Churches of Tasmania

A ‘Wesleyan Free Church’ that was built in Upper Murray Street in 1855 was the predecessor of the ‘Ebenezer Chapel’ which replaced it in 1869. This article investigates the establishment of the Wesleyan Free Church in Hobart and the construction of its first place of worship at Hobart. The ‘Wesleyan Free Church’ was the original name of a new religious denomination later known as the United Free Methodist Church. Founded in Hobart, further churches were established at Wynyard, Burnie and Penguin. The church was formally established in Hobart on 11 December 1854. The distinguishing features of the “Free Church” were circuit autonomy and and freedom to be represented in the Methodist Assembly by whichever minister or layman the congregation elected. This represented an attempt to unite Methodist “connexionalism” with Congregationalism. The Hobart church was associated with the Wesleyan Reform Churches in England. The Free Church initially met in the rooms of the Upper Murray Street Infa...

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. Situated on Cameron Street, in the shadow of the magnificent Holy Trinity church, lies the almost forgotten Holy Trinity Sunday school. The hall replaced a much older building which had been designed as a Wesleyan Methodist chapel and built in 1826. The chapel was later purchased by the government for use as a school before it was acquired by the ‘Church of England’ for use as a Sunday school and church hall. Holy Trinity school was also the birthplace of the Launceston Mechanics’ Institute established in 1842. In 1898 the old “Trinity school” was demolished to make way for the new church. The foundation stone for t...

The city of Glenorchy is located approximately 7 kilometres north of Hobart's CBD. Glenorchy means ‘glen of tumbling waters’ and it is believed that Governor Lachlan Macquarie named the area after his wife’s birthplace in Argyllshire. The Glenorchy Southern Presbyterian Church meets at the former Timsbury Road school just off the Derwent Highway. The Southern Presbyterian Church is a small denomination that is exclusive to Tasmania. There are now only two congregations; one at East Launceston and the other at Glenorchy. The church was formed in 1986 after it broke away from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which was founded in Launceston in 1961. Worship in the Southern Presbyterian Church is characterised by preaching, prayer and the unaccompanied singing of Psalms. The Southern Presbyterian Church's beliefs and practises are loosely aligned with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia, the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia and the Evangelical Presbyterian Ch...

Gladstone is a small and remote town situated on the banks of the Ringarooma River in northeast Tasmania. It was first settled in 1870 by tin miners; a large number of whom were Chinese. In 1880 the discovery of gold in the area boosted the town’s population but once this was exhausted tin mining became the mainstay of the local economy. Gladstone is named after British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, who had also served as Colonial Secretary. The former Southern Presbyterian church on Gaffney Street was located in Gladstone’s original Anglican church built in 1910. The Southern Presbyterian Church is a small denomination that is exclusive to Tasmania. There are now only two congregations; one at East Launceston and the other at Glenorchy. The church was formed in 1986 after it broke away from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which was founded in Launceston in 1961. Worship in the Southern Presbyterian Church is characterised by preaching, prayer and the unaccompanied sing...

Queenstown is the main town in West Coast region and is named in honour of Queen Victoria. At one time it was Tasmania's third largest town. Like all towns on the west coast it has a long history of mining. The Wesleyan Methodists arrived in the Queenstown district in the mid 1890s and by 1897 a church was under construction. In July 1897 the Hobart Mercury reported: “The weather here continues terribly rough and tempestuous. The new Wesleyan Church which is in course of erection was blown down this afternoon, causing considerable damage to the structure, as well as injury to the contractor and one of his men. Yesterday’s hail storm was the most severe felt here for years”. The damage was evidently not too severe as the church was completed and opened in the following month. The Mercury reported: “The new Wesleyan Church at Queenstown was opened on Sunday, August 1st. The weather was bad, but in spite of this, good congregations assembled at each of the services, which were conduct...

Penguin is a small country town on the northwest coast approximately 30 kilometres west of Devonport. It was one of the last coastal towns to be settled in the 1860’s. The Victorian gold rush created a demand for timber resulting in a large number of cutters and splitters establishing a settlement at Penguin. The town was named by botanist Ronald Campbell Gunn after the penguin rookeries that are common in the area. The Rock Community Church is located in Dooley Street. The church was established in 2010 and was previously located on Crescent Street at the site of the old Baptist church. In 2016 the church moved to a larger building on Dooley Street which had been used as an undercover market. The Rock Community Church is an independent church which does not appear to have links with any major religious denomination. The Rock Community Church - Source: The Rock Community Church Facebook  Further information: https://www.facebook.com/therockpenguin https://www.therock.net.au/

Southport is Australia's southernmost permanent township. It was settled in 1837 and for a short time it became the largest town south of Hobart. It was the site of a convict station, a whaling station and a substantial timber harvesting industry. It is now little more than a quiet seaside settlement with most of the original buildings destroyed in bushfires. Southport had two churches as well as a chapel serving the convict probation station. Records of the establishment and opening of a Catholic church at Southport are poor. What is known is that the ‘Church of St John the Baptist’ was officially opened and blessed on Wednesday 23 February 1876 by Bishop Murphy who was accompanied by the Bishop of Maitland, Dr. Murray. The church was constructed by Father S. Murphy and was a simple wooden building. The Church of St John the Baptist was destroyed in a bushfire in December 1950. The Mercury reported: “At Southport on the Kingfisher Bay Rd., an 80-year-old Roman Catholic Church was...

Southport is Australia's southernmost permanent township. It was settled in 1837 and for a short time it became the largest town south of Hobart. It was the site of a convict station, a whaling station and a substantial timber harvesting industry. It is now little more than a quiet seaside settlement with most of the original buildings destroyed in bushfires. Southport had two churches as well as a chapel serving the convict probation station. Southport Congregational church was officially opened on Sunday 4 May 1879. The Hobart Mercury carried a brief report describing opening ceremony: “An event has taken place at Southport which has caused quite a sensation the opening of the Congregational Church. For many years this place has been almost destitute of a Protestant Minister, until the Rev. D. Morris came. Preaching was continued for some time in the saw mill, and in an unfinished building. The inhabitants then saw the want of a church, so plans were prepared, and tenders accepte...

Flowerpot is a rural settlement located about 30 kilometres south of Kingston. The name ‘Flowerpot’ was used as early as the 1840s and it was named after ‘Flowerpot Rock’ near Jetty Road. Very little is known about the only church built at Flowerpot. Several newspaper reports gave notice of the ceremonial laying the church’s foundation stone and opening which took place on Sunday 11 November 1917. Hobart’s Daily Post reported: “The foundation stone of the new Catholic Church which is to be built at Flower-Pot, situated midway between Woodbridge and Middleton, is to be laid on Sunday afternoon next…Father Kinsella, of New South Wales, is to perform the ceremony. The s.s. Cartela is making an excursion to Port Esperance, via South Arm and Channel ports, on Sunday…”. There is no published report describing the church’s opening.  Our Lady Queen of Peace was one of two dozen churches destroyed in bushfires which swept across southern Tasmania in 1967. In 2007 a memorial plaque was erect...