No. 1392 - Liena - Gospel Hall (1949)
Liena is a rural area in the Echo Valley centred on the banks of the River Mersey approximately 20 kilometres west of Mole Creek. A small settlement developed near the bridge crossing the Mersey where a school, hall, post office and a Gospel Hall were situated. Little now remains of the original settlement.
In 1915 a visitor to Liena observed:
“There is no mistaking the fact that the Liena district is going ahead, as may easily be seen by the large area of new lands being cleared and opened up, also by the snug farmhouses…being erected during the past three years…”.
It was around this time that a school and hall were built, with the hall become the venue for regular Anglican services which were first held from 1914. While an Anglican church was never built, in 1949 a Gospel Hall was opened. The origins the hall date back to the 1920s when a “Gospel hall” Sunday school was established which was held in a local home and later at the Liena School.
When a hall was built in 1949 the Advocate carried a brief report of the occasion:
“There was a large gathering at the opening of the newly-erected Gospel Hall, with which was combined the Sunday School prize-giving. The many visitors were welcomed by Mr. K. Y. Harris, who was in charge of the work. Prizes were presented by Mr. M. Alexander, of Launceston, while Mr. V. Ambrose, of Devonport, addressed the children. An address to the adults was given by Mr. P. Atkinson, of Burnie. Mr. G. E. Whitley gave a resume of the work in the district during the past five years. Mr. Spedding, of Sydney, and Mr. Dyer, of Sheffield, also took part in the service”.
The hall was built on land donated by Vince Walters and was situated between the Liena Post Office and the river. The story of the Gospel Hall’s establishment is told in Alan Dyer’s “God Was Their Rock”, which recounts the history of the Christian Brethren in the Sheffield and Kentish district.
In the 1970s the Brethren community at Liena combined with the Brethren community that worshiped at the Dairy Plains Public Hall to build a modern church at Deloraine.
Sources:
Examinder, Saturday 2 May 1914, page 9
Examiner, Thursday 20 May 1915, page 6
Advocate, Wednesday 30 November 1927, page 8
Advocate, Friday 13 May 1949, page 8
Examiner, Saturday 21 May 1949, page 18
Dyer, Alan; God was their Rock...The story of Christian Brethren pioneers and their descendants in the Kentish District of Tasmania. Sheffield (Tasmania), Pioneer Publishers, (1974).
In 1915 a visitor to Liena observed:
“There is no mistaking the fact that the Liena district is going ahead, as may easily be seen by the large area of new lands being cleared and opened up, also by the snug farmhouses…being erected during the past three years…”.
It was around this time that a school and hall were built, with the hall become the venue for regular Anglican services which were first held from 1914. While an Anglican church was never built, in 1949 a Gospel Hall was opened. The origins the hall date back to the 1920s when a “Gospel hall” Sunday school was established which was held in a local home and later at the Liena School.
When a hall was built in 1949 the Advocate carried a brief report of the occasion:
“There was a large gathering at the opening of the newly-erected Gospel Hall, with which was combined the Sunday School prize-giving. The many visitors were welcomed by Mr. K. Y. Harris, who was in charge of the work. Prizes were presented by Mr. M. Alexander, of Launceston, while Mr. V. Ambrose, of Devonport, addressed the children. An address to the adults was given by Mr. P. Atkinson, of Burnie. Mr. G. E. Whitley gave a resume of the work in the district during the past five years. Mr. Spedding, of Sydney, and Mr. Dyer, of Sheffield, also took part in the service”.
The hall was built on land donated by Vince Walters and was situated between the Liena Post Office and the river. The story of the Gospel Hall’s establishment is told in Alan Dyer’s “God Was Their Rock”, which recounts the history of the Christian Brethren in the Sheffield and Kentish district.
In the 1970s the Brethren community at Liena combined with the Brethren community that worshiped at the Dairy Plains Public Hall to build a modern church at Deloraine.
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| The Gospel Hall at Liena - Photo: Donald Charles Brooks - Libraries Tasmania digital collection - Item No. LMSS726-1-84 |
Sources:
Examinder, Saturday 2 May 1914, page 9
Examiner, Thursday 20 May 1915, page 6
Advocate, Wednesday 30 November 1927, page 8
Advocate, Friday 13 May 1949, page 8
Examiner, Saturday 21 May 1949, page 18
Dyer, Alan; God was their Rock...The story of Christian Brethren pioneers and their descendants in the Kentish District of Tasmania. Sheffield (Tasmania), Pioneer Publishers, (1974).
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