Christ College Chapel

On the 12th August 1840, Lieutenant‑Governor Sir John Franklin put forward the idea of starting a college in Van Diemen’s Land. His aim was to encourage higher learning and show that the colony was moving beyond its convict past toward becoming a community with cultural and intellectual ambitions.

Franklin dreamed of giving Van Diemen’s Land a place of higher learning that welcomed all Christian groups, though he insisted the head of the college should come from the largest denomination.

Worried about the temptations of town life—drinking, gambling, and rough company—he chose a country setting. Ten acres of government farmland at New Norfolk were set aside, and on 6 November 1840 the foundation stone for a college dedicated to Christ was laid with ceremony.

But the plan quickly ran into trouble. People in Launceston wanted a site halfway between north and south, different denominations pushed back, and the colony’s worsening economy made the project impossible. The college never rose from the ground, standing instead as a reminder of Franklin’s grand hopes held back by colonial realities.

In 1845 the Church of England stepped in, buying 1,218 acres—including Vron Mansion—for £5,000. They renamed it Episcopal House, added new buildings, and purchased another 3,400 acres at ten shillings an acre. The township they laid out was called Bishopsbourne.

On 1st October 1846 Christ College finally opened there, built as an Anglican institution inspired by Oxford and Cambridge. Its foundation was a milestone in the colony’s cultural and educational life, an attempt to bring the intellectual traditions of Britain’s old universities into a new land.

By 1856, however, Christ College at Bishopsbourne had closed. The colony’s economic depression, the difficulties of running a college in such a remote spot, and ongoing financial strain proved too much.

After lying dormant for twenty‑two years, Christ College was reborn in Hobart, reclaiming its original name and continuing its story as a residential college for students.

See No. 662