Hobart, TAS - St John's Presbyterian
Year Built: 1843
Denomination: Presbyterian
Saint: John
Address: 188 Macquarie Street, Hobart, Tasmania, 7000
Architect: Unknown
Architectural Style: Neo Classical
Traditional Owners: Palawa people
Last Updated: 19/03/2024
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History and Architecture:
A stone church in non-conformist neo-classical style.
THE first service in Hobart was conducted by an ordained Presbyterian minister was in 1823 at the corner of Macquarie and Murray streets, and the first Presbyterian church was built at Bathurst Street. In 1840 a building committee was formed with ex-convict, architect James Thomson as chairman.
The sandstone church was designed to replicate a Greek temple, a particular feature of which is the large triangular pediment spanning the front. The gable roof extends for the length of the church and the back hall.
In the pediment is a circular recess for a clock that was never installed. The doorway is flanked by a pair of Doric columns which are correctly fluted and detailed, but lack the slight tapering (entasis) at the top favoured by Ancient Greeks.
The windows with their pediments are the same width as the front door, which makes the doorway look too small. The window and door pediments also have horn-shaped decorations (acroterion) which are more commonly seen at the apex and corners of a roof pediment on a true classical Greek temple.
Clergy:
This list may not contain every serving cleric, past or present, for this church.
Further submissions welcomed.
| Years | Name | Annotation | D.o.B | D.o.D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 - 1853 | Rev James Bell | 1852 | ||
| 1853 - 1870 | Rev Robert McClean | |||
| 1866 - 1870 | Rev John Service | |||
| 1870 - 1887 | Rev James Scott | |||
| 1887 - 1895 | Rev Isaac Kirker McIntyre | |||
| 1895 - 1898 | Rev George Moorehead | |||
| 1898 - 1904 | Rev W. R. Cunningham | |||
| 1904 - 1923 | Rev Johannes Heyer | |||
| 1921 - 1923 | Rev F. E. Oxer | 1950 | ||
| 1924 - 1926 | Rev John Frederick Sims | |||
| 1932 - 1936 | Rev John Aitken | |||
| 1936 - 1940 | Rev Roy Vernon Merritt | 1975 | ||
| 1940 - 1946 | Rev Jack Hern Price | 1987 | ||
| 1946 - 1959 | Rev Cecil Young Reid | |||
| 1958 - 1967 | Rev George H. Leicester | |||
| 1967 - 1980 | Rev Alan Charles Stubs | |||
| 1980 - | Rev Milan Vladimir Skalicky | |||
| 2012 - | Rev Alistair Bain |
Organ:
No information currently available. Submissions welcomed.
Source:
1. Churches of Colonial Hobart, a field guide to Hobart's history in 24 buildings.
2. St John's Hobart Presbyterian Church 1840 - 1990. 285.09946 HAR