© 2010 Hobart Baptist Church Inc.
Made by Serif
The imposing Baptist Tabernacle, upper Elizabeth Street, an “ornament to the City”, was opened on 20 January 1889. It was a copy of the newer class of Baptist Church building in England based on the Baptist Church in Stockport. George Fagg was the architect and Stabb Brothers were the builders. The foundation stone was laid on 5 October 1887. Inside there are beautifully moulded capitals on columns, one on each side of the pulpit. Originally the building had the street front iron railings, gates and gas pillars but the iron work was used for the First World War effort. Years later no less an authority than the Encyclopaedia Britannica said that the building was the finest classical facade in the southern hemisphere. The Tabernacle is the third church building on the site, the first being an 1884 temporary structure built of rough timber, ragged tarpaulins and corrugated iron. The floor was of sawdust. It was lit by candles. The Tabernacle stands in front of the earlier erected stone chapel-school room. Spurgeon’s College graduate, the Rev. Robert McCullough, was the first minister. Among those who preached here in the early years were philanthropist George Muller, English evangelist Henry Varley, William Booth’s daughter Catherine (Kate) Booth-Clibborn and Spurgeon’s son, the Rev. Thomas Spurgeon.
Laurie Rowston
The cross over the baptistry was a gift from the members of the ship’s company of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Seven men from the ship were baptised here on 31st October 1976.
