Queensland church conversions: Glam renovations, cool features, blank canvases

For proper cathedral ceilings, lashings of history and quirky charm, it’s hard to go past a converted church.

From abandoned country chapels to steepled suburban landmarks, churches often occupy a handy location and are usually slap-bang in the middle of a decent patch of turf.

In recent years, conversions have become more common across Queensland but there are also some examples for sale as a bare canvas, just awaiting their turn for transformation, perhaps a buyer who sees the light.

Most majestic of them all on the market right now would have to be the Brisbane bayside beauty at 77 North St, Brighton. 

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The former church has received a glam renovation with polished floors and modern living areas, yet still retains plenty of the charm of its 1958 beginnings – including the striking angular architecture, arched windows and a criss-crossed feature window at the front. It’s all topped off with a modern steeple. The unique home has four bedrooms, with another two in the former Sunday school building at the rear.

Kim Murdoch of Place Estate Agents Nundah said the home, 800 metres from the coast, had attracted a lot of interest and she expects it to fetch into the “mid-900s”.

Another modern example on the market is the 1960s landmark in the Rockhampton suburb of Depot Hill, which underwent conversion some time ago and has kept much of its original detail, not least its original facade. Agent Kas Woch reckons at $265,000 it represents great value with its four bedrooms and large flood-free block.

If a quaint wooden example is more your cup of chai, there’s one at Marmor, 50km south of Rockhampton on a bare but impressive 4040 square metres, on the market at $125,000. It’s had two bedrooms and a bathroom added already.

“We’ve had a lot of grey nomads looking at it,” says agent Barry Nicholson of Ray White. “A lot of them come up from Victoria and are looking for a base up here.”

With a population of about 500, a pub, a servo, a school and a police staion, Marmor was a great friendly community, Mr Nicholson said.

At Feluga, near Tully, in Far North Queensland there’s an investment opportunity in the former St Rita’s Catholic Church built in 1935. It is now home to three separate units but still has its cathedral ceilings and original stained-glass windows. It’s for sale at $335,000. 

In the South Burnett town of Nanango, 81 Drayton St has been converted into a family home with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. 

Most churches come with plenty of history and stories. One converted hill-top example in Eumundi that recently went under contract, started life as a Catholic church built in the late-1800s and moved to its current site in the 1930s. It claims a young Kevin Rudd as a former Sunday school student back in the day.

Agent Trevor Versace of Gin Gin Country Realty recently sold a little wooden church at Mount Perry, which he believes the new owners, who paid $95,000, are planning to turn into a business venture tapping into the town’s tourism appeal.

“It’s a little gold mining town – the mine has been here 150 years – and adventures types like to climb Mount Perry itself,” he said.

Meanwhile, a landmark church in Brisbane’s Woolloongabba is about to launch into its new chapter. The beautiful Spanish mission landmark, St Luke’s will re-open on June 18 to reveal extensive refurbishment. St Luke’s was closed after a hail storm church caused damage and then for the duration of construction on the retirement village that has emerged around it, the newly completed St Luke’s Green.