No. 1587 - Geeveston - St Joseph's Catholic Church (1864)
Geeveston is a country town on the Huon Highway approximately 45 kilometres south of Hobart. The town is named after William Geeves, an English settler, who received a land grant at what was then called Lightwood Bottom. The settlement was renamed Geeves Town in 1861 before becoming Geeveston.
The early history of the Catholic Church at Geeveston is not well recorded. Catholic’s initially worshiped at the home of Mr R. Hill, who established the first sawmill and flour mill in the Huon Valley. Catholic Church historian Terry Southerwood records that the church dates back to 1864 and was built from logs floated down the Huon River. The church was built by John Helmer who also constructed the first bridge at Huonville. St Joseph’s was designed by Henry Hunter. It was officially opened by Bishop Willson on Tuesday 29 November 1864. The opening is mentioned in an article published in the Hobart Mercury following Bishop Willson’s visit to nearby Franklin to administer the sacrament of confirmation. Willson was joined by the Vicar-General who came from Hobart to assist with the opening of St. Joseph’s. The Mercury’s correspondent reported:
“The Church of St. Joseph's, just blessed and opened for divine service, is a most beautiful and convenient one, and most admirably suited in all respects to the requirements and to even the peculiar characteristics of the district. Perched, as it were, on a commanding eminence, on the northern bank of the Kermandie - surrounded at a safe distance by the gigantic timber of the forests and so admirably associated with the groups of local buildings formed by the residence and mill of Mr. R. Hill, and the dwellings of Mr. Burniss, and P. Hill, it is scarcely possible to conceive anything more picturesque and enchanting than the picture presented by this little church in the forest. The church itself is really a very beautiful and convenient structure, and does infinite credit to the taste of the architect, H. Hunter, Esq. as well as to the skill of the contractor, Mr. J. Helmer. Its dimensions are 45 by 18. It is built of hard wood lined with pine, on a foundation of stone. The roof is an open stained one, lined with pine. There are a porch and vestry. The windows mullion. A neat and appropriately designed rail separates the chancel from the nave. The entire cost of the church will be £350. For its size it would be impossible to conceive a more convenient or better ventilated building. This was fully proved on Tuesday last, for although crowded to excess by over 200 persons, and the day was very hot, not the slight inconvenience was felt from the want of ventilation…. After the sermon a collection was made, when the handsome sum of £33 6s. 11d. was collected, a sum which, considering the depression of the staple produce of the district, and the season of the year, may he considered a very surprising one…”.
Little is known about the early years of the church and the only event of interest I have found relates to a “rascally act” reported by the Huon Times in January 1912:
“On Thursday morning last the discovery was made that St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church at Geeveston had been burglariously entered. A hole was made in the glass of one of the windows sufficiently large to enable an entrance to be obtained. Drawers had been ransacked, the contents scattered about, and the furniture displaced. A small box kept in the porch for contributions to the library was broken open and the contents taken, but it is not thought that there was much in it….”.
In 1938 a convent and school was established on the church grounds by the Sisters of St Joseph. Lessons took place inside the church until the construction of classrooms were completed in August 1938. The school was called St Theresa’s Convent School but was renamed Sacred Heart school after the Sisters departed Geeveston in the 1980s.
St Joseph’s Church has been incorporated into Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School. The church is still used for celebrating Mass on weekdays during school terms.
Sources:
The early history of the Catholic Church at Geeveston is not well recorded. Catholic’s initially worshiped at the home of Mr R. Hill, who established the first sawmill and flour mill in the Huon Valley. Catholic Church historian Terry Southerwood records that the church dates back to 1864 and was built from logs floated down the Huon River. The church was built by John Helmer who also constructed the first bridge at Huonville. St Joseph’s was designed by Henry Hunter. It was officially opened by Bishop Willson on Tuesday 29 November 1864. The opening is mentioned in an article published in the Hobart Mercury following Bishop Willson’s visit to nearby Franklin to administer the sacrament of confirmation. Willson was joined by the Vicar-General who came from Hobart to assist with the opening of St. Joseph’s. The Mercury’s correspondent reported:
“The Church of St. Joseph's, just blessed and opened for divine service, is a most beautiful and convenient one, and most admirably suited in all respects to the requirements and to even the peculiar characteristics of the district. Perched, as it were, on a commanding eminence, on the northern bank of the Kermandie - surrounded at a safe distance by the gigantic timber of the forests and so admirably associated with the groups of local buildings formed by the residence and mill of Mr. R. Hill, and the dwellings of Mr. Burniss, and P. Hill, it is scarcely possible to conceive anything more picturesque and enchanting than the picture presented by this little church in the forest. The church itself is really a very beautiful and convenient structure, and does infinite credit to the taste of the architect, H. Hunter, Esq. as well as to the skill of the contractor, Mr. J. Helmer. Its dimensions are 45 by 18. It is built of hard wood lined with pine, on a foundation of stone. The roof is an open stained one, lined with pine. There are a porch and vestry. The windows mullion. A neat and appropriately designed rail separates the chancel from the nave. The entire cost of the church will be £350. For its size it would be impossible to conceive a more convenient or better ventilated building. This was fully proved on Tuesday last, for although crowded to excess by over 200 persons, and the day was very hot, not the slight inconvenience was felt from the want of ventilation…. After the sermon a collection was made, when the handsome sum of £33 6s. 11d. was collected, a sum which, considering the depression of the staple produce of the district, and the season of the year, may he considered a very surprising one…”.
Little is known about the early years of the church and the only event of interest I have found relates to a “rascally act” reported by the Huon Times in January 1912:
“On Thursday morning last the discovery was made that St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church at Geeveston had been burglariously entered. A hole was made in the glass of one of the windows sufficiently large to enable an entrance to be obtained. Drawers had been ransacked, the contents scattered about, and the furniture displaced. A small box kept in the porch for contributions to the library was broken open and the contents taken, but it is not thought that there was much in it….”.
In 1938 a convent and school was established on the church grounds by the Sisters of St Joseph. Lessons took place inside the church until the construction of classrooms were completed in August 1938. The school was called St Theresa’s Convent School but was renamed Sacred Heart school after the Sisters departed Geeveston in the 1980s.
St Joseph’s Church has been incorporated into Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School. The church is still used for celebrating Mass on weekdays during school terms.
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| St Joseph's Catholic Church at Geeveston - photo supplied - photographer not known |
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| St Joseph's Catholic Church - Google Streetview |
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| St Joseph's Catholic Church - Photograph: Gravesites of Tasmania |
Sources:
Advertiser, Saturday 26 November 1864, page 2
Mercury, Saturday 3 December 1864, page 2
Mercury, Thursday 25 November 1869, page 2
Huon Times, Saturday 6 January 1912, page 5
Mercury, Monday 10 January 1938, page 3
Mercury, Monday 8 August 1938, page 11
Southerwood, W. T., 1938-. Priceless heritage : the Tasmanian Catholic community 1772-2010 / by W. T. Southerwood Stella Maris Books St. Leonards, Tas. 2010
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