No. 1127 - Ulverstone - Baptist Church (1911-1957)

Ulverstone was permanently settled by Europeans in the late 1840s after Andrew Risby developed farmland out of the thickly forested wilderness. During the 1850s the district received new settlers and was frequented by transient timber splitters. In 1854 Hugh Ross McKay opened the first store and the Leven Post Office opened in 1857.

The Baptist were the last of the major denominations to establish themselves at Ulverstone. On Sunday 24 September 1905 the first Baptist service was held in Ulverstone Oddfellows' Hall. Following the first service a local church was formed for the Penguin and Ulverstone area. In August of the following year the Baptist community at Penguin separated to form their own church. The Ulverstone community purchased a block of land on King Edward Street to build a church however this never eventuated as a new opportunity arose.

The Ulverstone Congregational church on Alexandra Road (built 1877) had been used by the local Presbyterian community since the 1890s. With the construction of St Andrew’s Presbyterian church in 1911, the Alexandra Road building was vacated. It was purchased by the Baptists in 1911 for a sum of £200. Opening services were held on Sunday 11 June 1911.

The church was used by the Baptists for the next 50 years and was then replaced by a new brick. The new church opened on 4 June 1960. The old Congregational/Baptist church was taken down in 1957 and its materials were used to build a house at Turner’s Beach, east of Ulverstone.


The Baptist church in the 1960s - source: Ulverstone Baptist Church


The church in the 1930s. source: Ulverstone Baptist Church


The church in the 1920s. The War Memorial in the foreground was completed in 1924.



The church was pulled down in 1957. Source: Ulverstone Baptist Church



The church was pulled down in 1957. Source: Ulverstone Baptist Church

Sources:

North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, Monday 26 June 1905, page 2
North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, Thursday 12 August 1909, page 4
North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, Friday 8 October 1909, page 2
North West Post, Friday 10 March 1911, page 2
North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, Saturday 10 June 1911, page 2
North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, Thursday 13 June 1911, page 2
Advocate, Wednesday 13 October 1926, page 3

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