Churches of Tasmania

This article is one in a series about public buildings in country areas that were used as places of worship. In these communities churches may have been planned but were never built due to lack of finance or changing circumstances. In many settlements, before a church was built, worship was typically held in homes, schoolrooms, barns, halls and other buildings. Conversely, in some communities, churches were sometimes the first public building erected and were used as schools and community halls. The focus of this series will primarily be on the public halls and schools that were used as churches. These buildings, and the religious communities which used them, are often overlooked in published histories of churches. Deviot is located on the west bank of the River Tamar and lies about 35 kilometres north-west of Launceston. The area was developed for orcharding after the turn of the 20th century by William Gunning Baird and John Sydney Ritchie. The Deviot Public Hall, which opened in 192

South Springfield is a farming area approximately 10 kilometres south of Springfield in the Scottsdale district. It lies south of the junction of the South Springfield Road and the Ten Mile Track in the foothills of Mount Maurice. South Springfield once had a State school, a public hall and a Union Church. Nothing of these buildings remain. The origins of South Springfield’s Union Church can be dated to a public meeting held in April 1909. The Launceston Examiner reported: “A public meeting was held at South Springfield on Thursday night, to consider ways and means for building a church and Sunday school. There was a fairly representative gathering. Mr. B. F. Reynolds was voted to the chair, and explained the object of the meeting. Mr. R. Lethborg kindly gave the land necessary in a suitable position. A committee of seven was appointed - three ladies and four gentlemen - of which Mr. F. Bowen was appointed secretary, and Mrs. R. Lethborg treasurer. The meeting was enthusiastic through

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 which no longer exist. A dean is appointed by a bishop to lead a subdivision of a diocese comprised of a number parishes. The duty of the dean is to watch over the clergy of the parish and to ensure that they implement the orders of the bishop and observe liturgical and canon laws. The residence of a dean is officially called a deanery but it also accommodates priests serving in the parish. In 1884 a new deanery was constructed on Margaret Street on a site adjoining the Church of the Apostles. The building replaced an older deanery which was no longer adequate for the rapidly growing parish of Launceston. News of the construction of the ne

Springfield is a rural area which lies approximately 5 kilometres south of Scottsdale in north-east Tasmania. Although Springfield never developed into a town, the district was settled in the 1870s with a post office opening in 1876 followed by a school and public hall. The district once supported four churches with the Wesleyan Methodists being the first to establish a church in 1870. In December 1870 a Methodist church was opened by Reverend John Harcourt on the property of Mr John Williams. Previously services had been held in a barn on the same property which were conducted by Reverend T.B. Inglis, a former Wesleyan Methodist minister. A record of the official opening of the new church on the 25 December 1870 was published by the Cornwall Chronicle: “One of those pleasing events which mark the triumph and progress of truth, and which strongly indicate that the attitude of vital Christianity is not of a retrograde character, took place on Sunday, 25th instant, on which occasion the

Lonnavale is is an isolated community about 20 kilometres west of Huonville. It situated at the junction of Lonnavale Road and Lorkins Road and lies on the northern side of the Russell River. It was originally a timber producing settlement but around the turn of the 20th century settlers turned to orcharding. Reverend Max Stansall’s book, ‘Tasmanian Methodism’, a conspectus of Methodist churches existing in Tasmania in the period leading up to the creation of the Uniting Church in 1977, states that a church existed at Lonnavale. Stansell writes: “[In] about 1943 services at Lonnavale were commenced under the leadership of Mr Jessop who was a Home Missionary. Then for some years they apparently lapsed. Later the Rev. Oldmeadow conducted services in the local school. A Sunday school was started by Mrs Richardson. The cause at Lonnavale was not strong and apparently the church closed about the year 1951, although there is some record to support the belief that “services as arranged” appli

St Finn Barr’s Catholic church on Invermay Road opened in August 1954, almost 30 years after the original church burnt down in 1925. The focus of this article is on original church which stood on a site at the corner of Holbrook Street (then called Gunn Street) and Forster Street**. I have yet to come across a photograph of the church which was built to a similar plan as St Canice at Glengarry. The foundation stone for Inveresk* Catholic church (and Launceston’s second Catholic Church#) was ceremonially laid by the Archbishop of Hobart on Sunday 29 January 1893. Land for the church was purchased at a cost of £300 while an additional piece of land for the construction of a convent was donated by Mr Patrick Dargan. The Launceston Examiner reported the event as follows: “Yesterday afternoon the Archbishop of Hobart performed the important ceremony of laying the foundation stone of a new Roman Catholic Church on property recently purchased at the corner of Gunn and Foster streets, Inveres

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 of those that no longer exist. Springfield is a rural area which lies approximately 5 kilometres south of Scottsdale in north-east Tasmania. Although Springfield never developed into a town, the district was settled in the 1870s with a post office opening in 1876 followed by a school and public hall. The district once supported four churches with the Wesleyan Methodists being the first to establish a church in 1871. Anglicans at Springfield used the Wesleyan church until they opened their own church in 1884. St Paul’s church was officially opened on Sunday 23 March 1884. An Anglican Sunday school was built in 1894 on a site near the old Springfi