By AIDAN KNIGHT
ONE of the more interesting debates from the August Latrobe City Council meeting centred around keeping things holy. Specifically, the old Methodist church in Traralgon.
At the August 25 meeting at GPAC, Budgeree Ward Councillor, Leanne Potter put forward a motion to consult the community one last time on whether council should renew the lease for the historic building at 41 Princes Street.
The consultation would seek written submissions from the public about the building’s future use or relocation, and importantly, whether anyone can help foot the bill. This also includes funding options for the church if it were to continue to renew its lease.
Cr Potter presented this, with the purpose of providing council with an update on negotiations with VicTrack and options available for the address (located opposite the train station), which she understands serves a lot of sentimental and historical value in the hearts of many Traralgon residents.
Sentimentality doesn’t pay the bills, however, and this is reflected in the $844,000 (plus GST) it has been calculated to cost Latrobe City to upgrade the building to meet current safety standards for public use.
Much like the building itself and the figure it was previously dedicated to, this is a debate that refuses to die, and has been haunting council agendas for years like a heritage-listed ghost:
-By November 2021, council voted to demolish the church after salvageable items were removed;
-By December that same year, demolition was dramatically halted in favour of more community consultation;
-In May 2023, an Expression of Interest campaign was launched, essentially a call for anyone with a workable idea to step forward;
-The following November, council received those outcomes and resolved to negotiate a new lease with VicTrack, the site’s actual owner, and;
-By April 2025, a draft 10-year lease, with the option for another 10, was put on the table.
And yet, despite all the twists and turns, council officers now say the building has reached the end of its useful life.
With too many upgrades required to run for public use, and no funding to back it, their recommendation is demolition.
Still, as Cr Potter reminded her colleagues, plenty of Traralgon residents remain attached to the church, and officers now recommend one last round of community engagement to see if anyone can conjure up the ideas (or cash) to save it.
“It’s important we hear from the people who know and love, and not just decide what happens to it, but also allow the community to have their say on it,” she pleaded.
“Help us make a decision that honours the past and helps us move forward, making the process as meaningful as it possibly can be.”
Cr Pugsley, who seconded the ultimately unanimous motion, emphasised the officers findings were a direct result of moving the information centre previously housed in the 146-year-old church to a new address, making it of little use in its current state.
“I’m interested to see what the community would like to do with it,” she said in relation to the public submissions.
In council’s first year of discussion around the church, calls were made simply to relocate the building to a more central Traralgon location, as a heritage building, rather than upgrading it for any commercial use.
Regional historian (and former Wellington Shire Councillor) Linda Barraclough said at the time that it was one of only five pre-1880 timber churches left in Gippsland.
Tyers Ward Councillor, Darren Howe also supported the notion of letting the people speak, despite the exorbitant cost council is faced with.
“We heard in 2021 the community’s angst,” he said, “it’s time to go back to them and give them the opportunity to save it.”
For now, the old Methodist church remains in limbo, somewhere between salvation and the bulldozer, waiting for the next sermon to arrive in the form of a written submission.
Written submissions from the public as to the future use and/or location of the building (including funding options) are required by no later than 5pm, October 31, 2025.
