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Trinity Heritage Mackay, PO Box 804, Mackay (2026)

17/08/2026

❎😊❎😁❎😄❎😆❎😃❎🙂❎ WINNERS WOULD NOT BE GRINNERS ❗❗ If the Save St Matthew's campaign had proceeded and succeeded, it seems that St Matthew's Parish risked being excluded from the NQ Anglican Diocese. So it seems that parishioners with the legal right to object to the sale of their parish church can do so, provided they are prepared to accept that, if they win, they may no longer be part of the institution they fought so hard to protect. ❗❗

Article from the Townsville Bulletin, Monday 17 August, 2026, pg 5.

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17/08/2026

😧IF YOU WIN, YOU LOSE? - “it may not be possible for St Matthew's to remain part of the Diocese in any event”.

🏳THE FIGHT to save St Matthew’s Anglican War Memorial Church in Townsville from sale by the receiver appointed at the behest of the NQ Anglican Bishop is apparently OVER🏳.

Campaign spokesman for Save St Matthew’s War Memorial Church, Leigh Kefford, confirmed on Friday to the Townsville Bulletin 📰 that its attempts to save St Matthew’s War Memorial Church had failed, saying legal costs 💵 and an 🚧 “extraordinary warning about the parish’s future have made continuing the battle untenable”.

The Townsville Bulletin article reports that Mr Kefford said the “receivers had reserved their position on legal costs as the dispute moved towards potential urgent Supreme Court determination” and that “[o]rdinary people cannot keep writing blank cheques to fight institutions with vastly greater resources” and ”that at some point the process itself becomes the weapon.”

It is our understanding that those “vastly greater resources” 💵💵are very likely provided from funds raised through the hard work of parishioners, some of the very parishioners who have tried to save their church ⛪. It seems that this is not a level playing field, as the bishop and diocesan management and their appointed receivers appear to have unlimited recourse to legal advice whilst parishioners and parishes that may wish to object, and we believe are entitled to object, by utilising appropriate steps through our legal system are unable to do so due to lack of funds 🪙and potential concerns about payment of legal debts if unsuccessful.

However, even if parishioners 🛐 did have the funds and were successful with their legal challenge to save St Matthew’s, the Townsville Bulletin 📰 reports that it could be a hollow 🫙victory, as the receivers’ lawyers indicated that without the support of the Diocese, 🚧 “it may not be possible for St Matthew's to remain part of the Diocese in any event.” So what does this mean - if you win, we will likely make sure that you lose anyway?😧

👀Do the Attorney-General of Queensland and the 👨🏽‍⚖️ Supreme Court of Queensland support this approach?

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Source: https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au

04/08/2026

✝ ST MARK'S CHURCH, Belgian Gardens has survived hail storms, cyclones, relocation and 123 years - WILL IT SURVIVE THE NQ ANGLICAN BISHOP'S RECEIVER🤑??🤞🏽

The small Anglican church 💒 of St Mark’s in Belgian Gardens, Townsville, started life in Wyndham Street, Sellheim, where a dedication ceremony took place on Thursday 26 November, 1903. The Anglican community of Sellheim raised £200 to ensure that the church opened “practically free of debt”. The building was constructed “by daily labor under the supervision of the [church building] committee”. It was built to a standard to survive “cyclonic disturbances” and indeed did survive a severe hail storm ⛈ during the construction process that destroyed many surrounding buildings. The church building is 20 feet wide and 82 feet long and included a handsome silky oak altar and windows glazed in amber 💛and green 💚 tints.

Over time the population of Sellheim declined, and St Mark’s was moved into the grounds 🏡of Bishop’s Lodge in Belgian Gardens where it stands today. The dedication service conducted by Bishop Feetham on Sunday 26 July 1931 was a grand affair with choirs from St James’, St John’s and St Stephen’s forming a procession from Bishop's Lodge. The congregation fully occupied the small church, and many more in number were seated outside under the trees.

Bishop Feetham’s dedication speech referenced the relationship between St Mark’s Day on April 25, 1915, when ANZAC troops landed under fire at Gallipoli, and his consecration to the office of Bishop on St Mark’s Day in 1913. He went on to explain that the re-erected church would “serve a two-fold purpose” - as a church for the growing population of Belgian Gardens and as a chapel of Bishop’s Lodge for those occasions when the small existing chapel in the gardens was insufficient. He thanked many for their hard work and their particular donations to make the church ready for use. The cost to remove, re-erect🔨, paint 🪜, light 💡and prepare appropriate approaches to the church building was £140. £68 was collected on the day. The Bishop also thanked the wardens of Charters Towers for agreeing that St Mark’s should be given to Belgian Gardens.

What will be the future for St Mark’s of Belgian Gardens, a sweet little chapel 💒 that was once so prized that Bishop Feetham had it moved from Sullheim and placed in the grounds 🌳of Bishop's Lodge?

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03/08/2026

⛪🌸SAVING YOUR CHURCH BUILDING MAY HELP SAVE YOUR PARISH🌸⛪

“Save the Parish” is a “grassroots movement working to resource the parish system across the [UK], ensuring the poorest communities are not abandoned, and that dioceses and the national church have, at their core, the call to put their parishes first”. The situation being tackled by Save the Parish in the UK is not dissimilar from that facing Anglican parishioners and their parishes in NQ today. In his speech at the Save the Parish Summer Conference 2026, Rev. Walker, founder of Save the Parish, quotes Justin Welby, the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 2013 to 2025, who said “you could lose the House of Bishops tonight…[and] it’d be a couple of years before there was any noticeable impact on the Church of England. Whereas if you got rid of all the parishes and the churchwardens and the laypeople it would be noticeable in about one second.”

1️⃣Parishes should be put first

The NQ Anglican bishop’s restructure proposes the “consolidat[ion of] the current 54 individual ministry units (many no larger than an actual parish) into 7 larger, regionally aligned ministry regions, supported by parishes” with the “7 ministry regions … act[ing] as the primary administrative and operational centres for [the NQ Anglican Diocese]. In his report, the receiver indicates that “parishes will continue at a local level, maintaining community connection, local identity and pastoral presence” with “smaller or less active sites … grouped under larger neighbouring parishes rather than operating independently”. This may not seem so troubling on the surface; however, note the wording that the “ministry regions [are] SUPPORTED BY PARISHES” and that the ministry regions are “the primary administrative and operational centres FOR THE DIOCESE” - NOT FOR THE PARISHES! It seems that the focus of this restructure is on supporting the diocesan management structures rather than supporting parishes.

2️⃣A poor church is five times more likely to be closed than a rich church

In his report, the receiver for the NQ Anglican Diocese claims that the diocese has “too many churches, too few clergy and too few parishioners”, “an aging volunteer base”, is burdened by building holding costs (the report indicates that these costs are all carried by the diocese but this is not the case), and is required “to meet funding gaps by shrinking parishes”. In the UK, funding for struggling parishes also ceased, to “stop subsidising failure”. Research in the UK indicated that a poor church was five times more likely to be closed than a rich church.

3️⃣One third of parishioners walk away, giving drops by one third

The redirection of funds away from parishes, also a consequence of the receivership of the NQ Anglican Diocese, has resulted in a fire sale of church properties in the UK, resulting in closures, cuts to clergy, and parishioners “staying home or going elsewhere, and taking their money with them”. When their church building was no longer available to them, one third of UK Church of England parishioners walked away, and giving dropped by one third. We hear that Anglican parishioners in NQ are responding similarly. Unwisely perhaps, the receivers of the NQ Anglican Diocese have indicated that the “renewal” of the diocese “relies upon the improvement of the financial performances of parishes and the diocese generally” with the “focus … [on] lifting the number of parishioners attending church and making giving a topic of discussion whilst making it as easy as possible for parishioners to do so”. We won’t be surprised if the receiver’s and bishop’s plans in this area are not realised.

4️⃣Parishes should have the right to good legal advice

Interestingly, Rev. Walker points out that when dioceses decide to close [or sell] churches or merge parishes, the diocesan management has unlimited recourse to legal advice - advice ultimately paid for by the parishes. Yet, the parishes with little to no funds available to them cannot access good legal advice. Parishioners trying to save St Matthew’s War Memorial Church in Townsville faced a similar situation and worked to raise sufficient funds to engage appropriate legal representation. And as the receivers and diocesan management now control the majority of NQ Anglican parish funds, most, if not all, NQ parishes would be in a similar situation. Save the Parish in the UK advocates for all UK parishes to have the right to good legal advice. Clearly it would be fair for this to be the case for parishes in the NQ Anglican Diocese as well.

5️⃣When church buildings and sites are sold a share of the proceeds should go to the parish to which they are attached

Furthermore, when church buildings [and properties] such as rectories and halls are sold, Save the Parish is advocating that the attached parish receives some of the proceeds, on the basis that those buildings [and properties] were, in most cases, built or paid for by the parishioners and the funds are essential to the ongoing viability of the parish. No doubt parishes in NQ would have also benefited if the NQ Anglican Diocese had adopted this approach when selling parish properties over the last decades. There is, of course, an immediate opportunity for them to implement such a proposal - that is, if we assume that they do in fact wish for the majority of parishes in the NQ Anglican Diocese to continue and to be financially viable.

6️⃣Young adults may choose to worship if a church is open in their community

And importantly, a report from the Church of England and Theos titled ‘Understanding Young Adult Journeys to Faith’ indicates that young adults from non-church backgrounds in the UK are choosing to worship “because [the Church of England] had a building right there, in their home town, open …”. This is undoubtedly another strong argument for maintaining church buildings in all communities and perhaps more importantly in smaller communities where so many services are being discontinued.

7️⃣Time to reconsider

So it seems that closing churches and selling them off, restricting parish self-determination through financial and other forms of control, may not reap the intended rewards. We suggest that the receiver and bishop reconsider their approach and work to save as many church buildings and sites as possible.

If you want to read the receiver’s report, seehttps://anglicannq.org/images/documents/02_About_Us/09_Renewal_Process/260612_0948_SV_Partners_CDSNQ_Restructure_Report.pdf

If you want to know more about Save the Parish, see https://www.savetheparish.com/

To read Rev. Marcus Walker’s full speech at the Save the Parish Summer Conference 2026, seehttps://www.savetheparish.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/STP-conference-speech-2026.pdf

If you want to review the report “Understanding Young Adult Journeys to Faith”, seehttps://churchsupporthub.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Understanding-Young-Adult-Journeys-to-Faith-Theos-Research-Report.pdf

🎯If you want to HELP SAVE OUR MACKAY HERITAGE
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01/08/2026

🚫STOP the sale: Can you HELP uncover the HISTORY OF ST MATTHEW'S War Memorial Church in TOWNSVILLE? If you have information ACT NOW! See St Matthew's Anglican Ministry Unit, Townsville for more information.

🎯If you want to HELP SAVE OUR MACKAY HERITAGE
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29/07/2026

💵💵Was the RECEIVERSHIP REALLY NECESSARY when there was $5M+ in diocesan and parish bank accounts?🪙🪙🪙

When the receiver for The Corporation of the Diocesan Synod of North Queensland (the Anglican Diocese of NQ) filed an application with the Supreme Court on 14 November 2025, information in an attachment indicated that there was over $5M in diocesan and parish bank accounts.

In his Anglican Diocese of North Queensland Restructure Report, dated 11 June 2026, the receiver suggested that “[a]n early priority [of the receivership] was improving financial oversight and control”. As a consequence, it appears that diocesan and parish bank accounts were consolidated “to strengthen cash control, improve visibility of available funds, and support transparent financial management”. It seems that the consolidation of bank accounts also meant that parishes lost control of the majority of their funds, funds that had generally been raised by parishioners or specifically received by the parish from bequests and donations. Control of all diocesan and parish bank accounts, and that means the majority of the $5M+ that was in those bank accounts, appears to now be with the receiver and diocesan management.

Let’s take a step back - those of you who have been following this saga will know why the bishop said that he made an application to the Supreme Court - to pay restitution debts. The receiver’s Restructure Report from June 2026 listed the current restitution debt at $1.5M, with an additional $8.5M in anticipated debt. Over time, the bishop has indicated that the debt is $6M, then $8M, or perhaps $5.6M, or maybe $8M to $15M. Regardless of the amounts owed on these debts, we absolutely support their payment. We believe that the current $1.5M debt could have been paid from the $5M+ held in diocesan and parish bank accounts.

So why was the receiver appointed when the NQ Anglican Diocese could pay its current $1.5M debt? The bishop indicated to the media on numerous occasions that the receivership was necessary to pay anticipated future restitution debts. The receiver also indicated to the Supreme Court that it was their opinion that “fundamental financial constraints existed that were an unintended result of the 148-year-old operating structure of The Corporation of the Diocesan Synod of North Queensland” and that “[t]he only way to avoid a never-ending cycle of cash constraint being solved by asset sales, would be to allow for a restructure of ADNQ’s [the Anglican Diocese of NQ’s] underlying structures”. So it seems that although diocesan management could have paid the current $1.5M debt, the bishop and the receiver petitioned the court to allow them to implement a general restructure. We suspect this may have been their plan all along.

So perhaps the receivership was, and is, really about implementing a restructure. A restructure that increases the power and control of diocesan management whilst also reducing the ability of parishes and parishioners to determine and influence their future. A restructure that will sell more than 50% of church buildings, buildings paid for and maintained by parishioners and their communities for generations, buildings that contain the memories of past and current parishioners that should also be available for future generations, buildings that, according to the receiver and bishop, trap the diocese with their history!! And, very importantly, buildings that allow parishes to generate income to support their community activities and maintain their churches. We suspect that the sale of income-generating church buildings will lead to the sale of additional churches when their maintenance costs cannot be covered by their parishes.

We have to point out that we find it rather odd that the receiver, who suggested that the restructure is necessary to “avoid the never-ending cycle of cash constraint being solved by asset sales”, does exactly that, and on a scale that has likely not been seen previously. So now it seems, with the approval of the Supreme Court of Queensland, the bishop and receiver have secured a receivership to restructure. Receivership costs are projected to be around $4M. Some predict that the bishop’s receivership and restructuring may actually destroy the NQ Anglican Diocese. Perhaps it would have been better to pay the current $1.5M debt from the $5M+ held in diocesan and parish bank accounts and wait and see how the future unfolded regarding anticipated debts rather than commit the diocese to an expensive receivership and an apparently unpopular restructure that together may destroy a 148-year-old religious corporation and see all of its buildings sold?

Source: https://anglicannq.org/images/documents/02_About_Us/09_Renewal_Process/260612_0948_SV_Partners_CDSNQ_Restructure_Report.pdf

🎯If you want to HELP SAVE OUR MACKAY HERITAGE
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26/07/2026

🤍🐄🌧️Will MALANDA hustle 🎲 to SAVE Hassall designed Anglican heritage church?🌧️🐄🤍

St Matthew's Anglican Church in Malanda was designed by ✍️ Mr R.R. Hassall of Malanda and built by 🔨 Mr J.E. Mears of Millaa Millaa. Robert Ransom Hassall’s forebears were devoted Anglicans, many clergypersons and missionaries. His grandfather, “James Samuel Hassall, was the first minister in the Sherwood district [Brisbane], serving St Matthew’s at Sherwood from 1876 until his retirement in 1899”*. It would be interesting to know whether Robert Hassall's childhood church influenced the Malanda church's dedication to St Matthew’s.

The Malanda Church of England Building Fund commenced its fundraising activities in earnest in 1917. The Ladies Guild worked consistently over the next decade to raise the necessary funds to build the church.

During an “impressive and spectacular ceremony” watched by 200 people, the foundation stone was laid on 8 October 1928 on “a fine site … overlook[ing] the Johnstone River”. Mr Mears, the contractor, presented Bishop Feetham with a silver trowel. The church was to be “81 feet long, 33 feet wide and 31 feet high, all in reinforced concrete, in the Gothic style with parapet walls”.

On 20 July the following year, Bishop Feetham again attended Malanda, this time to open and dedicate St Matthew’s Church. At the afternoon tea at the conclusion of the ceremony, Bishop Feetham congratulated the people of Malanda “on the beauty and dignity of their church, built by their own efforts and selflessness”. He said, “he was glad that the people had sufficient faith in [Malanda’s] growing prosperity to build such a church, one that will endure when we ourselves have passed away”.

The Supreme Court of Queensland has now approved the application from the current NQ Anglican bishop’s receiver to sell St Matthew’s Church in Malanda. Hopefully the Malanda community can once again, through their “own efforts and selflessness”, find a solution to retain their history and heritage.🥀🌿

*Hassall Family History Association Newsletter, Edition 56, August 2023.

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24/07/2026

🛤️💒🌳“EVERY LITTLE TOWN NEEDS A CHURCH”* And in the 1920s, the Koumala Church of England Building Committee worked mighty hard to make sure that they had one.

Meetings were held at “Braeside”, the residence of Mr Richardson. Committee members included Mrs W.J. Hatfield (Homefield), Mrs G. Culverhouse (Loloma), Mrs C. Rolfe (Koumala), Miss Inverarity (The Palms), Mrs Percy Hatfield (Mary Vale), Miss G Hatfield (Homefield) and Messrs. W.J. Hatfield, G. Richardson and Percy Hatfield.

To raise funds, the committee organised a variety of community events, including florin evenings, euchre nights, dances, and afternoon tea at the 1926 election polling booth at the Koumala school. Fundraising events also included a half-day sports event followed by a plain-and-fancy dress ball in November 1928. The Koumala Church of England Building Committee expected the financial contributions from these events to “bring [their] bank account to well over £250”.

On Friday 6 December, 1929 in the Koumala District News, in the Daily Mercury, it was reported that “[w]ith dogged persistence the committee … has persevered in its efforts to raise sufficient money to build and furnish a church [and] it is now felt that the funds in hand are sufficient to warrant a start being made, and plans of the building are under consideration”.

By early April 1930, the plans for the proposed Church had been approved, and tenders were to be called for the construction. By September 1930, construction had commenced, and in November, to protect the building's fabric, it was oiled and painted.

On Saturday 29 November 1930, All Saints Anglican Church in Koumala was consecrated by Right Rev. J.O. Feetham, Bishop of North Queensland. The Daily Mercury reported that “[t]he occasion held interest for the whole district, for practically everyone has helped either directly or indirectly to establish the church, but the event was especially memorable and important for the little band of church workers who have labored so patiently and persistently for over five years to achieve their object, and they must feel justly proud of the neat little church and also of the fact that it was opened free of debt”.

Now parishioners and their community in Koumala and surrounding areas may need to work mighty hard to save their All Saints Anglican Church from sale by the receivers of the Anglican Diocese of NQ.

*the heartfelt words of a member of the Koumala community.

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22/07/2026

💒“EVERY SMALL TOWN NEEDS A CHURCH”: Will the last church in Hughenden survive the receivership of the NQ Anglican Diocese?

Community members are calling for urgent action to protect Hughenden’s Anglican Church precinct and prevent it from falling into private ownership.

The current St Thomas’ Church is the second to be built on the site. The first was consecrated in 1885 but was unfortunately destroyed by a weather event in 1949. Some may not know that there are several souvenir stones in the church from St Michael’s and All Angels’ Church, Hughenden, England and from St Paul’s in London, some dating back to the 12th century.

Whilst we have no legal qualifications, we understand, from discussions with other parties facing the same challenges, that there could be an opportunity to apply to the Supreme Court to halt the sale of the property if the land was donated specifically for a church and/or if the funds raised were again for specific purposes. We understand there may be legal protections associated with these trust situations, and also under the RECI Act 1861.

Please see below images of articles from the Townsville Daily Bulletin that provide detailed information on fundraising for the current church. We are confident that more information can be uncovered. We wish Hughenden every success in saving its Anglican church buildings and property.

🎯If you want to HELP SAVE OUR MACKAY HERITAGE
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20/07/2026

Unfortunately, another NQ historical gem has been lost: the Malanda Igloo. Some commentary on Save the Malanda Pavilion "The Igloo". suggests that heritage listing may have helped save The Igloo. We know that heritage listing on its own is insufficient to protect buildings, particularly those that are costly to repair. The Igloo was listed as a “local heritage place” in the Tablelands Regional Council's planning scheme; however, it has been suggested that the council did not prioritise the necessary maintenance to prevent the building from falling into disrepair, in order to use the building's degraded condition to justify its demolition. Although we are not familiar with the exact circumstances surrounding the Malanda Igloo, this is not an uncommon practice. The council’s management of the situation relating to the Igloo is now the subject of a 77-page complaint that has been lodged with the Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA), the Ombudsman and the Crime and Corruption Commission.

🎯If you want to HELP SAVE OUR MACKAY HERITAGE
📍FOLLOW us at Trinity Heritage Mackay
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