public Hall. The building is now ready for use, and special meetings to celebrate the opening will be held over this weekend…. A large number of visitors are expected from all parts of the island, and the public is invited to attend these and subsequent services” . While the opening services he