St Andrew's Kirk, Launceston, church in Tasmania, Australia
St Andrew's Kirk is a Gothic-inspired Presbyterian church on St John Street, designed by William Henry Clayton with entrances off both Patterson and St John Streets. It is built of local bricks rendered over in stucco, with sandstone decorations and a spire. The winning design seated 320 people, fewer than the 700 the building committee had advertised for.
The congregation began in 1831 with the Scotch National Church on Charles Street, where the Presbytery of Van Diemen's Land first met in 1835. After Reverend R. K. Ewing joined John Anderson in 1848, a larger church was needed; William Henry Clayton's Gothic design was chosen and its foundation stone laid on 16 October 1849 by Lieutenant-Governor Denison. Built by William Tyson for A£3,956, it opened on 5 December 1850. Tremors in 1884 and 1929 shifted or toppled masonry pinnacles.
The congregation traces to a meeting of Launceston's Scottish community on 9 April 1831, which built the Scotch National Church on Charles Street for £400 under Reverend John Anderson. The Presbytery of Van Diemen's Land, Australia's second oldest, first met there on 6 November 1835. The name Kirk is the Scots word for church, still used by the Presbyterian congregation serving the Presbytery of Bass.
St Andrew's Kirk stands on St John Street between Patterson Street and Civic Square, with entrances off both Patterson and St John Streets. The building sits beside the former Mechanics Institute site, now part of Civic Square, a short walk from the central business district. Sunday School Hall and church lounge occupy the upper level of the 1974 chambers.
The 1849 time capsule under the foundation stone held newspapers of the day plus a gold sovereign and a half sovereign. A second, later tremor on 30 December 1929 toppled one of the church's spires. The 1884 quake had already shifted the roof pinnacles, one falling and denting the ground six inches deep, narrowly missing children waiting for Sunday School.
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