No. 1327 - Sandy Bay - University of Tasmania - Christ College (1962)

Christ College is one of Tasmania’s oldest educational institutions. It was established by Bishop Nixon in 1845 at the village of Bishopsbourne in the north of the colony. In 1857 the College closed due financial difficulties. In 1879 it reopened at Hobart after the College’s trustees obtained use of Hobart High School on the Domain. In 1890 the school building was acquired by the University of Tasmania.

In 1913 Holy Trinity Church’s old parsonage on the Glebe became available after it was replaced by a new parsonage built on Church Street. In 1918 Christ College hostel was established at the Glebe parsonage with L.H. Lindon as Rector. The College offered tutorial assistance and coaching to university and matriculation students.

Under the Christ College Act of 1926, St. Wilfrid's Theological College at Cressy merged with Christ College and in 1929 the warden and 5 theological students moved into the old Glebe parsonage along with 12 university students. A chapel was established and additional accomodation was built on the site. By 1931 there were twenty students in residence. Christ College was affiliated with the University of Tasmania as its first residential college. In 1971 the College was relocated to the university’s new Sandy Bay campus.

Christ College was the first of four residential colleges planned for a hillside site overlooking the University of Tasmania’s main campus at Sandy Bay. It was built for the Anglican Church and the initial buildings accommodated 50 students with a chapel, library, games room, common rooms, infirmary, offices and housing for members of staff.

Christ College has been recognised as one of the most important buildings in Tasmanian Modern Architecture. It was designed by Dirk Bolt and presents a refinement of the ‘brutalist’ style of architecture. The building is noted for the early use of concrete masonry for both internal and external finish which is associated with the distinctive Tasmanian style of architecture of the 1960s.

In 1991 ownership and management of the College passed from the Church of England to the University of Tasmania, providing for the continuation of its Anglican heritage. While the College no longer has any association with the Church, the building represents an important part of the ecclesiastical history of the Anglican Church of Tasmania.



Sources:

Stephens, Geoffrey & Anglican Church of Australia. Diocese of Tasmania, (issuing body.) The Anglican Church in Tasmania : a Diocesan history to mark the sesquicentenary, 1992. Trustees of the Diocese, Hobart, 1991.

https://www.christcollegehobart.com/
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/18612/1/UA17.pdf
https://archive.openhousehobart.org/oh-building/christ-college-university-of-tasmania/ 






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