Churches of Tasmania

Lindisfarne is an eastern shore suburb within the Greater Hobart area. It is named after "Lindisfarne House", a property situated in the adjoining suburb of Rosny. The area was originally known as Beltana but this was changed to Lindisfarne in 1903. Until the mid 1930s, Catholics at Lindisfarne were were served from St Joseph’s, Hobart. Monsignor Cullen used to cross the Derwent by ferry and then visited the Bellerive-Lindisfarne area on a bicycle. In 1935, Father Francis Kent was appointed to the Richmond parochial district, which embraced Bellerive and other centres on the eastern side of the Derwent. It was under Father Francis Kent’s leadership that a two roomed convent school was built at Lindisfarne on a site opposite the local State school. The school doubled as a church with Mass celebrated once a month. On other Sundays, Lindisfarne and East Risdon Catholics would travel to Corpus Christi at Bellerive; which was a long walk for those who did not have cars. St Cuthbe...

Tarraleah is a former Hydro Electric Commission village located in the mountains between Hobart and Queenstown. Built in the 1930s, it was home to over 500 workers and was the heart of Tasmania's hydro-electricity projects. It is now a privately owned a holiday village and tourist centre. St Barnabas’ was the second church built at Tarraleah following the construction of a Catholic church in 1953. St Barnabas was a Hydro-Electric Commission United Church used by Anglicans, Methodists and other Protestant denominations. St Barnabas’ has closed as a place of worship. It is now called ‘Highland Church’ and it is used as a private chapel for weddings. Photo: Joe Cocozza (2009) Flickr Photo: Joe Cocozza (2009) Flickr Source: Henslowe, Dorothea I. and Hurburgh, Isa.; Our heritage of Anglican churches in Tasmania / by Dorothea I. Henslowe; sketches by Isa Hurburgh, 1978

Mona Vale is a palatial house and historical property located about seven kilometres south of the town of Ross. The house was designed by William Archer and is built in the style of a grand Italianate villa. It was constructed in the 1860s by Robert Quayle Kermode and is the third house to be built upon the property since a land grant was made to Robert’s father, William Kermode, in 1821. When it was completed in 1867, it was the largest private house in Australia. The estate forms a small settlement with numerous outbuildings, cottages and a small chapel. Mona Vale has hosted a number of royal and aristocratic dignitaries over the years including the Duke of Edinburgh (1868), the Duke and Duchess of York (1927) and Lord Kitchener (1910). The estate was purchased by the Cameron family in the 1920s. A small private chapel was built on the estate in 1868. This replaced an earlier “temporary” chapel built in the 1830s. The chapel was designed by William Archer and was completed in time fo...

Brighton Military Camp was located at the northern end of Brighton on the boundary with Pontville. The camp was established on the 13th August 1914 but lack of water impeded its development. After the first continent left in October 1914 the main training camp moved to Claremont. During the Second World War a training camp was reestablished at Brighton which housed up to 2400 trainees. As the need for training declined, Brighton Camp was used to detain Italian prisoners of war. After the war the camp was used to house migrants from Europe as well as national servicemen. In 1967 it housed victims of the bushfires and in 1999 it was temporarily used by 400 Kosovar refugees. The facility was closed in 2006 and sold to a developer in somewhat controversial circumstances. During World War Two, religious and spiritual needs of servicemen at Brighton Camp were met by a number of denominations including the Anglican, Methodist and Catholic churches as well as by the Salvation Army and the YMC...

This article is another in a series 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. Stanley’s first Anglican church was a stone building which was opened in 1847. Due to problems with the church’s foundations the building was demolished and replaced by a weatherboard building in 1888. A hall for use as a Sunday school as well as for parish meetings was built alongside the new church. St Paul’s Parish Hall and Sunday school is now the premises of the Stanley Discovery Museum. The building presents a bit of a mystery due to some uncertainty about its age. It is thought that the hall was built in 1902 but it may have been operating a decade earlier. There a...

Snug is situated on the Channel Highway, approximately 25 kilometres south of Hobart. The name is believed to have come from sailors who found 'snug' anchorage for their ships. St John’s is the second Anglican church built at Snug, replacing an earlier church lost in the 1967 bushfires. In 1969 a new brick church designed by Harry Oldmeadow was built at a cost of $28000. The church was consecrated in April 1969. A cross made from burnt timber salvaged from the old church was placed in the church. St John’s has been deconsecrated and is rented to Snug Christian Church. The Anglican Diocese has entered an agreement with the neighbouring aged care facility, Christian Homes, for the sale of the church by 2023. St John's at Snug - Photo: Snug Christian church Sources: Henslowe, Dorothea I. and Hurburgh, Isa.; Our heritage of Anglican churches in Tasmania / by Dorothea I. Henslowe; sketches by Isa Hurburgh, 1978 Anglican Diocese of Tasmania, Parish profile for Channel-Cygnet, 20...

Tarraleah is a former Hydro Electric Commission village located in the mountains between Hobart and Queenstown. Built in the 1930s, it was home to over 500 workers and was the heart of Tasmania's hydro-electricity projects. It is now a privately owned a holiday village and tourist centre. In 1953 a Catholic church, Our Lady of the Snow, opened at Tarraleah, the first of two churches built in the village. Before the church was built, Catholic Mass was held at the Tarraleah hall. In 1951 the Central Highland’s parish was formed comprising of the three “Hydro” towns of Bronte Park, Butler’s Gorge and Tarraleah. Tarraleah’s Catholic church was built by volunteer labour within 100 hours during long summer evenings and weekends. The works overseer was Mr. R. Jenkins, (who was not a Catholic) who led a team of men representing a number of nationalities. The church was valued at £4,500 but was built for £450 with building materials purchased from subscriptions by parishioners. An article i...

In 1906 a brick mission hall was built on Melville Street replacing an earlier Mission Hall that had been established in the early 1890s. The building, which no longer exists, was located close to the intersection of Murray Street. The first mission, known as ‘St David’s Mission’, was run by highly respected superintendents, Mr and Mrs James Reed. The couple had “devotedly carried on their labour of love among the people of that very poor district” and their “name was in every house in the district” because “they know the circumstances of everyone in it and the best way of helping them”. By the turn of the century, the mission, which included a carpenter's shop, had become “inadequate to the growing interests of the work, which is for the benefit of the poorest of the poor”. Consequently a site for a new hall was purchased close to the original mission on Melville Street. The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone for the new mission took place on Saturday 21 April 1906. The Me...

Irishtown is small rural town on the Irishtown Road, approximately 10 kilometres south of Smithton. The area was first settled in the late 1850s when it was known as Upper Duck Creek. Irishtown’s Baptist Church was established as a Union Church. Plans to open a church date to 1904 and the building was completed in 1906. The church was mostly used by Baptists who had the longest period of involvement. The building was also used by the Christian Brethren, Methodists, Presbyterians and briefly by Seventh Day Adventists. A single report records the church’s opening in March 1906: “After nearly two years of work, the Union Church of Irishtown has been completed, and was opened by Rev. Tulloch, of Stanley. There were fully 100 present. Mrs W.R. Johns played for the choir”. The land on which the church was built was donated by Mr. Albert Thorpe in 1904. The church was disused for periods of time but was reopened by the Baptists in the 1930s. The church closed in the 1980s and was converted i...

The Exclusive Christian Brethren, now known as the Plymouth Brethren, originated in Plymouth, Great Britain, in the 1820s. In the mid 19th century the Christian Brethren became established in Australia. The 'Exclusive Brethren' is a restrictive group which broke away from the original Christian Brethren in 1848. In October 1960, Launceston City Council approved an application by the Exclusive Brethren to build a church designed by Clarry Prior at 8 Balfour Street . The hall still exists but has been converted into a residence. Prior to the construction of the Balfour Street Hall, the Brethren worshipped at the Price Memorial Hall. The Plymouth Brethren have since built a church on Lantana Street, Newstead. This was built in 1995, replacing another hall which had to be demolished due to structural problems. The former Exclusive (Plymouth) Brethren Hall at 8 Balfour Street The hall in 2018 after its conversion into a house. (Google street view) Sources: Launceston Churches of th...

The former Community Church is located near Hoblers Bridge at Killafaddy, bordering Newstead. Killafaddy was once the site of stockyards and an abattoir. It is now a light industrial area. The Community Church was established in 1980 and was led by pastor Kevin Crase. The ‘Community Church’ met at various locations in Launceston until 1985 when it purchased a building at Killafaddy. The property belonged to Tasmanian Board Mills and was built in 1974 to a design by Hank Romyn, featuring extensive use of Blackwood, Huon Pine, Sassafras, Myrtles and Tasmanian Oak. From 2008 until 2014 the building housed the “Community Christian Academy”. In more recent times it was the premises for the Avalon Arts and Function Centre and was also used for community markets. The building has now been acquired by Launceston City Mission which will use it as a venue to provide youth training and for its “Inside Out program”. The City Mission will make the building available for weekend church services. Pho...

Battery Point is an historical inner suburb on the east side of Hobart, fronting onto the Derwent River. The suburb’s name is derived from Mulgrave Battery was established in the 1818 for coastal defence purposes. The former Congregational Chapel and Sunday school is located on Hampden Road. It was established by the Brisbane street Congregational Church. The Sunday school was formed in 1848 and a school building and chapel was erected in 1850. A brief article published in the Hobart Courier makes mention of the official opening on Thursday 7 February 1850: “The Independent Church of Brisbane-street opened a new school-house at Battery point, which they have lately erected in that locality at a cost of £ 250. About 4 o’clock p.m. some 70 Sabbath-school children assembled, and were regaled with tea and cake, after which the friends of the school took tea together. The Rev. F. Miller presided”. The debt on the building was extinguished in 1854 following a “Christmas Tea Meeting” where £4...

The Chinese Mission was an inter-denominational Christian mission established in Launceston in 1884. Its purpose was “to evangelise the Chinese”, notably the miners in Tasmania’s North East. For most of the twelve years that it was active, the Mission was headed by Reverend Bartholomew Wang Poo,  based at the tin mining town of Moorina. The focus of this article is on the work of this Mission as well as religious activity within Launceston’s small Chinese Christian community in the late 19th century. Until the 1870s, Tasmania’s Chinese population was small in number. With the discovery of tin fields in the North East in 1874, there followed an influx of Chinese miners, who soon began to dominate the small-scale alluvial tin mining industry. When many European miners left the tin fields in response to the fall in tin prices in 1880s, Chinese miners continued to make a living from abandoned workings. The 1881 census counted 874 Chinese living in Tasmania, nearly all being tin miners....

C3 Hobart church is located on Anglesea Street on a large site north of the Hobart Rivulet. C3 Hobart is a part of C3 Church Global, a charismatic church founded by Phil Pringle and Christine Pringle. The first church was started in Dee Why on the Northern Beaches of Sydney in 1980. C3 Church Global now has over 500 churches worldwide. The following information about the Hobart church’s origins is available on the C3 website: “In 1995 our story begun in Salamanca with founding pastors, Lucas and Annie Jacometti. Since then we have occupied many different locations including the Stanley Burbury Theatre, and the Odeon Theatre which we owned for 10 years. In early 2017, Shaun and Mirella White were appointed the Senior Pastors of C3 Church Hobart. We are now one church in two locations. In South Hobart we have our own building where we also operate the Rivulet Cafe and the C3 Convention Centre”. The South Hobart C3 church and convention centre was completed in 2011 Sources and further inf...