After a long community effort to try and fight it, a piece of regional history has been put up for sale.
St John's Anglican Church is nestled into the main drag of Ross, in Tasmania's northern midlands.
Built in 1869, the church has long been a landmark of the town, but in more recent years, became the focus of a community campaign after it was put forward to be sold as part of the Anglican Church's property sell-off to meet their redress obligations.
Now, with community group Friends of St John's Ross officially disbanded, the church has hit the public market.
Former community group head Christine Robinson said it was a day she had hoped would not come, with the diocese having given the Friends of St John's Ross a target of raising $200,000 to purchase the building before it was listed on the open market.
They came "within a whisker" of making that dream a reality, Ms Robinson said.
"We put so much effort in, and we'd come close a couple of times," she said.
"We're only a small group, but we're very determined."
At one point, it looked like their dream had been answered when a woman from England, who had been travelling around the state, expressed an interest in purchasing the church for the community.
"She said, 'Well, $200,000 isn't a lot in English pounds. … I am going to buy this church, and I am going to donate it back to the community'," Ms Robinson said.
They got to the point of working with solicitors to draw up contracts, she said, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The prospective buyer had to go back to England or risk getting stuck in Tasmania, her finances took a hit, and the sale could no longer proceed.
No small task ahead for prospective buyers
Built from sandstone and with prominent stained glass windows, the beauty of St John's is striking. But the community's connection to the place goes deeper than that, Ms Robinson said.
"The first time I ever walked in here, I just felt these years of people's hopes and dreams — things people had prayed for and hoped for and wished for just hit you," she said.
"You can feel it in the walls — it's just a magical place.
"For a lot of people that are still in town, their parents were married here, they were baptised here.
"It's generational … it's part of our history, the fabric of the place."
Whoever purchases the church will have a decent task on their hands.
The property is heritage-listed and boasts a pitched roof, a 50-foot-high sandstone spire and a clock tower sourced from Birmingham.
Inside the church, there are tracery-stained windows, a Caen stone pulpit, and a century-old organ and oak prayer stall donated and carved in 1928 in memory of the late Robert Kermode, an early representative for Campbell Town in the legislative council back in the 1850–60s.
While these are all features that add to its charm, they can be a double-edged sword.
According to a property report conducted for a prospective buyer, no structural problems have been identified as requiring urgent attention.
However, "the evidence is that the slates [in the roof] require replacing".
The report notes the extent of water damage to the roof structure is unclear without further assessment, but that mould is apparent on the "close boarded ceiling link, indicative of high moisture content in the lining and suggesting problems to the roof structure".
Buckling in the stained glass windows in the chancel has also been identified.
The property is also currently not zoned for residential purposes, and so must be kept for commercial or community purposes.
Boom in church interest
Northern Midlands real estate agent Nick Hay said while it was not the first church he had sold in his career, the level of interest being seen for St John's was something he had not experienced before.
He said within even the first few hours of the property having been posted online, enquiries were flooding in.
"[It's] been massive, from the level of Midlands-based landholders and community groups wanting to maintain it in the community to clients from South Australia, New South Wales," he said.
"I was expecting it, but not to these levels."
He said the church being posted in some Facebook groups particularly saw interest increase, as well as a general trend of people wanting to restore and convert historic buildings.
"Churches are traditionally used as meeting places, where the community has its christenings, its deaths, it's Sunday service – so they've always got a heart and soul," Mr Hay said.
"I think it's maybe because they've been a gift to the community and a lot of people are very nostalgic and want to maintain that connection."
So where is the redress scheme at now?
Roughly $22 million has been raised by the sell-off of just under 60 properties – primarily churches, according to the Anglican Church.
Five other properties are currently under contract, with another five to be sold over the next two to three years.
Of the $22 million raised, the profits have been divided with about $8 million going directly towards redress and a significant chunk redirected into "future-proofing" ministries in local parishes still in operation in regional Tasmania.
Bishop of Tasmania Richard Condie said he was aware the sell-off of the buildings was painful, and that the situation in Ross was no different. However, he said, it was a necessary move.
"We have had an obligation to raise funds… and we've been trying to achieve that," he said.
"It really hurts people in small communities because they love the building, they've got a lot of history with it – we recognise that. It hurts us, every time we've had to sell one.
"About a quarter of the churches that we've sold have either stayed as churches with other denominations or have stayed in community hands. We love it when we get that outcome.
"We can't always achieve it – and we haven't been able to achieve it in Ross."
Bishop Condie said the Anglican Church was also looking at other avenues for releasing funds for redress, including looking at some of the other investments they have that support ministry such as chaplaincy, to meet the obligations of claims being lodged.
Ms Robinson said the community of Ross had accepted the church would have to be sold — they just had one simple hope.
"I hope whoever buys this church loves it for what it is, for the building it is and the heritage that it portrays — and that they keep it, look after it and preserve it," she said.
