No. 1513 - Waddamana - Anglican Church
This is the final article about churches in Tasmania’s former ‘Hydro villages’. Previous articles have investigated churches at Tarraleah; Butlers Gorge; Bronte Park; Wayatinah; Poatina; Gowrie Park; Strathgordon and Trevallyn.
Waddamana is the oldest Hydro-electric settlement in Tasmania. It is the site of Hydro Tasmania’s first power station and the centrepiece of the Great Lake Power Scheme. A private company commenced development of the scheme in 1910 however financial difficulties led to its acquisition by the Tasmanian government in 1914. The power station was officially opened by Governor General Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson on 6 May 1916. A second power station at Waddamana was added between 1939 and 1949.
Dorothy Henslowe states in “Our heritage of Anglican churches in Tasmania” that “a house was set aside by the Hydro-electric Commission for use as a church while Waddamana was a Hydro village”. This arrangement probably relates to the time after the extension of the the scheme in the 1940s. Newspaper reports published in the 1920s and 1930s record that Anglican services took place in the Waddamana State school. In November 1922, the Hobart based newspaper “World” reported:
“Church services are now being held more regularly than previously, as services are usually given alternatively by Messrs Peppercorn and Thomas, and the Rector of Bothwell visits the centre at intervals….”.
By the 1940s Waddamana continued to have regularly visits from Anglican clergymen based at Bothwell. In the history series, ‘Hydro Construction Villages’, author Sarah Rackham writes:
“…Petrol rationing affected the church services in the area. For years Archdeacon W. Walters had been visiting the area from Bothwell but now it involved him riding his bicycle. He would ride to Waddamana which is no easy matter, the distance being 28 miles for a one way trip. He would spend the day in Waddamana and Steppes area and then would usually manage to pick up a lift home at the end of a very long day…”.
It is probable that with the closure of the Waddamana school in the 1950s that the Hydro Commission provided a commission house for religious services.
Waddamana village was “decommissioned” in the1960s with the advent of a new and more efficient power scheme at Poatina. The village was offered to the Education Department who purchased it as a Study Camp. The village is now privately owned.
Waddamana is the oldest Hydro-electric settlement in Tasmania. It is the site of Hydro Tasmania’s first power station and the centrepiece of the Great Lake Power Scheme. A private company commenced development of the scheme in 1910 however financial difficulties led to its acquisition by the Tasmanian government in 1914. The power station was officially opened by Governor General Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson on 6 May 1916. A second power station at Waddamana was added between 1939 and 1949.
Dorothy Henslowe states in “Our heritage of Anglican churches in Tasmania” that “a house was set aside by the Hydro-electric Commission for use as a church while Waddamana was a Hydro village”. This arrangement probably relates to the time after the extension of the the scheme in the 1940s. Newspaper reports published in the 1920s and 1930s record that Anglican services took place in the Waddamana State school. In November 1922, the Hobart based newspaper “World” reported:
“Church services are now being held more regularly than previously, as services are usually given alternatively by Messrs Peppercorn and Thomas, and the Rector of Bothwell visits the centre at intervals….”.
By the 1940s Waddamana continued to have regularly visits from Anglican clergymen based at Bothwell. In the history series, ‘Hydro Construction Villages’, author Sarah Rackham writes:
“…Petrol rationing affected the church services in the area. For years Archdeacon W. Walters had been visiting the area from Bothwell but now it involved him riding his bicycle. He would ride to Waddamana which is no easy matter, the distance being 28 miles for a one way trip. He would spend the day in Waddamana and Steppes area and then would usually manage to pick up a lift home at the end of a very long day…”.
It is probable that with the closure of the Waddamana school in the 1950s that the Hydro Commission provided a commission house for religious services.
Waddamana village was “decommissioned” in the1960s with the advent of a new and more efficient power scheme at Poatina. The village was offered to the Education Department who purchased it as a Study Camp. The village is now privately owned.
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| Waddamana Hydro village. The school where Anglican services were held can be seen in the centre of the photograph. Photograph supplied. Photographer or date is not known. |
Sources:
Henslowe, Dorothea I. and Hurburgh, Isa.; Our heritage of Anglican churches in Tasmania / by Dorothea I. Henslowe; sketches by Isa Hurburgh, 1978
Rackham, Sarah and Woodberry, Joan and Tasmania. Hydro-Electric Commission. Public Relations Department. Hydro construction villages. Volume one. Waddamana, Shannon, Tarraleah / written and compiled by Sarah Rackham ; edited by Joan Woodberry Public Relations Department, Hydro-Electric Commission Hobart 1981
World, Friday 19 May 1922, page 7
World, Wednesday 8 November 1922, page 7
The Mercury, Monday 16 June 1924, page 10
https://www.hydro.com.au/things-to-do/waddamana-heritage-site
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