No. 1433 - Southport - Congregational Church (1879-1967)

-
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 accepted and all worked with a will. On Sabbath, May 4th; the church was duly opened, the Rev. D. Morris preaching at 2-30 and 6-30. The sermons, which were plain and practical, wear listened to with wrapt attention. Mrs. Mason presided at the harmonium, and led the singing. On Monday a tea meeting took place, which proved a grand success, the steamer brought some 78 people from Hastings, to join the friends at Southport; the tea was provided by the ladies of Southport, and though some 200 sat down, there was enough for all. After tea a meeting took place in the church, and though the building is made to seat 90 people, there were about 140 inside. selections of music were given by the Southport musical friends, assisted by friends from Hastings. Addresses were given by Messrs. Langley, and Heron, and the Pastor, Rev. P. Morris. Votes of thanks were passed to all who in any way assisted, and I am informed that through donations, tea; meeting, and friendly assistance from the people at Hastings, the building will be out of debt”.

The Congregational church was one of two dozen churches destroyed in bushfires which swept across southern Tasmania in 1967. It was not replaced leaving Southport without a church as the town’s Catholic church was destroyed in a bushfire in 1950.

Southport Congregational Church - Photograph courtesy of Shirley Ellis


Sources:

Mercury, Monday 12 May 1879, page 3

Sharples, Theo E and Congregational Union of Tasmania. Congregationalism in Tasmania, 1830-1977 : a brief history / compiled by Theo E. Sharples Congregational Union of Tasmania Hobart 1977 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to Churches of Tasmania

-
Image
I love history and photography and also have an interest in architecture. When I started this blog in 2017 I had the goal of photographing every historical church in Tasmania. This was initially driven by the proposed mass sell-off of Anglican churches. I was concerned that these buildings would be modified and no longer be accessible once in private hands. As the years have passed this goal has changed to writing short histories of each and every church built in Tasmania, of which there are about 1600.   My earliest posts are rather amateurish but my research and writing has improved somewhat over the years.  In time my hope is to revise and update every article to a publishable standard. I have received an overwhelming amount of material from followers of the blog and I will incorporate this into the articles in the revision phase. Eventually I hope to publish the best of the articles. At present the blog attracts about 1000 views per day and I hope that this will continue to grow. 
Read more

No. 624 - Dunalley - St Martin's Anglican Church - "In grateful memory of the men who fought in the Great War"

-
Image
Dunalley is village on the Arthur Highway approximately 60 kilometres east of Hobart. It stands on the narrow isthmus connected to the Forestier Peninsula. The Denison Canal runs through the village and connects Blackman Bay and Fredrick Henry Bay. Dunalley was badly affected by bushfires in January 2013 with the town losing over 60 buildings including the Police Station and school. St Martin’s is the only public building left standing after the fires. St Martin’s Anglican has recently featured in the news following its sale. It is one of over 50 churches to be sold to meet the Anglican Church’s commitment to the National Redress Scheme. St Martin’s is an unusual church into two respects. Firstly, it is constructed from stone from the former Government stores at the old Coal Mines penal station at Saltwater River, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Secondly, the church was built as a memorial to the men of the district who fought and died in the Great War. As such, the buildin
Read more

No. 592 - Gretna - St Mary the Virgin - "Worthy of Imitation"

-
Image
Gretna is a small township in the Derwent Valley approximately 60 kilometres from Hobart. The area was originally known as Stony Plains Hut and Macquarie Plains. The name Gretna was adopted in the early 20th century. The origin of this name comes from a local farm called ‘Gretna Green’ and also an Inn established in the 1860’s which bore the same name. Another Inn, the Woolpack Inn, was the scene of a gunfight between the bushranger Martin Cash and members of the local constabulary. Gretna’s only church stood a few hundred metres from the inn and Cash and his gang hid in the bush near the church until nightfall prior to raiding the Inn. For many years St Mary’s was known as “The Woolpack Church”. St Mary’s the Virgin was built in 1847 and was opened and consecrated by Bishop Nixon on 1 June 1848. At the service, Edward Terry, the owner of Askrigg estate presented the deed of land on which the church was built to Bishop Nixon. Before the church was erected it is believed that Anglican s
Read more