No. 1239 - Sandy Bay - Salvation Army Hall (1947)

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 former Salvation Army hall is located in Lower Sandy Bay, previously known as Beachside.

Sandy Bay’s Salvation Army hall was originally located at the tin-mining town of Derby in north eastern Tasmania where it was built in 1913. Following the catastrophic 1929 flood, Derby declined as a tin mining centre and the town’s population fell dramatically. By the early 1940s Salvation Army services ceased and the hall was closed.

In 1946 the hall was taken apart and removed to Sandy Bay where it was reconstructed and reopened on Saturday 29 March 1947. The Mercury reported the official opening as follows:

“Despite heavy rain a large crowd attended the official opening of the newly-erected Salvation Army hall at Lower Sandy Bay on Saturday. Brig. F. L. Inglis, the divisional commander, who performed the opening ceremony, expressed pleasure that Brig. and Mrs Stranks, who recently returned from China, and are conducting special meetings in Tasmania, were present".

"Brig Stranks offered the dedicatory prayer after the congregation had sung the Doxology. Major Pallot, of the Hobart Corps, and the Hobart Citadel Band, also were present. Sister Mrs Parsell, whose work over the past six years made the new opening possible, also spoke. Capt D. Campbell, Corps Officer at Sandy Bay, outlined the financial scheme for the interior furniture and fittings, which, he said would cost £120, apart from the cost of the hall…..Brig. Inglis thanked Envoy Sheppard, who had been responsible for rebuilding the hall, and complimented him on its splendid appearance. Capt Campbell read several messages, including a message on behalf of Commissioner J. Evan Smith who is in Japan in connection with Salvation Army work among the occupational forces….”.


The date of the hall’s closure is not known. The 110 year old hall is heritage listed and is remarkably well preserved. A link to an article about the hall at Derby can be viewed here: [No.811]



The hall at its original location at Derby in 1932 -  photograph supplied by Denice Walter  ©


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Sources:

Examiner, Saturday 14 September 1946, page 9
Examiner, Saturday 29 March 1947, page 5
Mercury, Monday 31 March 1947, page 7


















Comments

  1. Regarding the closure of the hall, I do know that it was still in use in March 1987. A very moving funeral service was held there that month for my maternal grandmother, Adelaide Romsdal Smith (née Hodges) of 736 Sandy Bay Road, who had died aged 103. In her last years, Adelaide participated in a community group for the elderly, organised by Salvation Army officer and neighbour Mrs Parsell. This community group loved and admired "nana" and supported her wonderfully over many years towards the end of her life. A few years later, on a trip to Hobart form Sydney where I now live, I walked around the hall and was saddened to find it was no longer an active place of worship.

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