No. 1668 - Hobart - St Joseph's Catholic Church (1841)
St Joseph’s, Hobart’s oldest Catholic church, is located at the corner of Harrington and Macquarie Streets. It was built following the appointment of Father John Joseph Therry as Vicar-General of Tasmania in 1839.
Therry was an ambitious church builder but his incautious handling of finances became the cause of considerable controversy. He intended to build a church at “Mount Carmel”, the site of St Virgil’s Chapel [see No. 944], now the location of St Mary’s Cathedral. St Virgil’s had been abandoned in 1836 due to the deterioration of the building and Mass was held at the Argyle Rooms until St Joseph’s opened in 1841. It was Therry’s intention that St Joseph’s would serve as a secondary church until a more substantial church could be built at Mount Carmel. However, given that St Mary’s Cathedral was only completed in 1866, St Joseph’s unofficially served as Hobart’s first Catholic cathedral for a quarter of a century. Indeed, the first Bishop of Hobart, Robert William Willson, was installed in St Joseph’s on 12 May 1844.
The foundation stone for St Joseph’s was ceremonially laid on 16 July 1840, the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The ceremony was led by Therry due to the inadvertent absence of Bishop Polding of Sydney. In his address to “the assembled multitude”, Therry expressed his gratitude to John Moses, a prominent member of the local Jewish community. Moses had agreed to sell the valuable Macquarie Street site to Father Therry “at a considerable sacrifice of personal interest on the same terms as those on which he had purchased it”.
The building was designed in the Gothic ‘picturesque style’ by former convict, James Thomson. It was built using with local sandstone hewn by convict labor and built by John and Robert Meikle and James Priest.
St Joseph’s was opened and blessed in 1841 at a midnight Mass held on Christmas day. The ‘Austral-Asiatic Review, Tasmanian and Australian Advertiser’ reported:
“That very handsome edifice, the new Catholic Church, Macquarie-street, was opened immediately after midnight, at the commencement of Christmas Day, with that beautiful service appropriated to the occasion, so characteristic of the the solemnity of the Catholic Church. The Very Rev. the Vicar-General Therry, officiated, with his usual impressiveness. Although at so late an hour of night, or rather so early of the morning, the church was crowded to its utmost capacity…”.
Apart from the church’s tower, which was only completed in 1843, the exterior of the building has little changed over its long history. A sketch by T. Chapman, published in 1844, reveals a building with minor differences from the church as it appears today. Chapman’s drawing has gothic windows of plain leaded glass on the west, which were duplicated on the east side. On the top of the tower, which rose to 60 feet, was a stone cross and decorated finials. The roof was shingled and in front of the church was a low stone wall and ornamental railings with three gateways, two of which were lighted by lamps.
The original interior of St Joseph’s had more significant differences. By the time the building had been furnished in 1843, the north west end had a gallery for a choir with two small sacristies below, with connecting doors from the presbytery behind a wooden partition painted and gilded in gothic style. The high altar stood in front raised on a dais and there were also two side altars. Above the altar hung a painting of the Resurrection by Mather Brown, which had been purchased in 1838 and which had been hung in the temporary chapel in the Argyle Rooms. At the tower end of the building was a small public gallery. The roof beams were painted to imitate English oak and the walls were plastered and whitewashed. Four chandeliers light the interior, seating was of straight back cedar pews and a carved stone font was located near the entrance. The total cost of the building and its furnishings amounted to a little over £5000.
Between 1856 and 1893 the plain lead light windows were replaced with stained glass. Most of the stained glass windows were crafted by Hardman and Scott of Birmingham and were designed in honour of the English Gothic Revival architect Augustus Pugin.
In 1856 Bishop Willson decided to enlarge St Joseph’s sanctuary given that funds were insufficient to commence building the cathedral. The alterations were supervised by architect Henry Hunter who had recently arrived in Hobart to join his brother George, who was a local priest. The renovations included a cedar pulpit designed Henry Hunter. In front of the sanctuary a cedar rood screen was built on top of which was mounted a crucifix brought to Tasmania by Bishop Willson. The rood screen was was removed in 1959 to enable a clear view of the altar. The pulpit, which stood in front of the rood screen was moved into the sanctuary when the screen was removed in 1959.
In 1860 a bell was hung in the tower. This was cast in the Mears Whitechapel Foundry in London and bears Bishop Willson's official arms. In 1877, a sandstone side chapel was built as a choir for the Sisters of Charity. In the 1930s the Sister’s chapel was replaced by a red brick chapel built by Jack Dunne. The church’s 14 terracotta Stations of the Cross were imported from Lyon, France, and were installed in 1893.
The church underwent further extensive restoration in 1891, the jubilee year of its opening. In 1905 an alabaster altar, designed by architect Douglas Salier, who was a student of Henry Hunter. Further restoration work was undertaken in 1959 when the rood screen was removed. In the 1980s extensive restoration of the stonework took place when the church was declared a National Trust historic building.
St Joseph’s has been under the care of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ since 1956. The 70th anniversary of the Passionists in Hobart was celebrated on 18 July of this year.
Sources and Further Information
The True Colonist Van Diemen's Land Political Despatch, Friday 10 July 1840.
Hobart Town Advertiser, Friday 17 July 1840, page 2
Colonial Times, Tuesday 21 July 1840, page 6
The Austal-Asiatic Review, Tasmanian and Australian Advertiser, Friday 31 December 1841, page 2
The Courier, Friday 30 September 1842, page 2
The Courier, Friday 8 August 1856, page 2
Mercury, Saturday 8 July 1905, page 11
Tasmanian News, Monday 12 June 1905, page 2
Mercury, Thursday 25 July 1940, page 7
Mercury, Saturday 20 December 1941, page 4
St Joseph's Church, Hobart, 1841-1991 : a history / compiled for the sesqui-centenary by Shirley King.
https://www.passionistshobart.org.au/st-josephs-church-2/
https://hobart.catholic.org.au/2026/07/21/a-spiritual-home-in-the-heart-of-hobart-passionists-celebrate-70-years-at-st-josephs/
Therry was an ambitious church builder but his incautious handling of finances became the cause of considerable controversy. He intended to build a church at “Mount Carmel”, the site of St Virgil’s Chapel [see No. 944], now the location of St Mary’s Cathedral. St Virgil’s had been abandoned in 1836 due to the deterioration of the building and Mass was held at the Argyle Rooms until St Joseph’s opened in 1841. It was Therry’s intention that St Joseph’s would serve as a secondary church until a more substantial church could be built at Mount Carmel. However, given that St Mary’s Cathedral was only completed in 1866, St Joseph’s unofficially served as Hobart’s first Catholic cathedral for a quarter of a century. Indeed, the first Bishop of Hobart, Robert William Willson, was installed in St Joseph’s on 12 May 1844.
The foundation stone for St Joseph’s was ceremonially laid on 16 July 1840, the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The ceremony was led by Therry due to the inadvertent absence of Bishop Polding of Sydney. In his address to “the assembled multitude”, Therry expressed his gratitude to John Moses, a prominent member of the local Jewish community. Moses had agreed to sell the valuable Macquarie Street site to Father Therry “at a considerable sacrifice of personal interest on the same terms as those on which he had purchased it”.
The building was designed in the Gothic ‘picturesque style’ by former convict, James Thomson. It was built using with local sandstone hewn by convict labor and built by John and Robert Meikle and James Priest.
St Joseph’s was opened and blessed in 1841 at a midnight Mass held on Christmas day. The ‘Austral-Asiatic Review, Tasmanian and Australian Advertiser’ reported:
“That very handsome edifice, the new Catholic Church, Macquarie-street, was opened immediately after midnight, at the commencement of Christmas Day, with that beautiful service appropriated to the occasion, so characteristic of the the solemnity of the Catholic Church. The Very Rev. the Vicar-General Therry, officiated, with his usual impressiveness. Although at so late an hour of night, or rather so early of the morning, the church was crowded to its utmost capacity…”.
Apart from the church’s tower, which was only completed in 1843, the exterior of the building has little changed over its long history. A sketch by T. Chapman, published in 1844, reveals a building with minor differences from the church as it appears today. Chapman’s drawing has gothic windows of plain leaded glass on the west, which were duplicated on the east side. On the top of the tower, which rose to 60 feet, was a stone cross and decorated finials. The roof was shingled and in front of the church was a low stone wall and ornamental railings with three gateways, two of which were lighted by lamps.
The original interior of St Joseph’s had more significant differences. By the time the building had been furnished in 1843, the north west end had a gallery for a choir with two small sacristies below, with connecting doors from the presbytery behind a wooden partition painted and gilded in gothic style. The high altar stood in front raised on a dais and there were also two side altars. Above the altar hung a painting of the Resurrection by Mather Brown, which had been purchased in 1838 and which had been hung in the temporary chapel in the Argyle Rooms. At the tower end of the building was a small public gallery. The roof beams were painted to imitate English oak and the walls were plastered and whitewashed. Four chandeliers light the interior, seating was of straight back cedar pews and a carved stone font was located near the entrance. The total cost of the building and its furnishings amounted to a little over £5000.
Between 1856 and 1893 the plain lead light windows were replaced with stained glass. Most of the stained glass windows were crafted by Hardman and Scott of Birmingham and were designed in honour of the English Gothic Revival architect Augustus Pugin.
In 1856 Bishop Willson decided to enlarge St Joseph’s sanctuary given that funds were insufficient to commence building the cathedral. The alterations were supervised by architect Henry Hunter who had recently arrived in Hobart to join his brother George, who was a local priest. The renovations included a cedar pulpit designed Henry Hunter. In front of the sanctuary a cedar rood screen was built on top of which was mounted a crucifix brought to Tasmania by Bishop Willson. The rood screen was was removed in 1959 to enable a clear view of the altar. The pulpit, which stood in front of the rood screen was moved into the sanctuary when the screen was removed in 1959.
In 1860 a bell was hung in the tower. This was cast in the Mears Whitechapel Foundry in London and bears Bishop Willson's official arms. In 1877, a sandstone side chapel was built as a choir for the Sisters of Charity. In the 1930s the Sister’s chapel was replaced by a red brick chapel built by Jack Dunne. The church’s 14 terracotta Stations of the Cross were imported from Lyon, France, and were installed in 1893.
The church underwent further extensive restoration in 1891, the jubilee year of its opening. In 1905 an alabaster altar, designed by architect Douglas Salier, who was a student of Henry Hunter. Further restoration work was undertaken in 1959 when the rood screen was removed. In the 1980s extensive restoration of the stonework took place when the church was declared a National Trust historic building.
St Joseph’s has been under the care of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ since 1956. The 70th anniversary of the Passionists in Hobart was celebrated on 18 July of this year.
* Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs are my own.
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| Lithographed, printed, and published by T. Bluett in 1844 (after an original work by Thomas Evans Chapman). |
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| The pulpit designed by Henry Hunter |
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| Source: State Library and Archives of Tasmania: NS1013/1/845, c.1920. |
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| A Real photo postcard (RPPC) c.1900. |
Sources and Further Information
Hobart Town Advertiser, Friday 17 July 1840, page 2
Colonial Times, Tuesday 21 July 1840, page 6
The Austal-Asiatic Review, Tasmanian and Australian Advertiser, Friday 31 December 1841, page 2
The Courier, Friday 30 September 1842, page 2
The Courier, Friday 8 August 1856, page 2
Mercury, Saturday 8 July 1905, page 11
Tasmanian News, Monday 12 June 1905, page 2
Mercury, Thursday 25 July 1940, page 7
Mercury, Saturday 20 December 1941, page 4
St Joseph's Church, Hobart, 1841-1991 : a history / compiled for the sesqui-centenary by Shirley King.
https://www.passionistshobart.org.au/st-josephs-church-2/
https://hobart.catholic.org.au/2026/07/21/a-spiritual-home-in-the-heart-of-hobart-passionists-celebrate-70-years-at-st-josephs/
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