Churches of Tasmania

Derwent Park is a largely industrial suburb within the local government are of Glenorchy. It lies about about 10 kilometres north of Hobart city centre. The name comes from the original "Derwent Park House", built by Thomas E. Wells in about 1820. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) first appeared in Tasmania in the 1850s when missionaries began to proselytise in Hobart. Despite local opposition congregations were established in Hobart in 1894 and in the Upper Huon in 1899. The first Hobart chapel opened in 1924 at Lefroy Street, followed by a chapel built at Glen Huon in 1927. The 1950s was a time of growth for the LDS and a chapel at Rosny was the first to be constructed following the acquisition of nineteen sites across Tasmania for an ambitious building program. In 1961 the LDS formed a branch at Glenorchy which initially met for worship at the Glenorchy Primary School until a suitable site for a church could be found. Soon after this an opportunity aros...

Marrawah is a small town in the north of the West Coast of Tasmania. Marrawah is mainland Tasmania's westernmost settlement and the furthest town from Hobart. It was once a rich timber district with a railway line which ran to the sawmills at Smithton. Marrawah is aboriginal for "gum tree". Marrawah’s Gospel chapel is a former Christian Brethren place of worship. It was built in 1980 and closed and was sold in 2016. The Christian Brethren originated in Great Britain in the 1820s. By the mid 19th century the movement had spread to Australia, with the first revival meetings held in Tasmania from 1869. As a result, fellowships were formed in Hobart, Launceston, the Huon Valley, Smithton, Sheffield, Wynyard, Burnie and Scottsdale by the end of the 1870s. The Brethren placed an emphasis on weekly communion, the baptism of believers by immersion, and evangelism. The Christian Brethren should not be confused with the 'Exclusive Brethren’, (now known as the Plymouth Brethren)...

Devonport was established in 1890 with the merging of two towns on the opposite banks of the Mersey River; Formby on the west bank and Torquay on the east bank. The area was first settled in the 1840s. The Park Street Baptist church Hall in West Devonport was built in 1953 to accomodate a Baptist Sunday school which had been previously held in a private home. The hall was built on donated land and constructed by voluntary labour. The official opening of the hall on Saturday 3 May is recorded in the Advocate: “Adherents of the Baptist Church from many parts of Tasmania attended the opening and dedication of the Baptist Church Hall in Parker St., Devonport, on Saturday afternoon. The function was performed by the general secretary of the Baptist Union in Tasmania (Rev. E. E. Watson). The opening ceremony and dedication were presided over by the minister of the Devon port Church (Rev. Max D. Brewer)…..Mr. Watson brought the greetings and congratulations of the Baptist Union. He declared t...

  Stanley is a historic town on the northwest coast approximately 80 kilometres west of Burnie. The Van Diemen's Land Company once had its headquarters here when it was originally known as Circular Head. The settlement was later named after Lord Stanley, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, who went on to serve three terms as British Prime Minister. Stanley has had four Catholic places of worship: Edward Curr’s Chapel at Highfield House (1838); a church built of timber (1850); a brick church (1897) and the present brick church (1931). This article’s focus is on the first brick church which stood for a little over 30 years before it was demolished in 1930. In 1897 Stanley’s original weatherboard Catholic church was replaced after nearly a half a century of continual use. A new church was built alongside the original church which was later demolished. In January 1897 a visitor to Stanley noted the passing of the old building: “Further up the main street we find the foundation of ...

Devonport was created in 1890 with the merging of two towns on the opposite banks of the Mersey River; Formby on the west bank and Torquay on the east bank. The area was first settled in the 1840s. The Lutheran Church of Australia is the major Lutheran denomination in Australia. It has 450 congregations and 70,000 members according to official statistics as of 2013. The first Lutherans to come to Australia in significant numbers were the immigrants from Prussia, who arrived in 1838 following the persecution of "Old Lutherans" who refused to join the Prussian Union, under King Frederick Wilhelm. Some 20,000 German Lutherans migrated to South Australia between 1838 and 1860. Tasmanian Lutheran communities were established from the late 1940s following migration to the State after the Second World War. There are four Lutheran congregations in Tasmania. Trinity Lutheran Church is located on Forbes Street in West Devonport. It is part of the North Tasmania Lutheran parish comprisi...

West Kentish is small settlement centred on the Kentish Road 8 kilometres west of Sheffield. The area is named after Government Surveyor Nathaniel Kentish, who with a party of 20 probationary convicts explored and surveyed the area. The Methodists were active at West Kentish as early as the mid 1920s when a minister was supplied for the settlement’s Presbyterian church. The Presbyterian church, which was built in 1915, struggled to secure the service of a permanent Presbyterian minister from outset and this continued until services ceased in the early 1930s. In 1936 a report in the Advocate records the end of the Presbyterian’s association with the building: “The Presbyterian Church building a West Kentish has not been used for services for some years, and regret has been expressed by residents that this should be so. Recently arrangements were made by the Methodists to use the building for services….Thanks are due to the ladies who formed a working-bee to clean and brighten the buildi...

Wivenhoe is a suburb of Burnie situated on the east bank of the Emu River. It has developed into an industrialised area less than 3 kilometres south-east of the city centre. In the 1850s the area was named after the town (and parish) of Wivenhoe in Essex County by Captain Henry Butler. Wivenhoe’s former Anglican church stands near the corner of Corcellis Street and Main Road. The building still exists although it is now barely recognisable as a church. Since the church’s closure in the 1970s it has been clad in ‘colorbond’ sheeting and has been shifted to the rear of the corner block. The origins of the church presents a mystery as there are no reports in contemporary newspapers of an Anglican church being built or opened at Wivenhoe. The reason for this is that the building was originally a Presbyterian church hall which opened in February 1915. [ see No. 861 ]. The Presbyterian hall operated for less than four years and in July 1919 it was acquired by the Anglican church. The Emu Bay...

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. The Elnathan Chapel Community Church is situated on Havelock Street. The chapel falls under the umbrella of the Association of Christian Community Churches in Victoria and Tasmania. The association describes itself as “a movement of like-minded local churches, predominantly of a Christian Brethren heritage, that have united under a common vision and mission, set of beliefs and core values”. The Christian Brethren originated in Great Britain in the 1820s. By the mid 19th century the movement had spread to Australia, with the first revival meetings held in Tasmania from 1869. As a result, fellowships were formed in Hobart, Launceston, the Huon Valley, Smithto...

New Town is a northern suburb of Hobart. It is also one of Hobart’s oldest suburbs and consequently the area contains many historic churches. New Town became a municipality in 1907 but was absorbed into Greater Hobart in the 1920s when its municipal status was relinquished. Roope Street dates back to the 1850s and intersects New Town Road and Pirie Street. It is most likely named after Lavington Roope, a successful Hobart merchant and Vice Consul for Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Little information is available about the former Salvation Army Hall located at 16 Roope Street. At present the building serves as commercial premises and in recent years has been used by the Southern Presbyterian Church. What is known is that the Salvation Army hall was opened on Saturday 8 February 1913 by Commissioner Hay and Colonel Knight. Apart from an advertisement in the Daily Post in January 1913, seeking “first-class carpenters” for the hall’s construction, little else is known about the b...

South Riana is a small rural settlement approximately 20 kilometres south of Penguin at the junction of Pine Road and Masters Road. The settlement was started as a base camp for loggers and cutters before becoming a centre for the surrounding agricultural district. The history of South Riana’s former Anglican Church Hall is that of a very well travelled building. It began as a church built at to serve the townships of Ellenton and Cuprona [ see No. 743 ] and completed its journey at West Pine [ see No. 686 ] where the building, now a house, can be found today. This article’s focus is on the middle part of the church’s journey when the building was used as an Anglican church hall at South Riana between 1921 and 1944. In April 1921 The Advocate recorded the removal of the church from Cuprona to South Riana: “A start has been made with the erection of the church hall for the Church of England. The site - an half acre on the mill road, just below the residence of Mrs. J. J. Barker - was c...

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 successful enterprises enabled his return to Ireland. The earliest record of Methodist activity at Smithton dates back to 1907 with the establishment of a Sunday school. The first meetings for worship were held in a potato shed, in the State schoolroom, in the open air and in private residences. In April 1910 the Methodists rented Smithton’s Presbyterian church after services were discontinued. In the same month, Reverend W. Bridgeborn was appointed as the first permanent minister. The Methodists had intended to buy St Andrew’s Presbyterian church but...

Montagu is a rural settlement approximately 16 kilometres west of Smithton on the Montagu Road. It was built up by the Van Diemen's Land Company to house men working on "Woolnorth" property. It is believed to be named after an official of the Van Diemen's Land Company. Montagu’s Community Church location falls under the umbrella of the Association of Christian Community Churches in Victoria and Tasmania. The association describes itself as “a movement of like-minded local churches, predominantly of a Christian Brethren heritage, that have united under a common vision and mission, set of beliefs and core values”. The Christian Brethren, also known as the Plymouth Brethren, originated in Great Britain in the 1820s. By the mid 19th century the movement had spread to Australia, with the first revival meetings held in Tasmania from 1869. As a result, fellowships were formed in Hobart, Launceston, the Huon Valley, Smithton, Sheffield, Wynyard, Burnie and Scottsdale by the e...

The Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers have had a presence in Tasmania for almost 200 years. This blog entry will review the Quakers first meeting house which was established on Murray Street. This article is substantially based on the University of Tasmania’s Companion to Tasmanian History which was developed by the Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies. The history of the the ‘Society of Friends’ dates back to the early 1830s when two English Quakers, James Backhouse and George Washington Walker visited Van Diemen's Land with a mission to investigate contemporary Quaker concerns: the treatment of convicts and Aborigines, promoting temperance, and preaching the Gospel to settlers. The first Quaker meeting for worship in Australia took place in Hobart on 12 February 1832. Encouraged by Lt-Governor Arthur, Backhouse and Walker spent three years visiting almost every convict and Aboriginal settlement. Detailed reports to to Governor Arthur as well as the Colonial Office and...

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 was a constable, and later the licensee of ‘The Plough Inn,’ at Stanley. The Dreambuilders Church located on Brittons Road is associated with the Apostolic tradition. The church was previously known as the The New Life Centre Apostolic Church. In recent years the Apostolic Church in Australia has been renamed and is now called the “Acts Global Churches” . The Apostolic Church is a Christian denomination that came 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 Chu...