No. 1576 - King Island - Currie Uniting Church (1961)

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Currie is the main town and administration centre of King Island. In 1866 the ship "Netherby" ran onto rocks off the island and was salvaged by Captain Archibald Currie. The harbour and later the settlement were named in his remembrance.

Reverend Max Stansall’s ‘Tasmanian Methodism’ summarises the origins of the Methodist Church at King Island as follows:

“As much as ninety years after the beginnings of Methodism in Hobart, the work in King Island was just commenced. Actually a young home missionary, C.C. Dugan, who later had a distinguished career as minister and historian, visited the island in 1903. But it was in 1910 that the real beginning was made. Rev. Joseph Penna that year became the first minister appointed to the island”.

Soon after Penna’s arrival the construction of a church began in mid 1911. This was undertaken by volunteer labour under the direction of Mr Will Batton. The church was officially opened on Sunday 24 December 1911.

The subsequent history of the church is not well recorded but it served the community for exactly 50 years before it was replaced by a modern church in January 1961. In 1977 the King Island Church elected to join the Uniting Church and continues to be an active community along with the three other churches in Currie.



Sources:

Stansall, M. E. J and Methodist Church of Australasia. Tasmanian Methodism, 1820-1975 / [by M.E.J. Stansall ... et al] Methodist Church of Australasia Launceston, Tas. 1975


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