By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Keysborough’s historic church is being preyed upon by vandals while talks linger on its long-term future.
The 146-year-old church at 176 Chapel Road is one of the suburb’s few remaining historic buildings. It has visibly decayed, and been tagged with graffiti inside.
Meanwhile the adjoining wooden ‘Sunday school’ building has been also wrecked by intruders in recent months.
The site has been largely abandoned, with the Uniting Church congregation moving from the younger wooden church on the site to Noble Park.
As of last Wednesday, protective fencing around the older church was lying on the ground.
A supporter for saving the church termed it as “demolition by neglect”.
“There is so much value in having this open space for what is now a densely developed area of Keysborough South.
“The limited company of directors trying to save this church need political intervention and support to bring the donation of this parcel of land back to a community that can work to restore it as a community asset.”
In the meantime, Mission Liaison Group, which stores shipping containers of overseas aid onsite, has suffered its fifth break-in since October.
MLG convener John Connan said a $2000 ride-on mower and boxfuls of secondhand goods were among the “disheartening” thefts.
Of the historic church, it was a “damned shame” to see it suffer disrepair and vandalism, Mr Connan said.
“It’s one of the three remaining historic buildings in Keysborough.”
If saved, the older church could become an art gallery, and the wooden church a café, Mr Connan said.
Uniting Church stated it had reinstated protective fencing around the older church and secured the building.
“The Mission Liaison Group is not part of the general Uniting Church operation, and is responsible for its own security needs on site, and an alternate long term location for the MLG operation is required.
“The City of Greater Dandenong has been assisting by seeking alternative locations from its property and broader contact network that might be able to accommodate the MLG, but with no success to date.”
A spokesperson said “discussions are progressing well” towards a subdivision plan that would transfer the churches to community group ownership.
The two church buildings would be passed to a community group at a “peppercorn value” and the remainder of the site sold on the open market, a Uniting Church spokesperson said.
“It is expected that conversation with (Greater Dandenong) Council and the community group will be recommenced in the first quarter of 2023.”
The spokesperson said the council had indicated it would “fast track” the subdivision and offer an open-space exemption in exchange for Uniting Church’s “in principle” plan for a “new long term ownership of the historic buildings”.
Greater Dandenong city planning director Jody Bosman said “vandalization and deterioration of historic churches is a matter of concern to both council and the community.
“Council continues to work with both the owners of the property and the community in trying to find a mutually acceptable solution which will see historic churches saved and restored.
“Hopefully they will have a role to play again in the life of the community in that area.”
