No. 1550 - North Hobart - Ware Street - Sunday School and Chapel (1859-1885)
Ware Street, which was renamed Feltham Street in 1939, was the site of a Sunday school and Mission which operated for a period of almost 90 years. The neighbourhood centred on Federal Street (previously called Colville Street) and Feltham Street was an area of considerable poverty, which gave rise to the establishment of Anglican and Baptist missions during this period. This article will focus on the Ware Street Sunday School, the first place of worship built in the area.
The ‘Ware Street Sunday School’ was a branch of the Campbell Street Sunday school which was been established in 1855. By the late 1850s the ‘Campbell Street Sunday School Association’ comprised of three schools including Ware Street and the ‘Bethesda Sunday school’ on Macquarie Street. All three schools were also used as places of worship.
The opening of the Ware Street school in January 1859 was recorded by the Hobart Town Advertiser:
“Last evening a tea meeting was held to celebrate the opening of a new Sunday school room, in Ware-street, [off] Argyle-street, erected under the auspices of the Campbell-street Sunday School teachers, for the Ware-street Sunday School, and for meetings connected therewith. A very nice building has been erected by Mr. Nicholls, capable of holding 160 children, and special attention has been paid to the ventilation. The children of the school were in attendance, and also a good number of the parents, with visitors of several denominations. After tea, the business was commenced with devotion, when Mr. C. O. Abbott gave an account of the origin and progress of the cause… Addresses were afterwards delivered by Messrs. Crouch; Cox, M'Lean, &c., &c., and musical pieces were performed by the children and the company. This is the third school opened under the same auspices”.
The dimensions of the building and its location were described as follows:
“The School is substantially built of weatherboard, and is 40ft. long by 20ft. wide….. The land has frontage of 39ft., with a depth of 76½ft. It is situated within a few yards of the angle of Colville and Argyle streets, and there is a right of way from Ware-street to the former”.
The building was used as a Sunday school as well as a place of worship until the early 1880s. A letter published in the Mercury in May 1876 reveals that Sunday worship at the school-room was frequently disrupted by unruly youth:
“I regret the necessity of calling public attention to the disgraceful conduct of our neglected youth in the suburbs of the city during divine service on Sabbath evening. Evangelical efforts are put forth to meet the case of those who from various causes are prevented attending the usual church service, and it is lamentable to find that many of the aged and infirm are deterred from frequenting these services by the many disturbances created by those who, not caring to worship God themselves, will not allow others to do so in peace. It is well-known that our friends at High-street are subject to frequent annoyances from youths who gather outside for no other purpose, and only on Sunday evening last, when the service in Ware street schoolroom was closing, a large stone was thrown through the window, scattering glass in every direction and striking one of the ladies. The consequences of such reckless conduct cannot be over estimated, and as this is not the first occurrence of the kind the stone has been placed in the hands of the police, and no doubt some attempt will be made to secure these " ignoble youths" and prevent any more such "dangerous exploits."
In 1885 the Ware Street school was sold by the ‘Campbell Street Sunday School Association’. Out of concern that the area would no longer have a place of worship, the building was acquired by Holy Trinity parish. The building then became known as as the ‘Ware Street Mission’. It was used as a mission hall until 1896 when a new brick Mission building was constructing further down Ware Street, having frontage on Colville Street [now Federal Street]. The new building was dedicated as St Margaret’s Mission Hall. [See No. 1005]
After the opening of St Margaret’s, the old Ware Street mission hall was used for a number of purposes including a public hall. In 1932 it became the premises of an Undenominational Mission which operated with the support of the Baptist Union until 1941. The building has been demolished and the site is now occupied by modern housing units.
Sources:
The ‘Ware Street Sunday School’ was a branch of the Campbell Street Sunday school which was been established in 1855. By the late 1850s the ‘Campbell Street Sunday School Association’ comprised of three schools including Ware Street and the ‘Bethesda Sunday school’ on Macquarie Street. All three schools were also used as places of worship.
The opening of the Ware Street school in January 1859 was recorded by the Hobart Town Advertiser:
“Last evening a tea meeting was held to celebrate the opening of a new Sunday school room, in Ware-street, [off] Argyle-street, erected under the auspices of the Campbell-street Sunday School teachers, for the Ware-street Sunday School, and for meetings connected therewith. A very nice building has been erected by Mr. Nicholls, capable of holding 160 children, and special attention has been paid to the ventilation. The children of the school were in attendance, and also a good number of the parents, with visitors of several denominations. After tea, the business was commenced with devotion, when Mr. C. O. Abbott gave an account of the origin and progress of the cause… Addresses were afterwards delivered by Messrs. Crouch; Cox, M'Lean, &c., &c., and musical pieces were performed by the children and the company. This is the third school opened under the same auspices”.
The dimensions of the building and its location were described as follows:
“The School is substantially built of weatherboard, and is 40ft. long by 20ft. wide….. The land has frontage of 39ft., with a depth of 76½ft. It is situated within a few yards of the angle of Colville and Argyle streets, and there is a right of way from Ware-street to the former”.
The building was used as a Sunday school as well as a place of worship until the early 1880s. A letter published in the Mercury in May 1876 reveals that Sunday worship at the school-room was frequently disrupted by unruly youth:
“I regret the necessity of calling public attention to the disgraceful conduct of our neglected youth in the suburbs of the city during divine service on Sabbath evening. Evangelical efforts are put forth to meet the case of those who from various causes are prevented attending the usual church service, and it is lamentable to find that many of the aged and infirm are deterred from frequenting these services by the many disturbances created by those who, not caring to worship God themselves, will not allow others to do so in peace. It is well-known that our friends at High-street are subject to frequent annoyances from youths who gather outside for no other purpose, and only on Sunday evening last, when the service in Ware street schoolroom was closing, a large stone was thrown through the window, scattering glass in every direction and striking one of the ladies. The consequences of such reckless conduct cannot be over estimated, and as this is not the first occurrence of the kind the stone has been placed in the hands of the police, and no doubt some attempt will be made to secure these " ignoble youths" and prevent any more such "dangerous exploits."
In 1885 the Ware Street school was sold by the ‘Campbell Street Sunday School Association’. Out of concern that the area would no longer have a place of worship, the building was acquired by Holy Trinity parish. The building then became known as as the ‘Ware Street Mission’. It was used as a mission hall until 1896 when a new brick Mission building was constructing further down Ware Street, having frontage on Colville Street [now Federal Street]. The new building was dedicated as St Margaret’s Mission Hall. [See No. 1005]
After the opening of St Margaret’s, the old Ware Street mission hall was used for a number of purposes including a public hall. In 1932 it became the premises of an Undenominational Mission which operated with the support of the Baptist Union until 1941. The building has been demolished and the site is now occupied by modern housing units.
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| The Mercury - January 1885 - a detail from an advertisement for the sale of the school. |
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| The location of the Ware Street Sunday School is indicated on an 1887 plan of the City of Hobart and Suburbs. Libraries Tasmania - Item Number: AF766/1/24 |
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| The site of the Ware Street Sunday School and Mission - 60 Feltham Street (Google street-view 2024) |
Sources:
Tasmanian Daily News, Thursday 27 December 1855, page 4
Hobart Town Advertiser, Friday 14 January 1859, page 3
Mercury, Wednesday 21 January 1885, page 3
Mercury, Saturday 31 January 1885, page 4
Mercury, Thursday 4 May 1876, page 3
Mercury, Monday 13 January 1896, page 4
Mercury, Wednesday 30 August 1939, page 2
Thank you for this article. I went to Sunday school in the early 1970s at St Margaret's and remained there as a parishioner and warden until its closure in 2011.
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