No. 1615 - Riana - All Saints' Anglican Church (1898-1929)
Riana is a small rural settlement located 13 kilometres south of Penguin. The settlement was started by loggers and over time farming became the main activity. At the close of the 19th century the recently settled Riana district was described in some detail by the correspondent for the Launceston Examiner:
“…The district is a rising and most promising one. Riana is the southern (upper) portion of the Pine road, Penguin, and, has been opened up only within the last six or seven years. The Pine road runs in a due south line from Penguin, parallel with and on the western side of the Dial Range, and extends for a distance of ten miles…..By far the larger number of farms are on the western side of the road, as also are all the by-roads. The soil is a good dark chocolate and black, and yields excellent crops. For the first eight miles from Penguin the timber is almost solely stringy bark, beyond that myrtle, sassafras, celery top pine, and blackwood are the most plentiful. The Dial Range is said to contain various minerals, but nothing of importance has yet been discovered…..The chief industries are farming and timber getting. Potatoes and oats are the chief crops. Pine Road is well supplied with educational institutions and churches, as there are three of each within a distance of four miles…. Recently two petitions were sent to the Postmaster-General, one asking for a post office to be established at Riana and the other for a telephone service from Penguin….”.
Construction of Riana’s first Anglican commenced in January 1898. The building was used as a church and school. The North West Post reported:
“The building material for the new church and school has arrived from the mill, and the contractor is now able to go on with the construction. The foundation is laid, and the building is expected to be complete in six or eight weeks’ time”.
An acre of land for the church was donated by James Bramich. Timothy Sykes Midgley was instrumental in obtaining the land and was one of the first Wardens of the church. The church was opened on Sunday 1 May 1898 by Reverend Wilfred Earle and the Rector Rev'd Canon Robert J. De Coetlogon, with some 150 in attendance for the afternoon service.
In January 1906 the church was almost lost when bushfires raging through the district. The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times reported:
“A slight change in the wind brought the fire across to the store occupied by Mr A. Frost, Mr Frost being the only one at home at the time. The post office had a narrow escape. Mr J. Stone persistently stuck to the roof and attended to it with water drawn from a well by willing workers……The Church of England had a narrow escape through sparks from from a burning tree close by…”.
In 1908 the church was renovated following the construction of a new school building at Riana which freed the building for its exclusive use as a place of worship. In 1919 further renovations and extensions were completed which were funded by the sale of “a block of 60ft. frontage of the Riana church lands” on which a public hall was built.
Following these extensive renovations, the church was dedicated on Thursday 9 December 1920:
“A memorable ceremony was witnessed at Riana, the occasion being the dedication of All Saints Church, in the presence of a large congregation. The church was prettily decorated, and although built a number of years ago had not been dedicated. A picket fence was erected a few days ago by a working bee, and the building, newly painted, presented the appearance of a new structure. The dedication ceremony was performed by the Bishop of Tasmania the Right Rev. R. S. Hay….Outside the church at tho west door a petition signed by the rector and church-wardens was delivered to the Bishop by the churchwardens, saying:-"Reverend Father in God, we pay you to dedicate this church." The Bishop answered, "Let the dedication proceed." Then the Bishop and the rector passed towards the holy table, Psalm cxxii, being meanwhile sung. The Bishop, attended by the Rev. Barrett, then proceeded with the ceremony of dedication; the font, the chancel step, the chancel, the lectern, and the holy table being visited in turn, each receiving a special blessing of dedication, the prayers and blessings being interspersed with psalms and hymns by the congregation…”.
In November 1929 All Saints’ was destroyed in a fire the evening of ‘Church of England ball’ held at the nearby Soldiers’ Memorial Hall. A report in The Examiner suggested that the fire might not have been entirely accidental:
“The local police, who seemed satisfied that the occurrence was accidental, and still appear to think so. Some Riana residents seen on Tuesday, are, however of the opposite opinion. They assert that a forcible entry was made by persons, and although the actual fire may have been an accident, or due to carelessness by these drunken men, they were responsible for the fire. Mr E. Short, one of the officials of the Riana church, laid his case before the inspector at Burnie yesterday, demanding a further and fuller enquiry by the police”.
The outcome of the enquiry is not known. However the Riana community rallied and it was not long before a new and slightly larger church was built. Bishop Hay dedicated the building on 18 November 1931. This church is the subject of another article on ‘Churches of Tasmania’. [See No. 158]
Sources:
North West Post, Tuesday 1 February 1898, page 3
North West Post, Thursday 5 May 1898, page 2
The Mercury, Wednesday 11 May 1898, page 4
North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, Wednesday 3 January 1906, page 4
Daily Telegraph, Friday 17 July 1908, page 7
Weekly Courier, Thursday 1 May 1919, page 24
The Mercury, Wednesday 4 June 1919, page 4
The Advocate Monday 13 December 1920, page 1
The Mercury Tuesday 26 November 1929, page 7
The Examiner Wednesday 27 November 1929, page 7
Churches of Penguin and surrounding district / researched by Philippa Johnstone and compiled by Ann Keesing for the Penguin History Group Inc. c.2009
“…The district is a rising and most promising one. Riana is the southern (upper) portion of the Pine road, Penguin, and, has been opened up only within the last six or seven years. The Pine road runs in a due south line from Penguin, parallel with and on the western side of the Dial Range, and extends for a distance of ten miles…..By far the larger number of farms are on the western side of the road, as also are all the by-roads. The soil is a good dark chocolate and black, and yields excellent crops. For the first eight miles from Penguin the timber is almost solely stringy bark, beyond that myrtle, sassafras, celery top pine, and blackwood are the most plentiful. The Dial Range is said to contain various minerals, but nothing of importance has yet been discovered…..The chief industries are farming and timber getting. Potatoes and oats are the chief crops. Pine Road is well supplied with educational institutions and churches, as there are three of each within a distance of four miles…. Recently two petitions were sent to the Postmaster-General, one asking for a post office to be established at Riana and the other for a telephone service from Penguin….”.
Construction of Riana’s first Anglican commenced in January 1898. The building was used as a church and school. The North West Post reported:
“The building material for the new church and school has arrived from the mill, and the contractor is now able to go on with the construction. The foundation is laid, and the building is expected to be complete in six or eight weeks’ time”.
An acre of land for the church was donated by James Bramich. Timothy Sykes Midgley was instrumental in obtaining the land and was one of the first Wardens of the church. The church was opened on Sunday 1 May 1898 by Reverend Wilfred Earle and the Rector Rev'd Canon Robert J. De Coetlogon, with some 150 in attendance for the afternoon service.
In January 1906 the church was almost lost when bushfires raging through the district. The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times reported:
“A slight change in the wind brought the fire across to the store occupied by Mr A. Frost, Mr Frost being the only one at home at the time. The post office had a narrow escape. Mr J. Stone persistently stuck to the roof and attended to it with water drawn from a well by willing workers……The Church of England had a narrow escape through sparks from from a burning tree close by…”.
In 1908 the church was renovated following the construction of a new school building at Riana which freed the building for its exclusive use as a place of worship. In 1919 further renovations and extensions were completed which were funded by the sale of “a block of 60ft. frontage of the Riana church lands” on which a public hall was built.
Following these extensive renovations, the church was dedicated on Thursday 9 December 1920:
“A memorable ceremony was witnessed at Riana, the occasion being the dedication of All Saints Church, in the presence of a large congregation. The church was prettily decorated, and although built a number of years ago had not been dedicated. A picket fence was erected a few days ago by a working bee, and the building, newly painted, presented the appearance of a new structure. The dedication ceremony was performed by the Bishop of Tasmania the Right Rev. R. S. Hay….Outside the church at tho west door a petition signed by the rector and church-wardens was delivered to the Bishop by the churchwardens, saying:-"Reverend Father in God, we pay you to dedicate this church." The Bishop answered, "Let the dedication proceed." Then the Bishop and the rector passed towards the holy table, Psalm cxxii, being meanwhile sung. The Bishop, attended by the Rev. Barrett, then proceeded with the ceremony of dedication; the font, the chancel step, the chancel, the lectern, and the holy table being visited in turn, each receiving a special blessing of dedication, the prayers and blessings being interspersed with psalms and hymns by the congregation…”.
In November 1929 All Saints’ was destroyed in a fire the evening of ‘Church of England ball’ held at the nearby Soldiers’ Memorial Hall. A report in The Examiner suggested that the fire might not have been entirely accidental:
“The local police, who seemed satisfied that the occurrence was accidental, and still appear to think so. Some Riana residents seen on Tuesday, are, however of the opposite opinion. They assert that a forcible entry was made by persons, and although the actual fire may have been an accident, or due to carelessness by these drunken men, they were responsible for the fire. Mr E. Short, one of the officials of the Riana church, laid his case before the inspector at Burnie yesterday, demanding a further and fuller enquiry by the police”.
The outcome of the enquiry is not known. However the Riana community rallied and it was not long before a new and slightly larger church was built. Bishop Hay dedicated the building on 18 November 1931. This church is the subject of another article on ‘Churches of Tasmania’. [See No. 158]
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| All Saints' Anglican church. The photograph was taken at the time of the opening of the Soldiers' Memorial Hall in 1919 - Weekly Courier |
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| All Saints' with the Soldiers' Memorial Hall in the background. The hall was built on land owned by the church. Photo: Weekly Courier |
Sources:
North West Post, Tuesday 1 February 1898, page 3
North West Post, Thursday 5 May 1898, page 2
The Mercury, Wednesday 11 May 1898, page 4
North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, Wednesday 3 January 1906, page 4
Daily Telegraph, Friday 17 July 1908, page 7
Weekly Courier, Thursday 1 May 1919, page 24
The Mercury, Wednesday 4 June 1919, page 4
The Advocate Monday 13 December 1920, page 1
The Mercury Tuesday 26 November 1929, page 7
The Examiner Wednesday 27 November 1929, page 7
Churches of Penguin and surrounding district / researched by Philippa Johnstone and compiled by Ann Keesing for the Penguin History Group Inc. c.2009
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