Churches of Tasmania

Smithton is the commercial and industrial centre of the Circular Head district in the far northwest of the island. The early settlement was known as Duck River but this was changed to Smithton in 1895. Smithton is named after an Irishman, Peter Smith, who had been a constable, and later the licensee of ‘The Plough Inn,’ at Stanley. Smith moved to Duck River after buying some 500 acres of land from the Poke and Ollington families. Smith’s success enabled his return to Ireland. Regular Anglican services at Smithton were held in the State school after Reverend McEachern became the first resident minister. By 1910 services were held in Malley’s Hall which was evidently a popular venue for several denominations: “Malley’s Hall was in great request on Sunday last, no less than three different denominations making use of it. The Rev. Father O’Donnell celebrated Mass in the morning. The Anglican Church held a service in the afternoon, and the Rev. Steel (Baptist) had charge in the evening”. ...

Chigwell is a northern suburb of Hobart approximately 20 kilometres from the city. It was built and named by the Housing Department in the 1950s. It takes its name from Chigwell House, the home of William Gore Elliston in the 1840s. In 1958 an old army hut was obtained from from Brighton Camp and converted into a church hall. The building had to be demolished because of asbestos sheeting in the roof. It was replaced by a new cement block church built on the same site at the Corner of Allunga Road and Junee Street. St Martin’s was one of 73 put up for sale in 2018 to raise funds for the Anglican Church’s portion of the National Redress Scheme for victims of child sexual abuse. The church was sold in 2020 and the building has since been substantially altered. Additional information about this church is most welcome as all articles are continually updated. I can be contacted through this page or my Facebook page "Churches of Tasmania" which is linked here: Churches of Tasmani...

Lindisfarne is an eastern shore suburb within the Greater Hobart area. It is named after "Lindisfarne House", a property situated in the adjoining suburb of Rosny. The area was originally known as Beltana but this was changed to Lindisfarne in 1903. A recent article in Architecture Australia, “A church that projected progressivist ideals in Tasmanian suburbia”, Dr. Stuart King, a senior lecturer in architectural design and history at the University of Melbourne, draws the profession’s attention to Lindisfarne’s ‘Church of the Incarnation’. King describes how global events influenced the design of Catholic churches in Tasmania during the progressive era of leadership under Archbishop Sir Guilford Young. In 1970 the construction of Sacred Heart Church at Newstead, [ see No. 838 ] saw Archbishop Young’s intimate involvement in the planning of the Launceston church to accomodate the new form of participatory worship ushered in by the reforms by the Second Vatican Council. Lin...

Moonah is a suburb of Greater Hobart and is located approximately 5 kilometres north of the central business district. Moonah was previously known as South Glenorchy before it was developed as a residential area in the late 19th century The Velocity Church located on Risdon Road, Moonah, belongs to the Apostolic tradition. The Apostolic Church in Australia is now known as the “Acts Global Churches” . The Apostolic Church is a denomination that originates from the Pentecostal movement. The term "Apostolic" represents the denomination's belief that it follows the teachings of the twelve apostles who followed Christ. With roots in the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival, it seeks to stand for first-century Christianity in its faith, practices, and government. The Apostolic Church became established in Tasmania in the 1930’s and 10 churches are established in the State. The Moonah Velocity Church is located in the former premises of the Hazelwood School. Additional information about this...

Redpa is a small settlement in the far northwest approximately 40 kilometres west of Smithton. It was originally named Marrawah East before it was changed to Redpa in 1926. The residents asked that it be renamed Braddon but “the authorities decided otherwise”. Redpa is an aboriginal word for "mosquito". St John’s Mission Hall opened on Sunday 9 March 1925. The building had a dual purpose as a church and community hall. Folding doors closed to hide the altar after a church service so that the hall could be used for social events. A short article published in the Circular Head Chronicle describes the official opening of the hall: “The St. John’s Church Hall was opened by the Ven. Archdeacon Atkinson, B.A. last Sunday afternoon in the presence of a large congregation. . The Archdeacon dedicated the altar and sanctuary and expressed his pleasure at the excellent work done by the contractor, Mr. Walter Jones, of Smithton. After the service a meeting was held at which the Recto...

Moonah is a suburb of Greater Hobart and is located approximately 5 kilometres north of the central business district. Moonah was previously known as South Glenorchy before it was developed as a residential area in the late 19th century. The Companion to Tasmanian History has the following concise summary of the history of the Salvation Army in Tasmania: “The Salvation Army had a seminal link with Tasmania. Launceston businessman and philanthropist Henry Reed, living in London, gave William Booth over £5000 to establish the Salvation Army on a firm footing in about 1870. In 1883 the Salvation Army Launceston Corps began operating, and corps were formed in Hobart, Latrobe, Waratah and other towns. Marches by these 'militant servants of Christ' through the two main cities with loud music attracted the larrikin element or 'roughs', who exploded flour bombs in the Salvationists' faces or threw mud and beer. Some Salvationists were arrested for marching without permissi...

Woodbridge is a settlement on the Channel Highway approximately 40 kilometres south of Hobart. The village was originally called Peppermint Bay. It was renamed in about 1877, after Woodbridge in Suffolk, the birthplace of George Miles, one of the first settlers in the area. The Union Chapel was built in 1858 on half an acre of land donated by Joseph Davies for a place of worship for Protestants. A doorway and windows from the old Government House on Macquarie street was used in the church’s construction. In 1884 the Church of England withdrew from using the chapel after building St Simon and St Jude. After this the chapel was used solely by the Wesleyan Methodists. The chapel was destroyed in the devastating bushfires of 1897. A short report in the Hobart Mercury details the church’s end: “The Union Chapel at Woodbridge, which contained the doors and windows from the first Government house, was…levelled to the ground. Messrs Pratt and Lucas, at great risk succeeded in saving the or...

Riverside is a northern suburb of Launceston that falls under the authority of the West Tamar Municipality. As the name suggests, the church is located next to a tailrace discharging water from the Trevallyn Hydroelectric Power Station. The Riverside Community Church belongs to an evangelical group of churches known as the Acts 2 Alliance. This is a relatively new group consisting of about 30 churches across Australia.  The Tailrace Community Church is associated with The Tailrace Centre.  The church was established by Tim O' Neill in 1994 as the New Directions Community Church. In 2012 the New Directions Church developed the Tailrace Centre, a unique 3500 sq. m. conference, convention and function complex 3 kilometres from the centre of Launceston, which includes Kids Paradise and a café restaurant. The Tailrace Centre has attracted much positive attention from local, Australian and overseas interests and is designed to help the ministries of the church connect daily with p...

Rocky Cape is a rural community on the Bass Highway located about 30 kilometres north-west of the town of Wynyard. Its name is taken from a coastal feature named by Matthew Flinders in 1798. Three of Rocky Cape’s four churches have closed although all the buildings still exist with three being converted into houses. One of these is ‘Mother Of God’ Catholic church which operated for only 25 years. Rocky Cape fell under what was once the Wynyard Parish. During the time of parish priest Father Michael Flynn (1956-1965) a church was built at Rocky Cape to serve the Catholics scattered from Sisters Creek to Detention. Before a church was built the Catholic community at Rocky Cape and Sisters Hills had mass services on alternate weeks in local community halls. Little is known about the small timber church which is of a modern design. The church opened in 1962 and closed in 1987 as a result of demographic changes. In the late 1980s the church was converted into a house in a manner that h...

Invermay is a northern suburb of Launceston bounded by the Tamar River and the North Esk River. Since it was settled in the mid 19th century, nine places of worship have been built but many have these no longer exist or have been converted for other uses. The Praise Methodist Church is located in the former St George’s Anglican church on Invermay Road. The history of this church has featured in a previous article in Churches of Tasmania. [ see No. 66 ]. The Praise Methodist Church is a part of the Chinese Methodist Church of Australia which currently has 21 churches across the country. The Praise Methodist Church dates back to the early 1990s when Launceston experienced an increase in students from Asian countries studying at the University of Tasmania’s campus at Newnham. By 1997 the need for a Chinese Ministry led to the establishment of monthly Mandarin Sunday Services at Punchbowl Church. The Chinese Methodist Church Australia’s ‘Evangelistic Centre Launceston’, was officially l...

Williamsford is a former West Coast mining town on the banks of the Ring River approximately 6 kilometres south of Rosebery. Williamsford was established to house workers of the Hercules Mine run by the Electronic Zinc Company. The town was named after the first manager of the Hercules Mine, Luke Williams. In 1894, a prospector, Joseph Will, found a rich seam of silver at Mount Read. This deposit resulted in the establishment of the Hercules Mine, which reached full production by 1900. Williamsford was connected to Zeehan and its smelter by the 29-kilometre North East Dundas Tramway in 1898. The closure of the Zeehan smelter in 1913 contributed to the closure of the Hercules Mine and the abandonment of Williamsford. When the Electrolytic Zinc Company reopened the Hercules Mine in 1920, primarily for zinc extraction, Williamsford was revived and was repopulated until the mine closed in 1986. Mount Read and the Hercules Mine is also remembered for the haulage line which connected Will...

Wynyard is a town on the northwest coast approximately 20 kilometres west of the city of Burnie. The area around Wynyard was originally named Table Cape by the explorers Bass and Flinders. The name was changed to Wynyard in the 1850s, in honour of Edward Buckley Wynyard, Lieutenant-General of the New South Wales Corps. C3 Church Global, formerly known as Christian City Church International, is a charismatic church founded by Phil Pringle and Christine Pringle. The first church was started in Dee Why on the Northern Beaches of Sydney in 1980. C3 Church Global now has over 500 churches worldwide. The C3 church was located in the former Kamarah Hostel of Wynyard High School. The hostel provided accommodation for students attending Wynyard High and Hellyer College in Burnie. The church acquired the building in 2001 and the building was extended and developed in 2006. The church closed in 2024 and the building was put up for sale.  The Wynyard church was one of four C3 Churches in Tasm...

West Kentish is small settlement on the Kentish Road 8 kilometres west of Sheffield. It is named after Government Surveyor Nathaniel Kentish, who with a party of 20 probationary convicts explored and surveyed the area. The Presbyterians once had a significant presence in the Sheffield district with churches built at Barrington (1893), Sheffield (1910) and West Kentish (1915). All of these church have now gone with the Barrington church being removed to Gawler and the Sheffield church to Ulverstone. The whereabouts of the West Kentish church is not known. Presbyterian activity at West Kentish began in the 1890s. In 1891 the Presbyterian Synod reported that a ‘Sabbath school’ had been established at West Kentish and by 1893 a Presbyterian Mission had been formed. Early services were held in the local hall. A quarter of a century was to pass before a church was built. In 1915 The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times carried a brief report on the opening of the West Kentish Pre...

Lutana is a northern suburb of Hobart located on the western shore of the Derwent River and adjacent to the Risdon zinc smelter and refinery. Lutana was originally called Risdon Rise. Following a naming competition run by the Electronic Zinc Company in 1920, when building their new housing estate, the name Lutana was chosen. Lutana is an aboriginal work for ‘moon’. Our Lady of Victories is one of a handful of Tasmanian churches specifically dedicated as a memorial to men and women who served Australia during wartime. In 1961 Archbishop Guilford Young formed the new Lutana-Goodwood Parish as a separate parish out of the larger Moonah Parish. Our Lady of Victories was built on a site at Ashbolt Crescent. The Church was blessed and opened on 5th April 1964. A side chapel commemorated Archdeacon T. J. O’Donnell, the first permanent priest of the area. However the new Lutana-Goodwood parish was to be short-lived. On 26th May 2002 Archbishop Adrian Doyle reunited the Lutana with Moonah for...