No. 1666 - Kingston - Uniting Church - Rowallan Park (2014)

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Kingston is a large town located approximately 12 kilometres south of Hobart. The area was first settled in 1804 and was known as Brown’s River, after Scottish botanist Robert Brown, who had visited the area. The settlement later became known as Kingston which was eventually officially adopted in 1882.

The Uniting Church at Kingston is located on a 3 acre site at Boronia Hill, which previously served as a Presbyterian youth campsite, Rowallan Park. The camp operated from the 1950s through to the 1970s. The site included a basic wooden church hall and simple dormitory facilities. It was named after Lord Rowallan (Thomas Corbett), who served as the Chief Scout of the British Commonwealth from 1945 to 1959. During the post-World War II era, it was highly popular for churches to name camp sites and bush properties after prominent scouting figures to highlight outdoor education, resilience, and youth fellowship

When the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregational churches merged in 1977 to form the Uniting Church in Australia, Rowallan Park came under the care of the Kingston Uniting Church.

While the new congregation initially kept using the older hall for local fellowship groups the rustic campsite facilities gradually fell out of use. In the early 2000s it was decided to transform the old campground into an ‘inclusive pocket neighbourhood’. For many years, the Kingston Uniting Church ran a social fellowship group linked with a Tasmanian disability support network called Crossroads. Church members noticed a need for local, long-term housing where young people with disabilities could live independently.

In 2014 construction of a facility for the Rowallan Park Intentional Community was completed. The modern facility, designed by architects Morrison & Breytenbach, included a multi-functional ‘Worship Space and Community Centre’ accessible to those with disabilities. Regular services are held at Rowallan Park which is the only Uniting Church facility in Greater Kingston.


Rowallan Park Community and Worship Centre - kingstonunitingtas.org

Rowallan Park Community and Worship Centre - kingstonunitingtas.org


Sources and Further Information:

https://crosslight.org.au/2015/11/01/kingston-community/
https://victas.uca.org.au/where-church-meets-community/
https://www.kingstonunitingtas.org/our-service
https://www.facebook.com/KingstonUnitingChurch

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