Churches of Tasmania

Castle Forbes Bay is located on the Huon Highway approximately 50 kilometres south of Hobart. overlooking the Huon River. It is named after the ship, Castle Forbes, which landed sick Irish women migrants at nearby Hospital Bay in 1836. It is thought that the Captain of the "Castle Forbes" mistook the Huon River for the Derwent. It was settled in the 1850s and in 1856 a pardoned convict, James Reid, planted the first apple trees in the area. Irish settlers were prominent at Castle Forbes Bay and were mainly engaged in market gardening. Two churches were built at Castle Forbes Bay, a Methodist church in the 1870s (which was replaced in 1905) and a Catholic church which opened in 1904. Little is known about the settlements first Wesleyan-Methodist church and the exact year of its establishment cannot be determined. The earliest report of Wesleyan-Methodist preachers active at Castle Forbes Bay dates back to May 1860: “While paying a visit to the locality [Mr Cope] had preached t...

Montello an inner southern suburb of Burnie situated on the Montello Hills between the city and Upper Burnie. The hills were named by the Van Diemen's Land Company. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church was established in 1961. It is a small denomination with representation in Tasmania, Queensland and New South Wales. The church was founded in Tasmania and the ordination of its first ministers took place in Launceston: “The historical scene was then set for the actual birth of the EPC. It took place on Thursday evening, the 28th. September, 1961, in "Chalmers Hall", Frederick Street, Launceston. This in many ways was most appropriate, for Chalmers Church was the original Free Church in Launceston”. Since the 1960s the Evangelical Presbyterian Church has had several congregations in Tasmania including Hobart, Taranna, Penguin, Burnie and Winnaleah. The church at Montello was built on Tattersall Street in 1962. In April 1970 Burnie became a preaching station under the care of...