Taree Protestant Hall

The Loyal Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal order founded in Ireland in the 1790s. It aims to uphold and promote strict Protestant beliefs.¹ In June 1874, a lodge known as “McGibbon” was founded in the township of Taree.²

Shortly after, the Manning River Protestant Hall Company Limited was formed to raise funds for the erection of a public hall where members of any Protestant organisation could meet,³ with land being purchased on favourable terms from James Levick of Cundletown.⁴

On 10 August 1876 the foundation stone was laid for the Protestant Hall. As part of the ceremony a time capsule was sealed and placed beneath the stone. It recorded the name of the contractor as James Levick with bricklayers Messrs Featherstone and Lower.⁵ The Hall was officially opened in January 1877.⁶

Many Protestant organisations made use of the facility. In 1937 a plaque was placed near the entrance in memory of the recently deceased Rev Samuel Pentleton Stewart, Defender of the Protestant Faith,⁷ and in 1931 the Salvation Army ran a soup kitchen there.⁸

Following the sale of the building in 1985 the building was converted to a liquor store and such use continues in 2024.⁹

Author: Penny Teerman