Churches of Tasmania

This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches and religious orders. These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and rarely feature in published histories. My aim is to create a basic record of these buildings, including those that no longer exist In April 1893 four Sisters of the Good Shepherd Order arrived in Tasmania to take charge of the new Magdalen Home established as “an asylum and home of refuge to win back modern Magdalens who [had] fallen from the paths of rectitude and virtue”. A large bequest from the estate of Father William John Dunne enabled the purchase of 28 acres of land at Sandy Bay. The property was named Mount Saint Canice after the patron saint of Kilkenny, the birthplace of Father Dunne. The foundation stone of an Italianate style building designed by George Fagg was laid on 14 August 1892. The Home was officially ope...

Cradoc was once an important orchard-growing district on the Channel Highway. It is situated about 10 kilometres south of Huonville and lies on the eastern bank of the Huon River. Very little information is available about Cradoc’s Catholic church which was only in existence for 11 years. The church was moved to Cradoc from Pelverata in the early 1950s. It reopened and was dedicated as The Church of the Holy Family on Sunday 23 December 1956. The Church of the Holy Family was one of about 20 churches lost in the 1967 bushfires which swept across Southern Tasmania. The memorial foundation stone of the Church of the Holy Family was salvaged and has been placed outside St James’ Catholic church at Cygnet, in remembrance of Cradoc’s Catholic community. The opening of the Church of the Holy Family, December 1956. Photograph supplied by David Beechey Sources: Southerwood, W. T.  Priceless heritage : the Tasmanian Catholic community 1772-2010 / by W. T. Southerwood  Stella Maris Book...

Raminea is a small settlement on the Huon Highway about 5 kilometres south west of Dover. It was once the site of a large sawmill About a kilometre from Raminea was Strathblane where another large mill operated. In 1889 a Congregational church was built midway between Raminea and Strathblane and in 1915 an Anglican church was built Raminea. Little information is available about St Bartholomew’s Anglican church which was opened and dedicated on Sunday 22 August 1915. Hobart’s Daily Post published a brief report about the ceremony: “The Church of England was officially opened on Sunday last, Archdeacon Whitington, assisted by Rev. May, conducting both morning and afternoon services. There were large congregations. The church was dedicated and named St Bartholomew. The offertories amounted to £3/5/3. and were in aid of the church fund. Special singing was given by the Dover choir, assisted by the local choir, and many visitors attended from Dover”. There are no descriptions of the church ...

Strathblane is a small settlement on the Huon Highway about 6 kilometres south west of Dover. It was the site of a large sawmill that was destroyed in a fire in 1886. About a kilometre from Strathblane was Raminea, where another large mill operated. In 1889 a Congregational Mission Hall was built between Strathblane and Raminea.   According to a note in the ‘Southern Congregationalist’ the Strathblane Congregational church (originally a Mission Hall) was established in 1889. The earliest newspaper reference to the Mission Hall is found in report published in the Hobart Mercury in 1895: “A sale of gifts was held at the Congregational Mission Hall, (which is situated between Raminea and Strathblane sawmills), on Tuesday 10th inst., in aid of the minister’s stipend. There was a good attendance. After a few words of explanation of its object by Rev. F. A. Woods a busy time commenced….”. A further reference to the Mission Hall appears in a report in the Mercury in April 1899: “Than...

John Fisher College was a Catholic residential College for men attending the University of Tasmania. It is located at Dynnyrne above the main university campus at Upper Sandy Bay. The College was established in 1963 by Archbishop Sir Guilford Young with the support of the Catholic Church and community. The idea of a Catholic residential college had first been conceived in 1944 by Archbishop Tweedy. The building’s foundation stone was laid by Apostolic Delegate M. de Furstenburg on 18 March 1962. The first stage of the College building was opened on 9 July 1963 by Archbishop Young. A new wing doubling accomodation was opened in 1968. The building was designed by Tasmanian architect Rod Cooper and the complex contained student accommodation, academic staff quarters, a library, dining and recreational facilities as well as a chapel. The College was dedicated to Saint John Fisher (1469 – 1535) an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, theologian and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. ...

This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches and religious orders. These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and rarely feature in published histories. My aim is to create a basic record of these buildings, including those that no longer exist. In April 1851 Reverend W. Nicolson arrived at Hobart and commenced preaching at the Mechanic’s Institute Hall where he drew a significant following. This led to a campaign to build Hobart’s first Free Church of Scotland. In October 1851 the construction of Chalmers Church began with a Sabbath school built alongside the church. In November 1857 the construction of a manse on Bathurst Street began. The ceremonial laying of the manse’s foundation stone was described by the Hobart Town Mercury: “Tuesday last, the 17th instant, having been appointed for laying the Foundation Stone of the New Manse for ...

Kingston is a large town located approximately 12 kilometres south of Hobart. The area was first settled in 1804 and was known as Brown’s River, after Scottish botanist Robert Brown, who had visited the area. The settlement later became known as Kingston and this name was eventually officially adopted in 1882. The story of Kingston’s first Anglican church is typical of many of Tasmania’s early stone churches. Poor construction methods and inadequate foundations were the cause of a significant number of stone churches being torn down and replaced. The history of St Clement’s church dates back to February 1839 when the ‘Tasmanian and Australian Advertiser’ reported that a new church was “about to be erected at Brown’s River, under the auspices of the Archdeacon Hutchins”. However, two years were to pass before tenders for the construction of a church were advertised in Hobart’s newspapers. The church was designed by James Blackburn although no architectural drawings or description of 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. Middleton’s Methodist, Anglican and Catholic churches were among more than 20 churches destroyed in the 1967 bushfires which swept across southern Tasmania. In 1970 a single modern Union Church was built to replace the churches lost in the bushfires. The church was shared by Anglican, Catholic and Methodist congregations. The new church was plain cement brick building located on Mcdowall Street. The church was sold in 2004 and has been converted into a house. The former Middleton Union Church - photo: realestate.com Sources: Henslowe, Dorothea I. and Hurburgh, Isa.  Our heritage of Anglican churches in Tasmania /...

This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches and religious orders. These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and rarely feature in published histories. My aim is to create a basic record of these buildings, including those that no longer exist. The presence of the Catholic Church in South Hobart dates back to 1863 when Bishop Willson sponsored the establishment of St Luke’s Ragged school. (This will be the subject of a future article). The opening of St Francis Xavier Church in 1933 and the formation of the South Hobart parish opened the way for the establishment of a new school attached to the church. In February 1965 Archbishop Guilford Young officially blessed and opened St Francis Xavier School. With the opening of the school the Sisters of Charity returned having departed South Hobart in 1947 following the closure of St Luke’s scho...

This year marks the 160th anniversary of the opening of the Mariners' Church on Hobart's waterfront. In 1917 the church was dismantled and rebuilt at Sandy Bay where it was dedicated to St Peter. The history of Mariners Church can be found on this link: [ No. 1302 ] The focus of this article is on the establishment of St Peter’s at Sandy Bay. The subdivision of the Sandy Bay Golf links into 270 housing lots between 1915 and 1922 resulted in a significant population increase in the suburb. St Matthias’ Anglican church on Sandy Bay Road could no longer accommodate a growing congregation and plans were made to build a new church on land alongside the old church. The acquisition of a site on Lord Street and an opportunity to purchase the Mariners Church resulted in the sale of St Matthias’ to the Baptist Church. [see No. 1246 ] The removal and reconstruction of the Mariners Church at Lord Street was described in a report in the Hobart Mercury in February 1918: “On Saturday afterno...

This article is one in a series about public buildings in country areas that were used as places of worship. In these communities churches may have been planned but were never built due to lack of finance or changing circumstances. In most settlements, before a church was built, worship was typically held in homes, schoolrooms, barns, halls and other buildings. Conversely, in some communities, churches were sometimes the first public building erected and were used as schools and community halls. The focus of this series will primarily be on the public halls and schools that were used as churches. These buildings, and the religious communities which used them, are often overlooked in published histories of churches. Christmas Hills is a rural settlement about 10 kilometres south-west of the town of Smithton. It is believed that the area was first “discovered” by Europeans on Christmas Day. Timber felling and milling was once a major industry in the area. The Methodist Church’s presence ...

This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches and religious orders. These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and rarely feature in published histories. My aim is to create a basic record of these buildings, including those that no longer exist. Holy Trinity Parish dates back to 1833 when Reverend Philip Palmer was appointed Rural Dean of Hobart. The Penitentiary chapel, or ‘Old Trinity’, was the parish’s first church. In 1845 a Wesleyan chapel on High Street (now Tasma Street) was used as a temporary place of worship. After six years of construction Holy Trinity Church on Warwick Street was finally completed. The church was officially opened in January 1848. Holy Trinity’s first parsonage was built 6 years before the church was completed. Like the church, it was designed by Colonial architect James Blackburn and built by "Messrs. Cl...

This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches and religious orders. These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, orphanages, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and rarely feature in published histories. My aim is to create a basic record of these buildings, including of those that no longer exist. The town of Oatlands acquired its name in 1821 when Governor Lachlan Macquarie passed through the area. He noted that it was “a very eligible situation for a town, being well watered and in the midst of a rich fertile country”. A settlement was well established by the late 1820s by which time several cottages, a barracks, gaol and a church had been constructed. St Paul’s Catholic church opened in February 1851. Exactly 30 years were to pass before a Catholic school was established in the town. In April 1878 the Hobart Mercury reported that a building had been purchased at Oatlands t...