St Aloysius

The first was Mass were held in the front room of Mr. John Counsel in Pine Road, Riana.

John Counsel and his brother built a small weatherboard church a short distance from his home. In fact it was so close that confessions where held in his parlour. Archbishop Delaney's diary dated 26th December 1897 reads:

I found a church at Pine Rd. It was neatly kept. lamp always alight before the blessed Sacrament. What a blessing to people young and old!

Despite strong opposition from the Counsel, Conroy and McHugh families, at a meeting in the 1920s it was decided to remove, enlarge and remodel the building,

Land was transferred from the Emu Bay Cooperative Butter Factory Ltd. to the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the relocation. The site was situated on the Pine Road, Riana near Radford's corner. In December 1923 Messrs. J. Stafford and J. Stone cleared the site for the church, and Mr. A.G. Counsel cartered the timber. Mr. Joe Stone's bullock team moved the building 2 kilometres up the eastern side of the road. It was expected to have the building completed by early 1924.

St Aloysius was opened on on Sunday the 15th June 1924. The church was 42 feet long and 20 feet wide with a porch measuring 8 feet x 8 feet.

By the 1950s many Catholic families had moved out of the district. About 1956 the church was de-consecrated and sold to Ron and Nita Williams who had lost their house in a fire. Finally the church was demolished and the timber sold to two West Pine men.

In May 1962 the Roman Catholic Trustees transferred the land to the Crown. This site is now vacant.