Waratah Chapel, a 140-year-old former church in Waratah, Tasmania, was a once-in-a-lifetime find for owner Tracy Warren
“A young man in the audience had always liked her, so he stood up and said he would like to marry her. They were happily married for over 60 years.” She has watched it expand and become a community that shares her enthusiasm, particularly during the past two years of the pandemic whenWith real estate agents, church owners and eager buyers in the group, properties don’t often stay on the market for long.Photograph: Shannon LamdenPhotograph: Shannon Lamden
“The plan going into it was to salvage all the floorboards and reuse them,” says Burton, who was keen to preserve the existing materials and save money.Aided by Burton’s experience in restoring heritage-listed buildings, and his current work doing extensions on Melbourne terrace houses, the couple have been working hard andBut as they turn Bible cupboards into bedroom doors and lay new floorboards, it is the character of the building – and the town – that has brought the project to life.
St James Anglican church at Kurrajong, just outside Sydney, attracted an unprecedented amount of attention when listed for sale in October last year.