ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC
By ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC
LATROBE City Council has allocated $86,000 from the forecasted budget surplus for the future of the 140-year-old Methodist church in Traralgon. At the last council meeting on Monday, May 1, councillors voted on an expression of interest regarding the church and its future location and use. In November 2021, council decided to demolish the building, which is located on state government property, to make room for Traralgon train station enhancements. However, the plan was met with community opposition, and Latrobe City pursued other options for the former church. Latrobe City had received a heritage assessment by David Helms into the 1879 church building that had been the Visitor Information Centre at the Traralgon train station. Mr Helms’ findings revealed that the building holds local historic and representative significance to Latrobe City and should be conserved. As the building is only one of five pre-1880 timber churches left in Gippsland, council has voted to engage in further community consultation and allow for public submissions. Jenny Hammet, a local, addressed council at the meeting, and wished that council consulted with those in the community further regarding the future of the old Methodist church. “If it has to be physically removed and if then it should be physically within Traralgon and ideally close to the historical centre of the town,” she added. Helen Vaughn addressed the council in an emotional plea for councillors to dismiss the notion of demolition. “I was alarmed at the thought that the council is considering demolishing the old church, it is one of the very few physical manifestations of this history in this town”. Visibly upset, Ms Vaughn said, “It concerns me tonight that almost 18 months after the heritage report has been done, possible demolition is still on the table.” Ms Vaughn urged council to reconsider demolition as an option at all as “there is so little of Traralgon’s history left”. “This town has a long history, we just don’t see much of it anymore because a lot of it has been torn down or it was burnt down, so let’s make every effort to keep this church,” she added. The $86,000 allocated by council, however, is just enough to cover the demolition costs of the building, according to the council’s officer reports, while refurbishing in its current location would cost $340,000, and relocation would cost $775,000. Trevor Graham of Traralgon & District Historical Society, also urged council to retain the building and its location. Mr Graham presented a proposition for the council to turn the old church into a museum that would showcase either transport relevant to the building next to the train station or a faith museum, given its history as a church. “The museum would look very familiar to what was in the building as the information centre,” he said. Mr Graham expressed his dissatisfaction that council did not consider the building’s historical value more. “It’s disappointing that the heritage value of the building identified by the report was ignored or dismissed and not considered at all,” he said. Council have yet to decide on the future of the historic building and the future still remains unclear.
