Churches of Tasmania

Pioneer was originally known as Bradshaw’s Creek, so named after William Bradshaw who discovered tin in the area. The Pioneer Tin Mine was established in the 1870’s and its name eventually became that of the settlement. In 1904, the “Special Travelling Representative” for Daily Telegraph of Launceston described the settlement at Pioneer: “The township itself consists of one long street, extending right round the Pioneer tailings dump, and continuing on from there as the road to Gladstone… There are a number of neat cottages and villas erected on building allotment sites that were sold not long ago by the Government, and several of these homes, which belong for the most part to steady employees at the mine, have been greatly improved in appearance by having added to them pretty little flower gardens, as well as fruit and vegetable patches. There is only one hotel, [and] two stores kept by Messrs. F.J. Wolfe and W. Mountney, respectively… Strange to say, there is no blacksmith’s shop t...

Mole Creek is a small town about 25 kilometres west of Deloraine in Northern Tasmania. In 1827 Joseph Fossey, a Van Diemen's Land Company surveyor, named a small tributary of the Mersey River the Mole River, because sections of it ran underground.  The earliest Anglican services at Mole Creek were held in the Wesleyan chapel (built 1878). At the turn of the 20th century momentum for the establishment of a ‘Church of England’ gathered pace. In May 1900 a meeting was held with the purpose of building a church and a hall at the town: “A meeting in connection with the Anglican Church was held on Thursday evening at Mr Whitely’s residence to consider the advisability of erecting a church at Mole Creek, … Those who attended (Rev. Lingley in the chair) went into the matter heartily and settled preliminary arrangements, and deferred others of greater importance till the next meeting. Promises of support in the form of donations of timber and in cash were made, so that it is reasonable...

The first Anglican church at Ross was built in 1835 on the eastern side of the town on the hill near the old cemetery. It was consecrated by Bishop Broughton on 11 May 1838. Due to a failure of its foundations it was pulled down and replaced by the present church. Stone from the original church was used in the new building which was designed by Henry Hunter. St John’s was completed in 1869 and dedicated by Bishop Charles Bromby on the 14th of May. The interior has beautiful stained glass windows, a fine oak lectern and a Caen stone pulpit which was presented by the Kermode family of nearby Mona Vale. The spire is 50 feet high and the clock in the tower was manufactured in Birmingham, England. St John’s is a part of the Northern Midlands parish. There have been no regular services held at the church for some years. The church will be sold to meet the commitment of the Anglican Church to the national redress scheme and there are no plans to contest the sale. Link: Benefactor for the ...

Melton Mowbray lies north of Kempton in the Midland region of Tasmania. The area was originally known as Cross Marsh, so called because of a marsh that crossed the Bothwell road.(1) It was a favourite camping ground for transport teams and became a centre for the surrounding districts.(2) When Samuel Blackwell* purchased land in the area and established a hotel in 1859, it became known as Melton Mowbray, after his birthplace in Leicester. Blackwell was to play an important part in establishing the Congregational chapel at the Melton. For most of its existence the chapel at Melton Mowbray has served as a State school and as hall for the Church of England which acquired the property in 1942. This blog entry will focus on its establishment as a Congregational chapel. Its association with the Church of England will be dealt with in a separate article. Fundraising for an independent chapel at Melton Mowbray began in December 1861 with a bazaar held at Green Ponds [see advertisement below]....