No. 1654 - North West Bay - Primitive Methodist Church (1887 and 1895)
In the 19th century North West Bay was the name given to a coastal region south of Kingston which included small settlements such as Snug and Margate. The Primitive Methodists was active in this region from the 1860s until the time of the Methodist Union in 1902.
The Primitive Methodist movement began in 1808 and was led by Methodist lay preacher Hugh Bourne, who had been expelled from the British Methodist movement. Bourne and his followers became known as Primitive Methodists, meaning ‘first’ or ‘original’. Bourne's followers were also disparagingly called ‘Ranters’, a reference to their crude and often noisy preaching. Their outdoor camp meetings generally attracted the working classes who sometimes did not feel that they were accepted by the Wesleyan Methodists.
The centre of Primitive Methodism in Tasmania was at Launceston while the movement was far less successful in Hobart and the South. Wallace Barns traces the establishment of the church in southern Tasmania in the booklet ‘A History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion in Tasmania’:
“Before the arrival of E.C. Pritchard in late 1860, laymen went from Launceston to begin missioning in Hobart Town. But the cause in Hobart was never strong, probably because of the sociological fact that Primitive Methodism had an appeal to the working class and Hobart, with its elegant society had a class consciousness that placed firm restrictions upon movement within society. This meant a certain lack in evangelistic zeal, for too much enthusiasm as shown in open-air preaching etc. was thought a little fanatical”.
Charles Dugan’s ‘Century of Tasmanian Methodism’ states that the first first Primitive Methodist service at Hobart was held in a large room at the lower end of Argyle Street. Further meetings were held in a building in Argyle Street, between Macquarie and Collins Streets. In 1860 the British Primitive Methodist Conference appointed Edward Cook Pritchard to Hobart, where he arrived in late 1860. Prior to this a local preacher, John Shepherd, had moved to Hobart and carried out work in preparation for the new missionary.
In 1861 the Knox Chapel was purchased at a cost of £850. The first service was held on Sunday 21 April 1861 and the chapel was officially opened on Sunday 19 May….From the Collin’s Street base, Primitive Methodist communities and ‘preaching places’ were established at Kingston, Snug, Margate and Woodbridge. Nearer Hobart ‘preaching places’ were established at Summerleas; Arthur Street; Goulburn Street; Sackville Street; Sandy Bay and New Town.
The church extended its activities south of Hobart in the 1860s. Barns writes:
“North West Bay, between Kingston and Snug, applied for services by the preacher who was scheduled for Kingston. From June 1864, the preacher for Kingston continued on to North West Bay to preach. Four years later the appointment was dropped, only to be resumed six months later. In the eighties there was an average of 50 hearers at services, which were held in a private home. North West Bay is mentioned as late as 1894 but Margate, discontinued in 1890, may have been the same cause. The chapel at Snug was erected in 1887, to seat 80, costing £41. A new chapel was built in 1895 to seat 250 people for there were about 170 regular attendants at worship”.
In her book ‘The Snug: A History of the Snug - Electrona - Coningham Area’, Julie Gardham provides a few more details about the Primitive Methodists at Snug:
“Snug became a preaching place supplied by the Kingston and Hobart churches. Many local families already worshipped as Primitive Methodists, and even before a local chapel was built, were married in private homes according according to its rights. These included many members of the Sproul(e), Worsley, Woods, Jarvis, Jones and Adams families…. In 1898, Reverend H. Barber from Collins Street regularly preached there, but with the impending Methodist union, the Primitives decided to close their doors and sold at the end of that year. The Sunday school continued until at least 1900”.
Presumably, after its closure, the successor to the second North West Bay Primitive Methodist church was the new Methodist church at Margate that was constructed in 1901.
A search of newspapers from the 1880s and 1890s finds no mention of a Primitive Methodist church at Snug or North West Bay. It is probable that the churches referred to by both Barns and Gardham was nearer to Margate than to Snug, the distance between the two settlements being only 5 kilometres. There are however several reports of Primitive Methodist activity at North West Bay published the Hobart Mercury. The earliest of these is in 1870:
“The Reverend J. Long, Primitive Methodist Minister, has been paying ministerial visits to Kingston, North West Bay and Summerleas”.
And then in April 1876:
“The Primitive Methodists of North West Bay held their first public tea meeting on the 11th inst: and the weather being favourable, there was a numerous gathering. After tea, addresses were delivered by a number of gentlemen, including the Rev. C. Anthony, of Hobert Town”.
In January 1885. The Mercury reported that the Primitive Methodist had “held a camp meeting on Mr. N. Lucas’ ground” and that “the congregation” was “very large”.
Nathaniel Lucas’ farm lay on the northern edge of what is now Margate and it was probably here that the first simple chapel was built arising out of the successful camp meeting held in 1885. It is probable that the second church was was built on land purchased on the corner of what was then Cross Road and Perrins Road.
The Primitive Methodist movement began in 1808 and was led by Methodist lay preacher Hugh Bourne, who had been expelled from the British Methodist movement. Bourne and his followers became known as Primitive Methodists, meaning ‘first’ or ‘original’. Bourne's followers were also disparagingly called ‘Ranters’, a reference to their crude and often noisy preaching. Their outdoor camp meetings generally attracted the working classes who sometimes did not feel that they were accepted by the Wesleyan Methodists.
The centre of Primitive Methodism in Tasmania was at Launceston while the movement was far less successful in Hobart and the South. Wallace Barns traces the establishment of the church in southern Tasmania in the booklet ‘A History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion in Tasmania’:
“Before the arrival of E.C. Pritchard in late 1860, laymen went from Launceston to begin missioning in Hobart Town. But the cause in Hobart was never strong, probably because of the sociological fact that Primitive Methodism had an appeal to the working class and Hobart, with its elegant society had a class consciousness that placed firm restrictions upon movement within society. This meant a certain lack in evangelistic zeal, for too much enthusiasm as shown in open-air preaching etc. was thought a little fanatical”.
Charles Dugan’s ‘Century of Tasmanian Methodism’ states that the first first Primitive Methodist service at Hobart was held in a large room at the lower end of Argyle Street. Further meetings were held in a building in Argyle Street, between Macquarie and Collins Streets. In 1860 the British Primitive Methodist Conference appointed Edward Cook Pritchard to Hobart, where he arrived in late 1860. Prior to this a local preacher, John Shepherd, had moved to Hobart and carried out work in preparation for the new missionary.
In 1861 the Knox Chapel was purchased at a cost of £850. The first service was held on Sunday 21 April 1861 and the chapel was officially opened on Sunday 19 May….From the Collin’s Street base, Primitive Methodist communities and ‘preaching places’ were established at Kingston, Snug, Margate and Woodbridge. Nearer Hobart ‘preaching places’ were established at Summerleas; Arthur Street; Goulburn Street; Sackville Street; Sandy Bay and New Town.
The church extended its activities south of Hobart in the 1860s. Barns writes:
“North West Bay, between Kingston and Snug, applied for services by the preacher who was scheduled for Kingston. From June 1864, the preacher for Kingston continued on to North West Bay to preach. Four years later the appointment was dropped, only to be resumed six months later. In the eighties there was an average of 50 hearers at services, which were held in a private home. North West Bay is mentioned as late as 1894 but Margate, discontinued in 1890, may have been the same cause. The chapel at Snug was erected in 1887, to seat 80, costing £41. A new chapel was built in 1895 to seat 250 people for there were about 170 regular attendants at worship”.
In her book ‘The Snug: A History of the Snug - Electrona - Coningham Area’, Julie Gardham provides a few more details about the Primitive Methodists at Snug:
“Snug became a preaching place supplied by the Kingston and Hobart churches. Many local families already worshipped as Primitive Methodists, and even before a local chapel was built, were married in private homes according according to its rights. These included many members of the Sproul(e), Worsley, Woods, Jarvis, Jones and Adams families…. In 1898, Reverend H. Barber from Collins Street regularly preached there, but with the impending Methodist union, the Primitives decided to close their doors and sold at the end of that year. The Sunday school continued until at least 1900”.
Presumably, after its closure, the successor to the second North West Bay Primitive Methodist church was the new Methodist church at Margate that was constructed in 1901.
A search of newspapers from the 1880s and 1890s finds no mention of a Primitive Methodist church at Snug or North West Bay. It is probable that the churches referred to by both Barns and Gardham was nearer to Margate than to Snug, the distance between the two settlements being only 5 kilometres. There are however several reports of Primitive Methodist activity at North West Bay published the Hobart Mercury. The earliest of these is in 1870:
“The Reverend J. Long, Primitive Methodist Minister, has been paying ministerial visits to Kingston, North West Bay and Summerleas”.
And then in April 1876:
“The Primitive Methodists of North West Bay held their first public tea meeting on the 11th inst: and the weather being favourable, there was a numerous gathering. After tea, addresses were delivered by a number of gentlemen, including the Rev. C. Anthony, of Hobert Town”.
In January 1885. The Mercury reported that the Primitive Methodist had “held a camp meeting on Mr. N. Lucas’ ground” and that “the congregation” was “very large”.
Nathaniel Lucas’ farm lay on the northern edge of what is now Margate and it was probably here that the first simple chapel was built arising out of the successful camp meeting held in 1885. It is probable that the second church was was built on land purchased on the corner of what was then Cross Road and Perrins Road.
The third church, the Methodist church built in 1901, was at a new site closer to Margate, at the intersection of Nierinna Road and Sandfly Road. This is now the Margate Christian Church.
Sources:
The Mercury, Thursday 19 May 1870, page 3
The Mercury, Saturday 31 December 1870, page 4
The Mercury, Friday 14 April 1876, page 1
The Mercury, Friday 16 January 1885, page 3
The Mercury, Friday 8 June 1888, page 2
Barns, Wallace. and Methodist Church of Australasia. A history of the primitive Methodist connexion in Tasmania, 1857-1902 : an abridgement Methodist Church of Australia, Victoria and Tasmania Conference, Tasmanian Division [Launceston, Tas 1970
Dugan, C. C. A century of Tasmanian Methodism, 1820-1920 / by C.C. Dugan Tasmania Methodist Assembly [Hobart] 1920
Gardam, Julie. The Snug : a history of the Snug-Electrona-Coningham area [Snug, Tasmania] 2015
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| The first church was built after a camp meeting held on the property of Nathaniel Lucas in 1885. The Mercury January 1885 |
Sources:
The Mercury, Thursday 19 May 1870, page 3
The Mercury, Saturday 31 December 1870, page 4
The Mercury, Friday 14 April 1876, page 1
The Mercury, Friday 16 January 1885, page 3
The Mercury, Friday 8 June 1888, page 2
Barns, Wallace. and Methodist Church of Australasia. A history of the primitive Methodist connexion in Tasmania, 1857-1902 : an abridgement Methodist Church of Australia, Victoria and Tasmania Conference, Tasmanian Division [Launceston, Tas 1970
Dugan, C. C. A century of Tasmanian Methodism, 1820-1920 / by C.C. Dugan Tasmania Methodist Assembly [Hobart] 1920
Gardam, Julie. The Snug : a history of the Snug-Electrona-Coningham area [Snug, Tasmania] 2015
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