Churches of Tasmania

Rosebery is a mining town located on the Murchison Highway approximately 60 kilometres north of Queenstown. The town’s name is taken from a mine pegged out by Tom McDonald in 1893. He named it the Rosebery Gold Mining Company after the Prime Minister of England, Lord Rosebery. The develop of the town only took off in the 1920s. In February 1930 a visitor to Rosebery remarked on the development that had recently taken place: “Since our last visit over three years ago, Rosebery has made immense strides, and a now town has practically arisen. Building operations are still going on to provide new houses and places of worship. Ringed around by mountains of imposing height - Mounts Murchison, Read and Black, and by lower heights, clothed by trees and bush, Rosebery is really beautifully situated, and might be considered a most delectable residential town, if it were not for the heavy rainfall, the roads, alternately dusty and muddy, and the comparatively few days of sunshine and warmth”. “A ...

Geeveston is a country town on the Huon Highway approximately 45 kilometres south of Hobart. The town is named after William Geeves, an English settler, who received a land grant at what was then called Lightwood Bottom. The settlement was renamed Geeves Town in 1861 before becoming Geeveston. The Church of Christ has had a limited presence in the Southwest of Tasmania and the denomination was centred in the North and North West of the State as well as on the Tasman Peninsula and in Hobart. The Church of Christ arrived in Tasmania in the 1870s and established itself first in Launceston and Hobart. Initially the denomination was simply known as the ‘Christians' then from 1885 as 'Disciples of Christ' and finally as 'Churches of Christ'. The Churches of Christ believed that Christian communities should be similar to those described in the New Testament, simple and with autonomous congregations. The Church of Christ has similarities with the Christian Brethren although...

Nubeena is a small town on the western side of the Tasman Peninsula. It is approximately 13 kilometres northwest of Port Arthur. The town was previously named Wedge Bay. From the late 1870s several Church of Christ communities were established on the Tasman Peninsula. The first church was built at Impression Bay in 1889 and and this was followed by the construction of places of worship at Koonya, Highcroft and Oakwood. The Church of Christ community at Nubeena did not build a church but used a Baptist Hall constructed in 1892. In September 1892 the opening of the “Wedge Bay Hall” was reported by the Hobart Mercury: “A public hall has been erected at Wedge Bay by the Baptist community, with Mr. J. Soundy, of Hobart, as the mover and leader in getting the same done. The work has been carried out by local men, Messrs. Quinn and Co., and it is said to be a very creditable building. How it is to be utilised remains to be seen”. In 1897 the ‘Church of Christ’ began to use the hall for evenin...

At the turn of the 20th century there were a number of small registered independent churches which operated from various halls and other public venues in Hobart. These include groups such as the ‘Church of the Disciples’, the ‘Unitarian Church’ and the Undenominational King Street Chapel. These churches were typically short-lived and led by charismatic leaders. The subject of this article is a small independent church which was established by Reverend John Anderson who was active in Hobart from about 1893 to 1904. In June 1895 the Tasmanian News reported that a new church, ’The Christian Temple’, had opened in New Town. The ‘Temple’ was located in Arthur Street* opposite the “Anchorage Home” on the corner of Pedder Street. The church was very likely a converted house and not a purpose built structure. The Tasmanian News commented: “This unpretentious looking place of worship, with its original belfry, is making its mark at New Town, and country folks are also noting its existence. The ...

This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches.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 simple record of these buildings, including of those that no longer exist. Avoca is town in the Fingal Valley and on the Esk Highway. It is situated on the junction of the St Pauls and South Esk Rivers. The area was previously known as St Pauls Plains. The word ‘Avoca’ is derived from Gaelic and means ‘meeting of the waters’. The Anglican church of St Thomas was completed in 1841 but only consecrated in 1886. [ See No. 160 ] St Thomas’ Parish Hall is located former storehouse constructed by R.C. Foster in 1850. In 1937, Mr B O’Connor, landowner of nearby property, Benham, purchased the building and donated it to the Anglican Church. In September 1937 the Launceston Examiner reported: “Th...

This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches.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 simple record of these buildings, including of those that no longer exist. Westbury is a historic town situated approximately 30 kilometres west of Launceston. It was surveyed in 1828 and developed as an administrative centre for the district. For most of its existence Westbury has been served by only three religious denominations. St Andrews Anglican church which was built 1836 and was consecrated in 1851. Construction of the first parsonage began at a site on Shadforth Street site in 1842. Convict labour was used in the construction of a brick building which was completed in 1843. Bishop Nixon selected the site for the new rectory. The Reverend John Bishton, M.A. and his family were the...

In the 19th century Sandhill was an area of Launceston which extended from Melbourne Street to Gascoyne Street and west of Lawrence Vale Road. Parts of South Launceston and Glen Dhu were unofficially included within Sandhill. The northern end of Sandhill was the location of the Sandhill Potteries, notably McHughes Pottery and Campbell’s Pottery. Between the potteries was a small Congregational chapel and Sunday school which stood on the corner of Wilmot Street and Wellington Street. The chapel was established as a “Sabbath School” in 1862 as an outreach of Christchurch Congregational Church on Frederick Street. Under the leadership of of Reverend William Law, Congregational chapels and Sunday schools were also established at Prospect [ See No. 75 ] and Rosevale [ See No. 363 ] The Sandhill chapel’s opening in December 1862 is recorded in the Launceston Examiner: “On Sabbath afternoon last this building was opened by a public religious service, and notwithstanding a heavy torrent of ra...

Bothwell is one of the oldest settlements in Tasmania and it is also one of the most important Georgian towns in the State. It is situated on the Clyde River, about 75km miles north of Hobart. The majority of the first settlers in the region were from Scotland. Bothwell once had four churches of which the Anglican, Uniting (Presbyterian) and Catholic churches remain. This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches.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 simple record of these buildings, including of those that no longer exist. The former Sunday school at Bothwell is associated with the iconic St Luke’s Uniting Church. St Luke’s is amongst the oldest original Tasmanian churches. Building began in 1830 and was completed by the following year. Unusually, the church was shared ...

King island is located on the western side of Bass Strait approximately half-way between the Tasmania and Victoria. The island was discovered in 1798 by Captain Reid and named in 1801 in honour of the Governor of New South Wales Governor King. Established in 2022, the Barn Church, King Island’s newest church, is located at Pegarah Homestead about 13 kilometres from King Islands main town of Currie and 16 kilometres from the port town of Grassy. Reminiscent of church services in the early colonial period, worship takes place in a barn. It is an example of the many ‘home churches’ operating in Tasmania. Little information is available about the church however an interview broadcast on King Island Radio reveals the origins of the community. A link to the broadcast can be found < HERE > Sources and further information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/279356392254226  https://www.facebook.com/KingIslandRadio/ https://www.mixcloud.com/kingislandradio/king-island-barn-church-baptise...

Currie is the main town and administration centre of King Island. In 1866 the ship "Netherby" ran onto rocks off the island and was salvaged by Captain Archibald Currie. The harbour and later the settlement were named in his remembrance. Reverend Max Stansall’s ‘Tasmanian Methodism’ summarises the origins of the Methodist Church at King Island as follows: “As much as ninety years after the beginnings of Methodism in Hobart, the work in King Island was just commenced. Actually a young home missionary, C.C. Dugan, who later had a distinguished career as minister and historian, visited the island in 1903. But it was in 1910 that the real beginning was made. Rev. Joseph Penna that year became the first minister appointed to the island”. Soon after Penna’s arrival the construction of a church began in mid 1911. This was undertaken by volunteer labour under the direction of Mr Will Batton. The church was officially opened on Sunday 24 December 1911. The subsequent history of the ch...

Lady Barron is a small town in the south of Flinders Island. It lies about 25 kilometres south of Whitemark.The settlement was named in honour of the wife of the Governor of Tasmania Sir Harry Barron. The Anglican church at Lady Barron was originally located at Badger Corner. It opened in 1915 but was moved into Lady Barron in 1926. In 1938 the church’s new chancel was dedicated in memory of Mrs A.B. Smallfield. At the same service an altar was dedicated to the memory of Mrs J. Robinson as well as a brass altar cross to the memory of Mr and Mrs J. Robinson. The church was practically rebuilt in 1941. It was modernised with brick veneer at a later date. The 1938 chancel is well preserved although little remains of the exterior of the original 1915 building. St Barnabas at Lady Barron The chancel which was dedicated in 1938. Photograph: Facebook: Flinders Island Anglican Church Sources: Examiner, Tuesday 9 February 1915, page 6 Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 21 April 1926, page 2 Mercury, We...

Blackmans Bay is located close to the town of Kingston which is approximately fourteen kilometres south of Hobart. It is named after James Blackman who made a claim for a grant of land in the area in about 1844. It was once a popular place for holiday shacks but is now a residential area. The Kingborough Salvation Army Hall takes its name from the local government area which includes Blackmans Bay. As a relatively recently established place of worship, there is very little information about the history of the hall. A plaque records that the building was opened and dedicated by Commissioner John H Clinch on 7 August 1994. As more information becomes available this article will be updated. 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 A...

Emita is a small settlement on the west coast of Flinders Island and is situated approximately 20 kilometres north of the town of Whitemark. Originally known as Settlement Point, the name was changed to Emita in 1913. A village grew around the administration centre for the aboriginal settlement at Wybalenna. The word 'emita' is aboriginal for "sand". In the book ‘In Our Heritage of Anglican Churches in Tasmania’, Dorothea Henslowe writes: “In 1915 there were plans to build a church at Emita, but in 1939 services were still held on the jetty…There were plans again in 1952, but it was October 1956 before the foundation stone was laid and October 1957 before the concrete church was dedicated…”. The move to build a church in 1952 were in fact expedited by the destruction of the Emita Hall in fire in January of the same year. The hall, which was built in 1931, had been used by Anglicans for many years. The loss of the hall is recounted in the Launceston Examiner: “A fire r...

This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches.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 simple record of these buildings, including of those that no longer exist. This blog entry is adapted from an article published in the Meander Valley Gazette. It was written by Mark Butson who now owns the former Catholic presbytery located on West Goderich Street. The house was used as a presbytery from 1899 to 2002. “The original Georgian style house was built in 1888 by Mary Terry and bought from the Terry family by the church in 1899, along with another acre of land around the house for gardens and stables. The Church of the Holy Redeemer was built in 1886…Opposite the Church, Blakes Manor…built in 1861 served as the first Presbytery from 1871 to 1895. Archdeacon Michael Beechinor was...

Mount Read is a mountain located in the West Coast region of Tasmania. A small township at Mount Read, located about 4 kilometres southeast of Williamsford, has long disappeared. Mount Read township was surrounded by the Hercules mine which was situated at altitude of 1000 metres, making it the most elevated town which has existed in Tasmania. The mine was in production in the late nineteenth century and was connected by a haulage incline to Williamsford. Very little is known about the Methodist church established at Mount Read. According to Reverend Max Stansall’s ‘History of Tasmanian Methodism’, a Methodist church was established at Mount Read in about 1899. Stansall writes: “Dundas, Ringville and Mount Read separated from Zeehan to become a Home Mission Station in 1897. Rev. W. R. Featonby was the first minister in charge. Of those three Churches very little is known….. Rev. C. W. Atkinson, who apparently succeeded Mr. Featonby in the station, is known to have visited the now non-...