By JESSE GRAHAM
Healesville’s second oldest building housed in Gulf Station…
HEALESVILLE’s oldest church has moved on to Yarra Glen after being taken up by the National Trust last month, in a move to restore the ageing building.
Healesville’s former Mission Church building, at the rear of the Uniting Church, was dismantled and moved to Yarra Glen’s Gulf Station in late June by a National Trust carpenter.
The move came after permits were issued by the Yarra Ranges Council and Heritage Victoria to dismantle, relocate, reconstruct and restore the church at the new site.
Uniting Church spokesperson Alan Honeycombe said the dismantling and relocation took place over six weeks, and that the church had been campaigning to demolish or move the building since 1986.
“When the Darron Honey Centre was built behind the church in 1986, the hall was on the site where that was to be built,” Mr Honeycombe said.
“We applied for permission to demolish the hall, to build a new one, and, at the 11th hour, a historic overlay was placed over the building – so it was placed four metres up the hill to its recent location.”
He said the building would have had to be demolished as it continued to deteriorate, and said he was happy with the move.
Built in 1869 on Nicholson Street (Maroondah Highway), the church has been moved around Healesville repeatedly, first being shifted to Symons Street in 1908 before being moved to where the Uniting Church stands in 1917 and later being replaced by the new church in 1937.
However, the building fell into disrepair, with Mr Honeycombe and National Trust Conservation manager, Paul Rosen, citing termite damage and rot across parts of its exterior by the time the move to Gulf Station came about.
Mr Roser said the old building was “unloved and uncared for” at the rear of the Uniting Church, and that, though the church was damaged, it would be rebuilt.
“The deconstruction of the chapel has revealed the extent of rot and damage, but most of the underlying structure is sound and can be reconstructed,” he said.
“Once reconstructed, it will be open as part of the Gulf Station complex – we hope to complete the work by the summer.”
The move is not without controversy – the Mail reported in 2012 that a local historian stood opposed to losing the church when an application was put forward to demolish it at the end of 2011.
However, a social media campaign at the time to save the church generated little momentum on the issue.
This, Mr Roser said, was when the National Trust took notice of the building and put forward the proposal to have it relocated and restored.
“As a locally significant building, it warranted a reuse and some love and care,” he said.
He said that, after the restoration of the building, it would be used as a non-denominational chapel and community space at the Gulf Station site.
Healesville and District Historical Society president Kevin Mason wrote in a statement that, despite the move being controversial for some, the building would be preserved at its new home.
“The church is on the move once again, this time to Gulf Station in Yarra Glen … which I am sure will disappoint some in Healesville as it will in Yarra Glen,” he wrote.
“After all, it is a National Trust building, and the move will be with good intent to preserve the building and hopefully, in time, be accepted and be an asset to Gulf Station.”
The Mission Church building was believed to be Healesville’s second-oldest remaining building, with the old cell blocks at the rear of the Old Courthouse in Harker Street built in 1866.
What do you think about the relocation of the Mission Church building? Write a letter to the editor to editor@mailnewsgroup.com.au or to 244 Maroondah Highway, Healesville.
