St John's Mission House Chapel

St John’s Mission Chapel was established with the support of Rev. Nugent Kelly of St John’s Church, the Church Warden, Mr Ernest Whitefield, and Miss Charlotte Shoobridge, who was appointed in 1893 to run the Mission House.

Miss Shoobridge was 50 years old at the time of her appointment. She received no payment or secure tenure, yet she held the position for almost 20 years. She was known locally as Sister Charlotte and was the daughter of politician Ebenezer Shoobridge of Bushy Park.

Sister Charlotte trained as a Deaconess in Melbourne to undertake parish work before taking up the role in Launceston. In 1882, Mr Ernest Whitfield addressed a meeting at St John’s, stating that she had written to him requesting work in Launceston.

St John’s Home Mission began in early 1893, when it was arranged for the Queen’s Head Hotel in Wellington Street to be leased for £1 per week. This site served the community until 1905, when a new and larger mission house was opened and dedicated at 103 Canning Street in March 1906. Sister Charlotte was in charge until her retirement in 1910.

In 1947, the Canning Street mission house was sold to the Tasmanian Government and was later used as a backpacker hostel.