Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have spoken many times in this place before about the importance of Geelong’s built heritage and what I believe is our city’s tendency to undersell its value and relevance. This is particularly true of our churches. In Geelong we have many fine churches of enormous historic significance. They are as deeply woven into the historic fabric of our city as St Peter’s is a part of Rome and the Duomo is a part of Florence. The former St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Yarra Street is one of Victoria’s earliest surviving churches. It was built in 1841, just three years after Geelong was surveyed, and remains one of our city’s earliest buildings and a fine example of colonial Georgian architecture. In Moorabool Street, Christ Church was built in 1843 and is the oldest Anglican church in Victoria still occupying its original site. St Mary’s Basilica dominates our city’s skyline. It boasts the tallest bluestone spire in the country. By the time construction of St Mary’s started in 1854, the Catholic community of Geelong had already outgrown two smaller churches.

Our churches tell us a lot about how Geelong was settled and how it flourished. And these early churches are some of the few buildings in our city which have survived from the mid-19th century so they should be treasured by us all as a wonderful historical record of our city. But buildings of this age require commitment and sometimes the commitment has to extend beyond the congregation that occupies that church. Fewer people are attending church these days and I think, in many cases, an unfair burden falls on a dwindling few to look after buildings that should be cherished by our entire community. St George’s Presbyterian Church on La Trobe Street is one local church with an uncertain future. This church is 150 years old and needs $2 million of repair work. Understandably, that is a huge cost for a congregation of less than 60 active members. The option of selling is, I know, being reluctantly considered. Christ Church is another example of a congregation struggling to find the millions of dollars needed to fund repairs to its crumbling stone facade. We know that a magnificent church is all it takes to put a city on the tourist map. Salisbury Cathedral in England and Chartres Cathedral in France are two examples that come to mind. The common thread is the way these churches are celebrated as a visible and vital part of the history of their city and shown off to visitors with enormous pride. We have churches to be proud of in Geelong but it is time we took collective responsibility for buildings that need work. I have discussed this issue with Father Kevin Dillon and with his help I am planning to convene a meeting of all local churches to discuss how we can develop a community response to the conservation issues facing some of these churches. It is time to see it as not simply their problem, but our problem—our city’s problem—and to think about the ways in which we can assist in solving that problem.