Churches of Tasmania

Evandale is an historic town approximately 20 kilometres from Launceston. Originally established as a military post in 1811, the general area was variously known as Collins Hill, Patersons Plains and Morven. The settlement’s name was changed to Evandale in 1836 in honour of Tasmania's first Surveyor-General, G.W. Evans. On approaching Evandale from Launceston, Saint Andrew’s Anglican church dominates the village’s skyline. The history of this church was the topic of an earlier article in ‘Churches of Tasmania’. This article examines the two lesser known Anglican churches which preceded it. The first Anglican church at Evandale opened on 19 February 1837 with Sir John Franklin performing the opening ceremony. It was a small structure that also served as a schoolroom on weekdays. The Hobart Town Courier’s report on the church’s opening makes it clear that the building was considered a temporary structure: “On Sunday last the new Church at Evandale was opened for Divine Service: Hi...

Highclere is a small settlement about 18 kilometres south of Burnie in Tasmania’s North West. The settlement grew around a siding built in 1903 by the Emu Bay Railway Company. It was initially called Oonah Road Siding before this was changed to Highclere in 1922. There were once two churches at Highclere, a Methodist church that opened in 1920 and an Anglican parish hall called St Alban’s. The ‘parish hall’ was located at the intersection of Menne Road and the Ridgley Highway opposite the Highclere State school. Both buildings have been demolished or removed. Highclere’s Community Centre now occupies the site of St Alban’s parish hall. Anglican services were held the Highclere State school from early 1925. In November 1925 the Advocate reported: “At a meeting held after the service in the local State school…..in connection with the Church of England, it was decided to purchase a site for a Church hall at Highclere. Since the formation of the congregation early in the present ...

Lachlan is a small settlement situated on the Lachlan River, approximately 6 kilometres south of New Norfolk. The settlement, which was established in 1839, is named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie. In the previous article on ‘Churches of Tasmania’ I described the establishment of two places of worship at Lachlan by Molesworth Jeffrey; the first in the late 1840s and the second in the mid 1860s. [ see No. 691 ] The latter church was destroyed by a fire in December 1930. By this time the old church was in a derelict state and had stood unused for over 20 years, having being replaced by St George’s Church of England built in 1911. This article’s focus is on the third and last church built at Lachlan. The earliest report of plans to build a new church at Lachlan was revealed by Hobart’s Daily Post in December 1910: “The residents of Lachlan are busy devising ways and means to build a new church. The services have for many years been held in a building lent by the late Mr. Jeffries, but...

Lachlan is a small settlement situated on the Lachlan River, approximately 6 kilometres south of New Norfolk. The settlement, which was established in 1839, is named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Most histories state that Lachlan had two churches; the first being a school and church built by Molesworth Jeffrey in the 1860’s with a second church was built and consecrated in 1912. In this article I suggest that there was a third and earlier church, a ‘chapel of ease’, possibly built in the late 1840’s or early 1850’s. This article will focus on both churches associated with Molesworth Jeffrey. Molesworth Jeffery was the son of Bartholomew Jeffery, governor of the Royal Exchange, St Thomas's Hospital and Bartholomew's Hospital. The young Jeffrey served in the army for several years before working in the family business. He arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1835 and bought properties at Lachlan. Following his marriage he built a home at Lachlan known as ‘Bournbank', taki...

Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania. The origins of the city date back to 1827 when a settlement was established at Emu Bay by the Van Diemen’s Land Company. Upper Burnie, as the name suggests, is a suburb located on the hills above the city and is centred along Mount Street. The Upper Burnie Methodist church opened on Sunday 2 December 1951. The building was originally the Waratah Methodist church. With the end of the mining boom and a decline in Waratah’s population, the church had stood unused for many years. In 1949 it was decided to move the building to Upper Burnie. It was dismantled by Mr. J. R. Johnson and was reassembled largely by working bees under his guidance. The land on which the church was built was donated by Mr. A. B. Clarke. The church’s bell came from the dismantled Methodist Church at Magnet. The Advocate described the church’s opening and dedication: “The church would fill a great need in a growing suburb, said the president of th...

Camp Creek was the former name of a small settlement in the Yolla district. Yolla grew up around a butter factory which opened in 1906 and is situated approximately 20 kilometres south of Wynyard. Camp Creek Methodist church was located on the road to Mount Hicks, less than a kilometre from present day Yolla. In 1909 a correspondent for the Launceston Examiner described the approach to the church: “Crossing over the picturesque Camp Creek by an old-fashioned rustic little foot-bridge, beside a rocky fording place, one passes out of the Yolla district into that of Mount Hicks. Immediately over the creek, which here dashes down in a series of pretty miniature waterfalls and cascades, stands the Methodist Chapel, a small unpretentious building but still the only place of worship in the Yolla district. Some additions have been made lately, but one notices that a coat or two of paint would improve the appearance of the chapel and preserve it from the weather at the same time”. .When th...

Middleton is a small rural settlement on the Channel Highway approximately 40 kilometres south of Kingston. The settlement was originally named Long Bay before it changed to Middleton in 1892. The name was derived from a barque named Middleton built by shipbuilder John Watson, a former overseer of the shipyard at Port Arthur. Middleton was the family name of Watson’s wife, which was also appropriated as the name of the Watson home at Long Bay. Middleton had two Anglican churches both of which were destroyed in the bushfires of 1906 and 1967. The first attempt to build an Anglican church at Middleton dates back to 1871 but this was abandoned by 1875: “The committee have to regret that the steps hitherto taken to remedy…the unhappy state of affairs…in connection with the undertaking of building a church at Long Bay have been unsuccessful….It is earnestly to be hoped, however, that something will be done….for when it is considered that there is not a single consecrated place of worship ...

Ranelagh is a township situated on the Huon River approximately 2 kilometres north of Huonville. Formerly known as Ranelagh Junction it had previously shared the name ‘Victoria’ with neighbouring Huonville. Four religious denominations have been represented at Ranelagh including Methodist, Anglican, the Salvation Army and Catholic. Ranelagh’s first Catholic church; Sacred Heart, was built in 1901 [ see No. 680 ]. In 2014 the original church was replaced by a modern building, St Mary of the Cross, dedicated to Saint Mary Mackillop. The church was officially blessed and opened by Archbishop Porteous on Sunday 10 August 2014. The church is a part of the Huon parish which comprises of four churches, including St Joseph’s in Geeveston, Mary our Hope in Dover and St James’ in Cygnet. A history of the Catholic church in the Huon region can be found on the link at the end of this page. Photograph courtesy of the Huon catholic Parish Photograph courtesy of the Huon ca...

West Pine is a small rural community approximately 8 kilometres south west of Penguin on the North West Coast.  Located west of Pine Road, the area was originally called "Pine Road West”. It was locally known as "West Pine” which was eventually adopted as the official name of the district. The history of the Anglican church at West Pine is complex but can be divided into three distinct periods: 1. 1895 -1924. The first church-school was built in 1895 and was destroyed in a fire in 1924.  2. 1925 -1944. The church-school was replaced by a parish hall. 3. 1944 - 2008. The parish hall was replaced by materials from a church previously located at South Riana. This was effectly a new building and was consecrated as the Church of the Ascension in 1945. A previous article on Churches of Tasmania [ No. 659 ] traced the history of West Pine’s first church-school and the parish hall which replaced it.  This article will focus exclusively on the Church of the A...

Tyenna is a settlement on the Tyenna River in the Upper Derwent region and is situated approximately 80 kilometres west of Hobart. Only a remnant of a once thriving rural community remains. Tyenna was officially gazetted as a town in 1918 after timber workers built sawmills in the area. Before the establishment of the towns of Fitzgerald and Maydena, Tyenna was a supply base for Adamsfield’s osmiridium miners. Bushfires have have destroyed much of old Tyenna over the years. Two religious denominations were established at Tyenna. The Anglican’s used the settlement’s public hall after a sanctuary was built in 1921 to allow for religious services. Methodist’s were active in the valley from the turn of the 20th century. In a letter to the Mercury in 1921, prominent Methodist Vincent Shoobridge outlined the early activities of the church: “For the past 20 years the Methodist Church has conducted Sunday schools and church services at Westerway, National Park, Tyenna, and Maydena, now ca...