Churches of Tasmania

Montacute is an historic property in the Clyde Valley situated 14 kilometres south of Bothwell, on the Hollow Tree Road. This road was once the coach link between Hamilton and Bothwell. Montacute was was purchased by Captain William Langdon and added to his original land grant of 1823. In 1857 Langdon built a family chapel at Montacute. William Langdon was born in 1790 at Montacute vicarage, Somerset, England; the fifth son of Rev. William Langdon. He joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13 at the time of the Napoleonic wars. Following the Peace of Paris, Langdon retired from the navy and bought a merchant vessel, The Lusitania, and sailed to Sydney and Hobart Town, where he landed in 1821. Over the next few years Langdon acquired several more merchant ships. In 1823 Langdon received a grant of 1500 acres on the Clyde River to which he added another property which he named Montacute. In September 1834 Langdon settled in Van Diemen's Land with his wife and a daughter. Langdon is res

The suburb of North Hobart, as the same suggests, is on the northern fringe of the city. It has evolved into a mixed residential and commercial area since it was developed in the 1830s. The River City Church is situated on Lefroy Street in a church built in 1924 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The building was later used as Lutheran church until it was sold to the Full Gospel Church in 1974. River City Church is now associated with the ‘Acts Global Churches’; previously known as the Apostolic Church of Australia. This denomination is a part of the pentecostal movement. The term "Apostolic" reflects the church's belief that it follows the teachings of the twelve apostles. With roots in the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival, it sought to revive first-century Christianity in its faith, practices, and government. Additional information about this church is most welcome as all articles are continually updated. I can be contacted through this page or my Facebook page

Flowerdale is a rural settlement approximately 7 kilometres west of Wynyard. The settlement is centred near the confluence of the Flowerdale and Inglis rivers. Flowerdale Creek was named by the Van Diemen's Land Company and first appears on the Franklands map of 1837. The first Methodist service at Flowerdale took place in about 1870 in the home of Mr John Ridge. Mr Ridge later built a small hall for use by anyone who wanted to preach the Gospel. The Methodists used this hall for a time before building their own church in 1891. The opening of the Flowedale Methodist church was recorded by Wellington Times and Agricultural and Mining Gazette and this report provides some detail about the the building: “Quite an event in the history of Flowerdale has taken place during this week, and may justly claim to be the most important ceremony in regard to the numbers concerned, and the object achieved, yet attempted in this picturesque and flourishing district. Any one unacquainted with the

Glenfern is a rural community about 10 kilometres southwest of New Norfolk. The district was previously known as Dry Creek until the 1880s when a State school and post office were established at the settlement. St Mary’s Anglican church is the only place of worship built at Glenfern. One of the earliest descriptions of the settlement was published in the Hobart Mercury in 1903: “The district known as Glen Fern is situated on the creek of the same name, and extends up the stream for a distance of four or five miles from the State School, which is six miles from New Norfolk, in a westerly direction. The creek is supported on both sides with high ranges, but rich valleys, varying in width, prevail, on which fully two dozen settlers are enabled to make comfortable livings. Most of them combine the two industries of fruit and hop growing, but none of the areas are very large. The only public building is the State School, wherein divine service is conducted occasionally by a Church of Englan

Crabtree is a rural settlement in the local government area of Huon Valley and is located about 15 kilometres north of Huonville. It was once an important timber and orchard-growing district. The settlement is named after the Crabtree Rivulet. Crabtree has had only two places of worship; a Salvation Army hall which was built in 1917 and an Anglican church hall which opened in 1929. The State school was used for religious services by both the Salvation Army and the Anglican’s prior to the construction of the two halls. The activities of the Salvation Army at Crabtree were an extension of the the Corp’s that was established at nearby Ranelagh in the late 1890s. In both settlements, orchard workers were an important source of Salvation Army supporters. The Crabtree hall opened on Saturday 2 June 1917 being built for holding religious services as well as a Sunday school. The hall’s opening was recorded by the Huon Times: “The new Salvation Army Hall was opened on Saturday afternoon… by M

Irishtown is rural community situated approximately 10 kilometres south of Smithton. The area was first settled in the late 1850s by Irish migrants when the area was known as Upper Duck River. Irishtown’s All Saint’s Anglican church was built in 1907 on a site between the village post office and the State school. It was a weatherboard building with Gothic stye windows made in Melbourne. The church was designed by the rector, Reverend G.W. Ratten and was built by Mr. W. Dale of Smithton while the stone foundations were laid by Mr Harris. The church seated about 125 people and included a chancel measuring 12 by 10ft., a nave 32 by 21ft. and a vestry and porch. The church’s foundation stone was ceremonially laid on Tuesday 18 June 1907: “A solemn and impressive ceremony took place on Tuesday afternoon at Irishtown on the site of the Anglican Church now being erected, when the Rev Canon de Coetlogon, rector of Devonport and Rural Dean for the North-West, in the absence of the Lord Bishop

The suburb of North Hobart, as the same suggests, is on the northern fringe of the city. It has evolved into a mixed residential and commercial area since it was developed in the 1830s. The former church of San Carlo (St Carlos) is now The Wallis Centre, which houses the Hobart Archdiocese’ Archives and Heritage Collection. San Carlo was built in the early 1960s in a collaborative project between the Cathedral’s parishioners and Hobart’s Italian community. The church and a community hall located in the ground floor of the building was built at a cost of $84 000, half of which was paid for by the Italian community. The hall was used for large Italian weddings and for other community celebrations. Hobart’s migrant Italian community grew rapidly after the Second World War. Italian prisoners of war worked in Tasmania during the war years and a few remained in the State at the end of hostilities. The majority of Italians arrived in Tasmania in the 1950s and 1960s and many found work on the

Rocherlea is an outer northeastern suburb of Launceston. The area was previously known as Rocher’s Lane, which was the location of Rocklands, a house built by Charles Rocher, a barrister of the Supreme Court. The suburb was developed in the 1960s with the construction of public housing. Rocherlea’s Full gospel Church is located in a former supermarket on Blackwood Drive. The church was established in 2013 and is associated with ‘Australian Christian Churches’, a movement of Pentecostal Churches in voluntary cooperation. Before 2007 ‘Australian Christian Churches’ was known as he Assemblies of God . The Assemblies of God in Australia was formed in 1937 and currently consists of over 1,000 churches with over 375,000 constituents, making it the largest Pentecostal movement in Australia.  

Smithton is the commercial and industrial centre of the Circular Head district in the far northwest of the island. The early settlement was known as Duck River but this was changed to Smithton in 1895. Smithton is named after an Irishman, Peter Smith, who had been a constable, and later the licensee of ‘The Plough Inn,’ at Stanley. Smith moved to Duck River after buying some 500 acres of land from the Poke and Ollington families. Smith’s successful enterprises enabled his return to Ireland. The Seventh-day Adventist Church was established in Tasmania in 1888. The denomination originated in the USA in the 1860s and in 1885 a group of Adventists travelled to Australia and began preaching in Melbourne. After a community was formed 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 followed by Launceston in the early 20th century. Smithton’s Seve

Claremont is a suburb of the City of Glenorchy within the Greater Hobart region. It is named after Claremont House built in the 1830s by Henry Bilton. Claremont was once the site of an army training camp established during the Great War. At this time the area had only a few scattered houses and a railway station in a largely rural setting. From the 1950s public housing was built at Claremont which resulted in significant population growth. Claremont Uniting Church is located on Wyndam Road. It replaced a Methodist Church which was built on Abbotsfield Road 1914. The development of the Brooker Highway in the 1950s resulted in the construction of a new church in 1963 in collaboration with Claremont’s Congregational and Presbyterian churches. The foundation stone for the new cement block church was laid on 21 December 1963 by Rex Townley MHA and Reverend Michael Johnson. The old weatherboard Methodist church was removed to Winnaleah in Tasmania’s north east. In 1967 Claremont’s former

Perth is one of Tasmania’s oldest towns being established in 1821 by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who was so impressed with the area that he selected it as a site for a township. At the tIme Macquarie was staying with the pastoralist David Gibson and named it after Gibson's hometown of Perth in Scotland. In its 200 year history, Perth had two Anglican churches, both dedicated to St Andrew, but located at different sites, about 200 metres apart. The first church opened in 1836 and was replaced by a larger church built in 1879. The foundation stone for the first church was laid on Monday 10 November 1834 on a site alongside Perth’s cemetery on Elizabeth Street. The Launceston Advertiser records: “The foundation stone of the long talked of Perth Church, was laid on Monday …By Rev. R. Davis, who upon this occasion delivered a short but very appropriate address. The site is an extremely picturesque one, on the front of the river, and the elevation, although plain, when finished will con

Montagu is a small rural settlement approximately 16 kilometres west of Smithton. It was established by the Van Diemen's Land Company to house men working on its "Woolnorth" property. The settlement takes its name from the Montagu River, after John Montagu, Colonial Secretary of Van Diemen's Land from 1834 to 1842. The first mention of plans to build an Anglican church at Montagu date back to December 1877, as reported by the Launceston Examiner: “At the Montagu the Rev. Mr Atkinson handed in the plans and specifications of the church about to be built at that settlement for the approval of the residents. It is a very pretty design. Tenders for its erection on a section of land given my Mr John Williams are called for, …”. Building of a timber church was completed within three months and the building was officially opened and consecrated by Bishop Charles Bromby on Tuesday 2 April 1878. The Weekly Examiner reported: “The Bishop left Circular Head, on Monday last, Apr

The suburb of North Hobart, as the same suggests, is on the northern fringe of the city. It has evolved into a mixed residential and commercial area since it was developed in the 1830s. Swan Street Methodist Church opened in 1905 as a new place of worship for a congregation which had previously met in a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on High Street (now Tasma Street) [ see No. 966 ]. Plans were made to build the new church on Swan Street soon after the Methodist Union of 1902. Two foundation stones for the new building were ceremonially laid on Wednesday 7 September 1904. The first stone was laid by Mr William Freeman Brownell, a businessman and former alderman of the city. The second stone was laid by Mr Henry Smith Kirby, (Special Magistrate of the Children’s Court) on behalf of the High Street Street Sunday school children. The Mercury reported: “Mr. Brownell said he had very great pleasure in taking part in the ceremony……This structure was necessitated through the High-street building h