Churches of Tasmania

This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches.These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and rarely feature in published histories. My aim is to create a simple record of these buildings, including those that no longer exist. St John’s Anglican rectory (or parsonage) is situated on the southern side of Launceston’s iconic church. It was designed by architect ‘Harry’ Conway in the style a Victorian Gothic Revival. Plans for the building were first discussed in April 1878 at a meeting of parishioners. The Launceston Examiner reported: “A meeting of the parishioners…was held at the school-room, Elizabeth-street, last evening to consider the question of the erection of a parsonage and various other matters connected with the church. The attendance was small. The Rev. Canon Brownrigg occupied the chair, and ….stated briefly the principal object

Wyena is a small rural settlement located on the old North-Eastern Railway Line approximately 15 kilometres north of Lilydale and 5 kilometres from Lebrina. The settlement centred on Burns Road overlooking the Denison River. Wyena is an Aboriginal word meaning 'small timber’. Very little is known about Wyena’s Anglican church. All that remains is a small overgrown cemetery. The church was built in 1894 and dedicated to St Silas by Bishop Montgomery. No record of the church’s opening service survives. In ‘Our Heritage of Anglican Churches in Tasmania’, Dorothea Henslowe records that the church was built for £10 by voluntary labour. The earliest newspaper report referencing the church dates to April 1895: “A magic lantern lecture was given here (at Lebrina) last night by Rev. Webster of Launceston. It was held in the railway goods shed, and was in aid of of improvements to the Church of England building at Wyena…the shed was well filled with an appreciative audience…”. Further refe

Sandy Bay is a southern suburb of Hobart. It is believed that it was named by Reverend Robert Knopwood while he was out on the Derwent on a whaling boat. The northern half of Sandy Bay was known as Queenborough between the years 1859 and 1878. The Primitive Methodist movement began in 1808 and was led by Methodist lay preacher Hugh Bourne, who was expelled from the British Methodist movement. Bourne and his followers became known as Primitive Methodists, meaning ‘first’ or ‘original’. Bourne's followers were also disparagingly called ‘Ranters’, a reference to their crude and often noisy preaching. Their outdoor camp meetings generally attracted the working classes who sometimes did not feel that they were accepted by the Wesleyan Methodists. The Primitive Methodists first appeared in Hobart in 1860 and acquired the Knox Chapel on Collins Street in 1861. In the 1890s the Collins Street church established a congregation at Sandy Bay. In 1894 a mission hall was built on land on Prin

Currie is the main town and administration centre of King Island. The ship "Netherby" ran onto rocks off the island in 1866 and was salvaged by Captain Archibald Currie. The harbour and later the settlement were named in his honour. Father Patrick Hayes was the first Catholic priest to visit King Island. In September 1909 he sailed from Launceston on board the ‘steamer Yabacoona’. Hayes records: “The Catholic inhabitants are not numerous. Comprising about one dozen families scattered here and there, they form, perhaps, about one ninth of the population. They have come principally from Victoria or Tasmania. A few Irishmen have made their home there, and are prospering at either grazing or dairying industry….When I landed on the island there were two children waiting baptism. Before ten days had elapsed three others were born…There is an entire absence of sectarian strife…The Protestants were as warm in giving me a welcome as members of my own flock…”. In 1913 the Missionaries

Ulverstone is a large town on the banks of the River Leven on north west coast of Tasmania. In the early days the area was known as ‘The Leven’ until it was changed to Ulverstone in the 1850s. The area was permanently settled by Europeans in the late 1840s after Andrew Risby developed farmland out of the thickly forested wilderness. Over 20 churches established at Ulverstone since the town was established. Information about the Ulverstone Gospel Church is derived from a souvenir booklet printed by the Ulverstone History Museum to celebrate the town’s sesquicentenary in 2002: “Local businessman Stephen Margetts, held the first services at his home. Later meetings were held at the homes of Henry Forward and C.E. Elliot and in the Gaiety Hall, Main Street. The first permanent building in Alexandra Road opened in 1940.” The Gospel Hall was associated with Christian Brethren who became established at Ulverstone in the early 1930s. In 1952 a new hall was built in Amherst Street, West Ulvers

Middleton is a small rural settlement on the Channel Highway approximately 40 kilometres south of Kingston. The settlement was originally named Long Bay before it changed to Middleton in 1892. The name was derived from a barque named Middleton built by shipbuilder John Watson, a former overseer of the shipyard at Port Arthur. Middleton was the family name of Watson’s wife. Middleton’s Methodist, Anglican and Catholic churches were among more than 20 churches destroyed in the 1967 bushfires which swept across southern Tasmania. The Methodist church was built in 1895 and was constructed from timber salvaged from the Hobart International Exhibition Building, a temporary structure on Hobart’s Domain. The church’s seats were used in the concert hall of the exhibition. The church was officially opened on Sunday 3 November 1895. The event was recorded by the Mercury’s country news correspondent: “The usually quiet district, of Long Bay has had a stirring time during the week, the cause being

Kettering is a small town on the Channel Highway approximately 35 kilometres south of Hobart. It was originally named Little Oyster Cove before being renamed Kettering. Kettering’s Union Church was one of more than a dozen churches destroyed in the 1967 bushfires which swept across southern Tasmania. The church, which was built in 1900, replaced an older church that had previously been used as a school. The original church had been established by Matthew Holmes: “[He]…was the first schoolmaster, and… the first to hold regular religious services here. It was mainly owing to his endeavours that the old school building (now used as a church) was erected, and he was one of the trustees of the building until his death [in 1893]”. Plans to replace the old church got underway in 1897: “A movement is afoot here to obtain a sufficient sum of money to erect a church, or, failing that, to have necessary alterations to the old building effected to make it more fitted for a place of worship and pro

Sandy Bay is a southern suburb of Hobart. It is believed that it was given its name by the Reverend Robert Knopwood while he was out on the Derwent on a whaling excursion. The northern half of Sandy Bay was briefly known as Queenborough between 1859 and 1878. Originally known as the Queenborough Church Hall, the building was renamed St Matthias’ Church Hall in 1911. The hall, which fell within St George’s parish, was officially opened on Sunday 24th February 1889 by Reverend Canon G. Banks-Smith. The hall was also used as a public facility until 1911. In 1911 the hall was enlarged and renovated while plans were made to build a new church on land alongside the old building. However, the construction of a new church did not proceed due to the opening of St Peter’s Anglican church on nearby Lord Street in 1918. In August 1911 a report in the Mercury outlines the extent of the renovations made to the hall: “Those present were shown the plans of the proposed additions to the hall. These pro

This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches.These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and rarely feature in published histories. My aim is to create a simple record of these buildings, including of those that no longer exist. The old Sacred Heart Convent school is located within the precinct of Launceston’s Church of the Apostles. It is one of eleven schools established by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, better known as the Presentation Sisters. The Order arrived in Launceston in 1873 while the plans for the establishment of a convent began in the previous year. In March 1872 the Launceston Examiner reported: “A meeting of the Catholic clergy and laity was held the other evening for the purpose of considering the advisability of building a conventual establishment in Launceston, when, after some explanation

Located on the Western shore of the Derwent River, Taroona is an outer southern suburb of Greater Hobart which lies within the Kingston municipality. The name ‘taroona’ is a Mouheneener word for chiton, a marine mollusc found on rocks in the intertidal regions of the foreshore. The name ‘Taroona’ was adopted by Clarendon James Cox Lord for his 18-acre property which he purchased in 1894. The Uniting Church is located at 1 Taroona Crescent off the Channel Highway. Most of the information used in this article has been gleaned from a publication of the ‘Taroona History Group’. The origins of Taroona’s Uniting church date back to 1902 when Methodist services were regularly held in the local public hall. In 1948 a Presbyterian Church was built on land in Taroona Crescent donated by the the Watkins family. In 1954 the Presbyterians invited the Methodist congregation to use the church which resulted in Presbyterian and Methodist services being conducted on alternative weeks. The combined cong

Located on the Western shore of the Derwent River, Taroona is an outer southern suburb of Greater Hobart which lies within the Kingston municipality. The name ‘taroona’ is a Mouheneener word for chiton, a marine mollusc found on rocks in the intertidal regions of the foreshore. The name ‘Taroona’ was adopted by Clarendon James Cox Lord for his 18-acre property which he purchased in 1894. St Luke’s Anglican church is located in the southern half of Taroona on the Channel Highway. Most of the information used in this article has been gleaned from a publication by the ‘Taroona History Group’. The first Anglican church services at Taroona were held in the old Public Hall and on occasion in private houses. When the Presbyterians built a church at Taroona Crescent in 1950 the Anglicans used the building for morning and evening services on alternate Sundays. In about 1950 a committee was formed to plan the construction of a church hall. Work on the building began on 1956 with the contract

Mount Pleasant is an Italianate-Victorian mansion on a hill above South Launceston. It is perhaps one of the finest colonial houses in northern Tasmania. It was built in 1865 by John Crookes (1805-1870), a prominent merchant, churchman and politician. The property was acquired by Henry Reed when he returned to Tasmania in 1873. Henry Reed was a wealthy businessmen and an ardent evangelist who made a significant contribution to the Christian cause in Australia and in Britain. Reed was born in Doncaster, England in 1806. At the age of 20 he sailed for Hobart arriving in April 1827. From Hobart he walked to Launceston, a distance of 120 miles. Reed had a deep religious experience in the early 1830s when a small boat he was rowing overturned on the Tamar River and he almost drowned. Once ashore, he knelt down to give thanks for his deliverance. This incident had an enormous influence on his religious life. As a businessman Reed made his initial fortune through the acquisition of land and b

Kingston is a town located on the Browns River approximately 12 kilometres south of Hobart. The area was first settled in 1804 and was known as Brown’s River, after Scottish botanist Robert Brown, who visited the area. The settlement later became known as Kingston and this name was officially adopted in 1882. Kingston’s Reformed Church was established by Dutch immigrants who settled in Tasmania after World War Two. Unlike Dutch communities on the Australian mainland, whose members were predominantly Catholic, the majority of the Dutch in Tasmania are Protestant. Approximately 3500 Dutch migrants settled in Tasmania in the 1950s forming the State’s largest non-English speaking migrant community at the time. Initially, Dutch community associated with the Presbyterian Church and were keen to integrate into Tasmanian society. However a desire for an independent church soon arose and reformed churches were soon established at Ulverstone, Penguin, Launceston and Kingston. The Reformed Chur