On our return journey to Launceston, we took a detour to visit the beautiful Windermere area on the edge of the Tamar. The beautiful old church and burial ground are such a rich part of colonial Tasmanian life.
Dr Matthias Gaunt arrived in Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) from London by the ship Eliza on 2nd May 1831. He came with his wife and 5 sons and settled on the land that he named 'Windermere' perhaps due to it's resemblance to the countryside around Lake Windermere in the Lake District of England.
Dr Gaunt promised his wife before they left England, that, if there was no church near their property, he would have one built for her.
the bricks for the church were made in Launceston and were transported by ship down the Tamar. One boat load actually sank just off Windermere. It was the first church consecrated in the north of Tasmania. Bishop Nixon performed the service on 18th April, 1845.
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