Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

Referred to as the “The Cathedral of the Valley” Our Lady of the Sacred Heart church replaced an earlier wooden church built in the 1860s named St Basil’s.

Designed in 1910 by architect Alexander North for the thriving mining town of Mangana the church was dedicated by His Grace the Archbishop of Hobart on the 8th September 1912. It was built of reinforced concrete and was one of the prettiest churches in Tasmania at the time. The Examiner newspaper reported the total build with is furnishings was about £1,000 with £600 being met. Father Southerwood in his book Priceless Heritage reported the debt was £250.

Built by John Graham it has 13 beautiful stained glass windows, the timber fittings inside are all made of Tasmanian oak. Construction of the church was not without controversy, it was erected without the permission of Archbishop Delany, who refused to pay for the building.

In August 2008 a small group of locals finished off a restoration project on the church, this was done in part for ‘Back To Mangana’.

Sadly this church is closed, but is being cared for by devoted locals.