No. 977 - North Hobart - San Carlo Catholic Church and Hall

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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 hydroelectric dam building projects.

Following the church’s closure, the building was redeveloped as the Wallis Centre, named after John Corcoran Wallis (1910-2001), Catholic priest, missionary and founder of the Missionary Sisters of Service. It now houses Archdiocese of Hobart Archives & Heritage Collection.








Sources:


Planting a faith : Hobart's Catholic story in word and picture by W. T. Southerwood, Speciality Press, 1970.

https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/wallis-john-corcoran-28127

https://missionarysisters.org.au/father-john-wallis/

https://hobart.catholic.org.au/archdiocese/support-services/archives-heritage-collection/





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