Churches of Tasmania

Preolenna is a small village at the junction of the Preolenna and Meunna Roads approximately 30 kilometres south of Wynyard. The first grants of land in the district were settled in 1910. In 1917 a tramway was constructed from Flowerdale to Preolenna to facilitate coal mining operations at the coal seams discovered in 1914. Preolenna is an Aboriginal word meaning 'to fetch or to bring’. Preolenna once had Baptist and Methodist communities which gathered for worship in the Preolenna Hall. The only church built at the settlement was a Gospel Hall which was constructed in 1924. In April 1924 the first working bee was held to clear land for the erection of a hall. A tender was for the construction of a building was awarded to Mr J. Sellers Jnr for an amount of £37. The official opening of the hall took place on Wednesday 12 November 1924 with the main speaker being Major Roberts-Thomson of Table Cape. Families associated with the establishment of the church include: Morse; Reeve; Hain

Blackmans Bay is located adjacent to the town of Kingston and is approximately fourteen kilometres south of Hobart. It is named after James Blackman who made a claim for a grant of land in the area in about 1844. It was once a popular place for holiday shacks but is now a residential area. Plans to build a church at Blackmans Bay were developed in 1960. In 1968 the foundation stone for the building was laid and the church was constructed at a cost of $12 000. The church was dedicated to St Peter in October 1968. St Peter’s closed in 1916 and sold in the following year. The church and attached land has recently been developed for housing units. St Peter's Anglican Church (Google street view) St Peter's at Blackmans Bay (undated) photo supplied Source: Stephens, Geoffrey, The Anglican Church in Tasmania: a diocesan history to mark the sesquicentenary, 1992, Trustees of the Diocese, Hobart, 1991.

Newnham is a northern suburb of the city of Launceston. Newnham was originally part of the municipality of Lilydale before it was proclaimed a town in 1946. There are several active Christian communities in Newnham including a Uniting Church, an Anglican church and a Church of Christ. The Newnham Fellowship is located in the premises of a former Catholic Church, Our Lady Help of Christians, which opened in 1968. Newnham Fellowship falls under the umbrella of the Association of Christian Community Churches in Victoria and Tasmania. The association describes itself as “a movement of like-minded local churches, predominantly of a Christian Brethren heritage, that have united under a common vision and mission, set of beliefs and core values”. The Christian Brethren, originated in Great Britain in the 1820s. By the mid 19th century the movement had spread to Australia, with the first revival meetings held in Tasmania from 1869. As a result, fellowships were formed in Hobart, Launceston, t

The city of Glenorchy is located approximately 7 kilometres north of Hobart's CBD. Glenorchy means ‘glen of tumbling waters’ and it is believed that Governor Lachlan Macquarie named the area after his wife’s birthplace; Glen Orchy, Argyllshire. St Andrew’s was built in 1958 and was opened and consecrated in the same year. The building was an old army hut from the Brighton Military Camp which was transported to Glenorchy and reassembled with some modification. As can be seen in the photograph, the church is constructed of rough hewn vertical board with a corrugated iron roof. The sanctuary and altar were built by Richard Lord. St Andrew’s was a short-lived church with religious services ceasing in the early 1970s. The site was sold and the building removed in 1975. St Andrew's at Glenorchy (1958) Source: Henslowe, Dorothea I. and Hurburgh, Isa.  Our heritage of Anglican churches in Tasmania / by Dorothea I. Henslowe ; sketches by Isa Hurburgh  [S.l  1978

Hadspen is a dormitory town on the South Esk River approximately 10 kilometres south west of Launceston. It dates back to a village near Reibey’s ford established in the 1830s. It is surmised that George Frankland (Surveyor-General 1827 to 1838) named the settlement after an Estate in his native county, Somerset. Hadspen’s Grace Presbyterian church is a recently established religious community. In 2019 a group of Presbyterian Churches in northern Tasmania began to work toward forming a new church to serve the south west corner of Launceston and the nearby towns in the Meander Valley and Northern Midlands. Initially worship was held in a private home but since 2021 the church has established itself at the Hadspen Memorial Centre. Grace Presbyterian Church is part of the Presbyterian Church of Tasmania and Australia, holding to the Westminster Confession of Faith. The community describes itself as catholic, evangelical and reformed. There are currently 14 active Presbyterian churches i

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. The Salvation Army first appeared at Smithton shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Over a period of about 70 years the Salvation Army built three halls at two different sites, both on Nelson Street. The first hall, which was built in 1908, was the subject of an earlier article. [ See No. 993 ] This article concerns the two later halls situated at 133 Nelson Street. After the closure and sale of the first hall in 1909, the Salvation Army withdrew from Smithton for a period of about seven years, returning in 1917. After this time worship was conducted in the Town Hall and other rented premises such as the Masonic Hall. In July 1930 it was announced that

New Norfolk is a historic town on the banks of the Derwent River, approximately 40 kilometres west of Hobart. It grew dramatically when settlers from Norfolk Island moved into the district after 1807. When Governor Lachlan Macquarie visited the township he named it Elizabeth Town after his wife. However, it was later decided to adopt the name New Norfolk, acknowledging the district’s many Norfolk Islanders. The first Catholic Mass to be held in the township was held by Father Philip Connolly in 1821. In about 1850, New Norfolk’s police court house, located on High Street, was purchased by the Catholic Church for the sum of £450. The building was converted for use as a presbytery and the courtroom itself became the chapel. The earliest reference to the building’s use as Catholic chapel dates to January 1850 when the Colonial Times reported that the chapel was the venue for a subscription ball: “On Friday evening….the delightful town of New Norfolk was enlivened by the merry pipe and ta

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Hobart, is a branch of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston USA, founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879. A church was built in Brisbane Street in 1928. The first recorded Christian Science meeting in Hobart was held on 26 February 1913. A year later the group had so grown that a room was rented in Miller’s Chambers, Murray Street and regular Sunday services and Wednesday testimony meetings were commenced as from that date. As the group grew In numbers, successive, moves were made to 146 Macquarie Street; the Y.M.C.A. Building on Murray Street; and the Bijou Theatre on Melville Street. The first step towards erecting a church was taken in March 1922, when the group inaugurated a church building fund. Official recognition of the establishment of Christian Science in Tasmania came on 30th July, 1923, when the group was received as an official branch of “The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA”.