The Anglican Church of St Matthew is in Bathurst Street New Norfolk, opposite Arthur Square. It was built in 1823 and is the oldest church in Tasmania. The church was consecrated in 1828 by Archdeacon Scott from Sydney and has been altered a number of times since. In 1833 extensive additions transformed it significantly. The tower was added in 1870 (no longer exists) and in 1894,the chancel was added and the windows, roof and transepts also altered. All that remains of the original church are the walls, floor of the nave, and part of the western transept.
The church contains many historical stained glass windows, among which are the ‘Moore’ and ‘Sharland’ stained glass windows crafted by Ferguson & Urie of North Melbourne.
Photos taken 7th October 2010:
The Mercury Hobart, Tasmania, Saturday 4th March 1882, page 3.
“… The church is without pretentions to good looks – it is neither imposing nor elegant. Yet with all its plainness it is a building endeared to many by sacred associations; and also contains features of interest to the visitor. Over the communion table is a stained glass window, representing our lord’s interview with the two disciples at Emmaus, and erected by Mr. W. S. Sharland, in memory of his first wife. Another stained glass window, placed at the back of the font, and representing the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan, was presented by the late Dr. Moore and his son, to commemorate their escape from shipwreck on the occasion of the loss of the s.s. City of Launceston in Hobson’s Bay…”
The Dr. Moore window:
On the evening of 20th November 1865 the ‘SS City of Launceston’ departed Launceston and within two hours of departure it had collided with the SS Penola from Adelaide in Hobson’s Bay. All passengers and crew were rescued by the severely damaged Penola before the Launceston sank.
“…One cabin passenger, Dr. Moore, got his portmanteau, containing £100 in money, into the boat, but it fell overboard [1] …”
It was thought that the SS City of Launceston could be raised and tenders were called for the work however this never eventuated. Although there were many newspaper reports in 1865 that appeared to describe the exact location of where the ship sank, the Maritime Archaeologists Association of Victoria only found the intact wreck in 1980.
Dr. John Anthony Moore died on the 6th of July 1878 at New Norfolk aged 62[2].
The text on the Moore memorial window reads:
“S. Mark 1:9” “ERECTED BY J. A. MOORE, SENr & JUNr, TO COMMEMORATE A DELIVERANCE FROM SHIPWRECK, NOVr 19th, 1865”.
The window depicts St. John the Baptist, Babtising Christ in the river Jordan.
The Sharland window:
The text on the Sharland memorial window reads:
“TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF FRANCES SARAH WIFE OF WILLIAM STANLEY SHARLAND WHO DIED ON THE VIIIth DAY OF MARCH IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD MDCCLIX” (8th March 1859).
Although the biblical scene the window represents is not written anywhere on the window, Janice Ball, from New Zealand, has identified it (07 Apr 2012) as “Emmaus” (Luke 25: 13-37) where Christ is seen breaking bread with two disciples who were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus .
Wikipedia – “The two disciples have heard the tomb of Jesus was found empty earlier that day. They are discussing the events of the past few days when a stranger asks them what they are discussing. “Their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” He soon rebukes them for their unbelief and gives them a Bible study on prophecies about the Messiah. On reaching Emmaus, they ask the stranger to join them for the evening meal. When he breaks the bread “their eyes were opened” and they recognize him as the resurrected Jesus. Jesus immediately vanishes”.
The top third of the window has the symbol letters “IHS”. The centre depicts three men with Christ in the middle with a disciple on either side and Christ is breaking bread. The lower has a rather unusual depiction of the Hexagram or Star of David.
Related posts: 07-08-1867 > 13-08-1867
External Links:
Web Site: Diving the City of Launceston Shipwreck
Obit: Dr Moore (no mention of his past shipwreck though!)
Bio: William Stanley Sharland (1803-1877)
Obit: William Stanley Sharland (1801-1877)
Footnotes:
Short link to this page: http://wp.me/p28nLD-xr
Ferguson and Urie 