No. 732 - Ridgley Gospel Hall

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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 by the Van Diemen's Land Company. The town has been well served by a number of religious denominations including Anglican, Methodist, Catholic and the Christian Brethren.

Although Ridgley’s Brethren Gospel Hall appears to be a modern building, the brick veneer church replaced a much older wooden hall that was built at the turn of the 20th century. Like many Brethren churches, little information is available in newspaper records as the denomination tended to avoid publicity. A report in the Burnie Advocate in 1922 concerning the establishment of a Catholic church in the township mentions that there were already Anglican and Methodist churches as well as a Gospel Hall. An earlier report from 1916 mentions that a Christian Brethren conference was attended by some 300 in the Ridgley pubic hall and that “refreshments were served in the Gospel Hall”. An even earlier reference of the Gospel Hall dates back to May 1905 with an advertisement placed in The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times announcing a ‘special service’ at the Ridgley Gospel Hall delivered by Mr George Grove. It is quite possible that the Hall may have been established as early as the 1890s when the district was known as Stirling however a search of newspaper records have produced no results.

Additional information about this church is welcomed as all articles will be updated. I can be contacted through this page or my Facebook page "Churches of Tasmania" which is linked here: <Churches of Tasmania>

* Photographs used in this article are my own.




The earliest newspaper record of the Gospel Hall dates back to May 1905.


Sources:

North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, Saturday 20 May 1905, page 3
North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, Wednesday 12 January 1916, page 2
Advocate, Monday 24 July 1922, page 5

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