Churches of Tasmania

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at Ross is a lot younger than the building appears. It was built in 1920 in ‘Federation Freestyle’ on an old Colonial Georgian base that had previously housed a residence, store and bakery belonging to the Bacon family. The Church stands on one of the “Four Famous Corners” of Ross. These being: Temptation – the Man-O-Ross Hotel; Recreation – the Town Hall (with its dances); Damnation – the former gaol… and Salvation, the Catholic Church! Although the church was built a little over a 100 years ago, Mass was celebrated in a variety of locations in the mid 19th century: “The first priests to visit Ross generally stayed at The Barracks and conducted services mainly for the troops stationed there. Earlier services were conducted from the ‘Female Factory’ site after it closed down as a prison. The Catholics were mainly convicts and... and were too poor to build their own place of worship”.  (1) By the late 19th century Ross Catholics were ser...

Dairy Plains is a rural settlement about 20km south west of Deloraine. A Wesleyan-Methodist church was built at Dairy Plains in 1861. Assistance in building the church was received from members of the Church of England. Anglican services were held in the church from 1907 and rent was paid for each service held until 1919, when it was purchased off the Methodists for a sum of £40. Bishop Robert Hay dedicated the church as “All Saints” on 30 November 1919. The cross on the altar was brought back from the war by the then Rector, The Reverend W.K. Douglas. The final service held at the church took place on 11th March 2007. Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018 Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018 Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018 Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018 Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018 Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018 Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018 Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018 Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018 Sources: Examiner, Monday 8 December 1919, page 3...

In 1870 Devonport’s first Catholic church was established at Torquay (East Devonport). Known as “Star of the Sea”, it served the Catholics of Torquay until 1899 when it was literally ferried across the Mersey River to a new site in West Devonport near to the ‘Star of the Sea’ convent that had opened in 1893. The Torquay church was built on land east of Wright Street and north of Drew Street. The opening Mass was reported in The Cornwall Chronicle: “The new Catholic Church at Torquay was opened on Wednesday the 12th (November). The very Rev. the Vicar-General delivered the opening address, [and] was assisted in his office by… [Father] Noone, the pastor of the district. The church is an ornament to the township; the design is good, and the building which was entrusted to Mr M. Woods, [is] well and faithfully executed; the interior decorations and painting were done by Mr Smith of Torquay. About 10 o’ clock crowds of people were to be seen in the township, making their way to the C...

The North Lilydale Presbyterian Church was a short-lived church that held services for approximately 20 years.   It opened on Sunday 5th August 1945, in the dying days of World War Two and on the day before the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.   A report in The Examiner published prior to the church’s opening provides some detail of its origin: “The first services at North Lilydale were conducted by Mr Robert Campbell in the school, which was erected on land given by Mrs Lowe. Later a Government school was erected and services were continued in it until it was removed to form part of the Lilydale Area School. For the past six years the services have been held in the homes of Messrs. W.C. Mathewson and C.J. Bowron.   In June last year Mr Ernest Brown, one of the pioneers of the district, suggested that a small church be erected..." A follow-up report in The Examiner describes the church’s opening on Sunday 5 August: “There was a large g...

In the 1870’s the discovery of large deposits of tin led to the founding of the township of Brother’s Home on the Ringarooma River in North East Tasmania. Renamed Derby in 1885, the town's population reached a peak of around 3000 by the end of the 19th century. In 1876, various mining leases, including the ‘Brothers Mine’, amalgamated as “The Briseis”. The name was adopted from the 1876 Melbourne Cup winner ‘Briseis’ ridden by Peter St Albans, who at the age of 12, was the youngest jockey in the history of the race. The Briseis Tin Mining Company dominated the town until the great flood of 1929 when the Briseis Dam burst, devastating the town and inundating the mine. Neither the town nor the mine fully recovered from this disaster. The Anglican Church of St Paul’s was the third church to be built at Derby. Unlike the Catholic and Wesleyan churches, records of the establishment of St Paul’s and its early years are sketchy. The first news of the church may be found in an 1891 rep...