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Showing posts from August, 2022

No. 1168 - St Helens - Methodist Church (1889-1988)

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St Helens is the largest town on Tasmania’s east coast. It was established as a fishing village and whaling station in the 1830s. When tin was discovered in the hinterland in the 1870s, St Helens was developed as a port for the mines. It was named by Captain Furneaux after a town of the same name on the Isle of Wight, England. In the 19th century the St Helens district was also referred to as Georges Bay. The Methodist presence at St Helens dates back to 1871 when services were first regularly conducted by Reverend J. Graham who was stationed at Fingal. For almost 15 years the Methodists periodically worshipped in a small weatherboard Anglican church built on Tully Street in 1875. An attempt to build a Methodist church at the settlement was made in 1883. In July the Hobart Mercury reported: “A meeting of gentlemen attached to the Wesleyan Church was held at the Telegraph Hotel….The Rev. Mr. Brown and delegates from St Mary’s and Gould’s Country were present. Amongst various matters di

No. 1167 - Hobart - Swan Street Methodist Sunday School - "Child Culture of the Present Age"

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This entry is another in a series of articles about buildings associated with some of Tasmania’s most significant churches. These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and are rarely featured in published histories. My aim is to create a basic record of some of the most significant buildings, including those which no longer exist. The 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 church was officially opened on Wednesday 15 March 1905. In 1913 the building of a Sunday school began on a site behind the church. The foundation stone for the school was c

No. 1166 - Lower Barrington - Salvation Army Hall (1895)

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This ‘blog entry’ is one of a series of articles about places of worship which are barely represented in the historical record. No images of these churches and halls remain. My hope is that these brief articles may result in information and photographs coming to light and enabling a more complete history to be recorded. Lower Barrington is a rural community located about 5 kilometres north of Barrington and centred on the junction of the Lower Barrington and Sheffield Roads. It was once a tramway terminus from where timber was railed to the Don River Company’s mill on the coast. In 1895 Launceston’s Daily Telegraph reported that the Salvation Army had “opened their new barracks at Lower Barrington” on Sunday 4 August. In “The days of our youth : being a brief history of Lower Barrington…”, Miss Hilda Rockcliff recalls: “Mr. John Harry French had a split paling and shingle building built on his property for use as a hall for the Salvation Army. Weekly Tuesday evening services were hel

No. 1165 - Lower Barrington - Wesleyan Methodist Church (c.1876-1890)

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Lower Barrington is a rural community located about 5 kilometres north of Barrington and centred on the junction of the Lower Barrington and Sheffield Roads. It was once a tramway terminus from where timber was railed to the Don River Company’s mill on the coast. From the late 1870s Wesleyan-Methodists services were held near Melrose Creek, less than a mile distant from the Barrington junction. Here a rudimentary building was acquired for use as a temporary church. This building remained in use for about 15 years as a consequence of unsuccessful efforts to build a new church at a site closer to Lower Barrington. In October 1889 the local correspondent for the Colonist reported: “The Wesleyans of this district have been for 14 years trying to choose a site for a new church, and haven’t come to a decision yet. There is a pressing need for a new church in our midst, the present one being not at all suitable. We are very divided in our opinion as to the most suitable position for a new bui

No. 1164 - Ravenswood Baptist Church (1908 -1953)

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Ravenswood is a northern suburb of Launceston and is named after the farmstead ‘Ravenswood’ which was established in the 1830s. Ravenswood was once part of the former municipality of St Leonards until it amalgamated with Launceston in 1985. Very little is known about Ravenswood’s Baptist church. It stood the intersection of Henry Street and Wildor Crescent, opposite the Methodist church. The building was demolished in the 1970s. The church was originally the Ravenswood Christian Mission Hall, established by Henry Reed’s Christian Mission Church on Wellington Street, Launceston. The Mission opened in March 1883 and was built on land belonging to Robert Gibton. The Mission Hall operated for 25 years before it came under the control of the Baptists in 1908. In June 1907 the Examiner reported: “A public meeting was held in the Ravenswood Mission hall, where Gospel services have been conducted for the past 24 years by workers from the Christian Mission Church, Launceston. Mr. G. Tole pres

No. 1163 - Koonya - Cascades Probation Station 'Chapel' (1841-1855)

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Koonya is a small settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, approximately 5 kilometres west of Taranna, on the Saltwater River Road. In the 1840s a site was developed here for the establishment of the Cascades convict probation station. The station closed in 1855 however many of the original buildings have survived and it the most intact convict station on the peninsula. The Cascades was renamed Koonya in 1887. The Cascades was one of six probation stations established on the Tasman Peninsula. The station was established in 1841 and at its peak housed almost 450 convicts, after prisoners were transferred from Norfolk Island. Convicts were engaged in clearing land, growing vegetables and timber harvesting. The Cascades became the major timber supply point for the Peninsula and a tramway was used to transport the milled timber to the jetty. The ‘probation system’ was an experiment in penal discipline unique to Van Diemen's Land. It was introduced in 1839 to replace the ‘assignment system’

No. 1162 - Launceston - St John's Sunday School and Hall

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This entry is another in a series of articles about buildings associated with some of Tasmania’s most significant churches. These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and are rarely featured in published histories. My aim is to create a basic record of some of the most significant of these buildings, including those which no longer exist. St John’s ‘Sunday Schoolroom’ is situated on Elizabeth Street adjacent to St John’s Church. The original Sunday school building was constructed in 1843. This is obscured by a gothic style extension built on the street front in 1855. To the east of of St John’s school is a building which was the home of Launceston church Grammar School until 1924. Both buildings now form part of the Colonial Motor Inn. The history of St John’s School is summarised in the following article published in the Examiner in 1907. The report was published after the ‘Sunday scho

No. 1161 - Gormanston - St Mary's Catholic Church and Convent School

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Gormanston is a former mining town approximately 5 kilometres east of Queenstown. It was once one of the larger mining towns on the West Coast. In recent years Gormanston has slowly declined to the point of virtually becoming a ghost town. At its peak Gormanston had a population of around 2000. Originally called Mount Lyell, it was renamed in honour of Viscount Gormanston, Governor of Tasmania (1893-1900). The construction of Gormanston’s Catholic Catholic church in 1898 was partly made possible by a bequest made by James Crotty, an Irish prospector and businessman. Crotty arrived in western Tasmania in 1879. In 1884 he paid £20 for a one-third interest in the most promising mine at Mount Lyell, the Iron Blow. Later he invested in the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company which extracted and smelted vast deposits of copper. In 1897 Crotty travelled to Britain to raise capital for the venture on the London stock exchange. However he became seriously ill while in London and died in 18

No. 1160 - Lower Barrington Methodist Church (1890-1966)

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Lower Barrington is a rural community located about 5 kilometres north of Barrington and centred on the junction of the Lower Barrington and Sheffield Roads. It was once a tramway terminus from where timber was railed to the Don River Company’s mill on the coast. From the late 1870s Wesleyan-Methodists services were held at Melrose Creek, about a mile distant from Barrington junction. Here a rudimentary building was used as a temporary church. This building remained in use until 1889 as attempts to erect a new church at Lower Barrington came to nothing. In October 1889 the local correspondent for the Colonist reported: “The Wesleyans of this district have been for 14 years trying to choose a site for a new church, and haven’t come to a decision yet. There is a pressing need for a new church in our midst, the present one being not at all suitable. We are very divided in our opinion as to the most suitable position for a new building; the district being so extensive, it is very difficult

No. 1159 - Premaydena - The Impression Bay Probation Station Chapel

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Premaydena is a settlement on the Tasman Peninsula approximately 15 kilometres northwest of Port Arthur. Originally named Impression Bay, it was once a probation station for convicts engaged in agriculture and timber milling. The ‘Probation System’ was an experiment in penal discipline unique to Van Diemen's Land. It was introduced in 1839 to replace the ‘assignment system’ which attracted criticism in Great Britain on the grounds that it neither reformed prisoners or provided a deterrent to potential offenders. Probation was similar to the penitentiary system which was built on the belief that both punishment and reform could be achieved by confinement and a regime of hard labour, religious instruction and education. More than eighty probation stations operated in various locations for varying periods. Many were hastily and poorly built. The Probation System was abandoned following the abolition of transportation to the colony in 1853. The Impression Bay Probation Station was one

No. 1158 - Little Swanport - The Lisdillon Church (c.1865)

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Lisdillon is an historical farming property at Little Swanport on the East Coast. It was established in the 1830s by James Radcliff, who settled on a 2560 acre land grant. The name Lisdillon is probably derived from a locality near Londonderry. By 1838 Radcliff had established a farm on the northern portion of his grant. About 3 kilometres south of the farm Radcliff developed an extensive salt works on coastal site. The works included a boiling house, windmill as well as supporting infrastructure. In 1854 Lisdillon was acquired by John Mitchell. John Mitchell had arrived in Tasmania in 1837. A surveyor by profession, he was appointed superintendent of the Port Puer boys’ prison-reformatory at Port Arthur. After settling at Lisdillon, Mitchell was elected to the House of Assembly, representing the Glamorgan region. By the 1860s Mitchell developed Lisdillon into a thriving village. The settlement had a general store, a post office as well a building used as church and school. As staun

No. 1157 - Railton - St John's Anglican Church (1888-1953) "Wretchedly Small"

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Railton is a country town approximately 20 kilometres south of Devonport. The settlement was first known as Redwater Creek. The name Railton was in use from the 1860s when a tramline was built through the area. When the railway arrived in the 1870s it was to have a significant impact on the town which gained a new hotel and a public hall as well as several churches. The Anglican presence at Railton can be dated to 1885. A newspaper report in that year reveals that the first religious services were: “…Conducted by the respected minister of the district, the Rev. William Hogg. The room used was at one of the local stores; but this being somewhat inconvenient, the public school was applied for, and granted free of charge. Thus for two months the school building has been used; but the attendance has dwindled down to almost nil, in respect to adult worshippers”. The construction of a church was undertaken in 1887 but there appears to have been a considerable delay in its completion. It wa