St Joseph’s Church

St Joseph’s Church was built in 1841 and opened and blessed by Father Therry early on Christmas morning 1841.

The church is built of local sandstone and was designed by James Thomson, a former convict. Convict labourers were employed to carry out the work. The tower, 60 feet high, was finished in 1843 and the church building has not changed greatly since. In 1856 the sanctuary was improved, small sacristies behind the altar and a choir gallery above were removed and the present sacristies were built on the side of the church. The side chapel was built in 1877 as a choir for the Sisters of Charity, who lived from 1847 to 1957 in what is now the presbytery. During the 1930s the side chapel was replaced by the present red brick chapel, built by Jack Dunne. A small sandstone building, which had been used as a Sunday school for some years, was demolished at this time. Extensive restoration has been carried out during the past thirty five years.

St Francis Xavier's Church

Over 130 years ago, the area now known as South Hobart was included in the Parish of St Joseph. It was not until 1873 that the first sign of identity came into being. It was in this year that the Sisters of Charity took charge of St Luke’s School, which until this time had been run by lay teachers under the supervision of the clergy since it was founded in 1863. The school was located in a building behind the present church and it was here that Mass was first offered in the district at regular intervals by the priests from St Joseph’s.

The present Church of St Francis Xavier was opened in 1932. It continued to be served from the city until 1934, when it was incorporated into the new Parish of the Holy Spirit in Sandy Bay. The Reverend Father T J O’Donnell was Parish Priest.