No. 1581 - Avoca - St Thomas' Parish Hall
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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. Avoca is town in the Fingal Valley and on the Esk Highway. It is situated on the junction of the St Pauls and South Esk Rivers. The area was previously known as St Pauls Plains. The word ‘Avoca’ is derived from Gaelic and means ‘meeting of the waters’. The Anglican church of St Thomas was completed in 1841 but only consecrated in 1886. [ See No. 160 ] St Thomas’ Parish Hall is located former storehouse constructed by R.C. Foster in 1850. In 1937, Mr B O’Connor, landowner of nearby property, Benham, purchased the building and donated it to the Anglican Church. In September 1937 the Launceston Examiner reported: “Th...