No. 841 - Devonport Presbyterian Church

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Devonport was created in 1890 with the merging of two towns on the opposite banks of the Mersey River; Formby on the west bank and Torquay on the east bank. The area was first settled in the 1840s.

By the 1950s Devonport’s original Presbyterian church, built in 1906, [see No.232 ] was no longer able to accomodate the large congregation.  On 16 December 1956, the foundation stone for a new church, was officially laid by Rev. F.J. Scrimgeour, on a site adjacent to the earlier building,  The church was officially opened and dedicated, as St Columba’s, on 12 October 1957, by the State Moderator, the Rt. Rev. K. McLean.

Situated on the corner of Best and Edward streets, the new church was built of brick with rendered interior walls and polished myrtle floors. The building was designed by architect Mr. A. A. Freak. The original communion table was retained but the pulpit and pews were replaced with modern pieces made of Tasmanian oak and maple. The new building had a capacity to seat two hundred.

At the rear of the church large concertina doors were fitted to accomodate an overflow congregation in the foyer. The foyer in turn was connected with the old church which was used as a hall. A pipe organ was built by Paul Hafner, of Perth, Western Australia, and dedicated by the moderator in January 1961.

During the 1970’s there were moves to join with the Congregational and Methodist churches to form a branch of the Uniting Church. After a process of voting, the Devonport church elected to remain a Presbyterian Church. The Devonport Presbyterian church is one of 14 Presbyterian churches that remain in Tasmania.


  The new church on the corner of Best and Edward Street (2018) - photo: Duncan Grant


Sources:


https://devonportpc.com/about-us/history-of-our-church

Presbyterian Church of Tasmania, triple jubilee, 1973 : record ; compiled and edited by R. S. Miller, Hobart, Presbytery of Tasmania, 1973.




Comments

  1. Bruce Duncan5 February 2024 at 17:02

    For information about the organ in this church, please refer to http://www.oswa.org.au/sup/WAOrgans/EasternStates/Devonport/DevonportStColumba.html

    ReplyDelete

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