{"id":218848,"date":"2018-09-20T22:07:27","date_gmt":"2018-09-20T12:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=218848"},"modified":"2020-07-27T16:41:56","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T06:41:56","slug":"historic-church-goes-on-the-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/09\/20\/historic-church-goes-on-the-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic Church Goes On The Market"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Proston’s former Shepherd Memorial Church of St Peter has been put on the market by the Anglican Church after the building’s deconsecration took 32 months longer than planned<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 20, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

Proston’s former Shepherd Memorial Church of St Peter has been put on the market by the Anglican Church.<\/p>\n

The building, which was built in 1939 and is listed in both the Queensland and South Burnett heritage registers, was deconsecrated in November 2015 due to declining attendances.<\/p>\n

However, it was unable to be sold until church officials were able to locate and re-inter the remains of the building’s benefactor, Charles Shepherd.<\/p>\n

In 1935 Mr Shepherd, a reclusive bachelor without any heirs, bequeathed the church \u00a310,000 to construct the building on condition he be buried beneath it.<\/p>\n

But at the 2015 deconsecration ceremony, Mr Shepherd’s body could not be found in the church mortuary where it was commonly believed to have been laid to rest.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This sparked an intensive 32-month search which only came to an end in July this year after the Anglican Church received a tip-off from a woman who had been present at Mr Shepherd’s original interment.<\/p>\n

She told church officials Mr Shepherd’s remains were buried in another part of the building’s foundations.<\/p>\n

The Anglican Church then brought in ground-penetrating radar equipment to locate an underground anomaly consistent with a formal burial site.<\/p>\n

Mr Shepherd’s remains were finally reinterred at the Proston Lawn Cemetery on July 18 in a ceremony presided by Bishop Cameron Venables and Archdeacon Mark Carlyon, and attended by about 20 Proston locals.<\/p>\n

This burial was the final step in the deconsecration process, and the building has now been listed for sale with L.J. Hooker Kingaroy.<\/p>\n

In addition to the church, the property includes chancellery furniture, three blocks of land, and a timber church hall that was added to the rear of the complex in 1969.<\/p>\n

The asking price is $120,000, which reflects the constraints the building’s heritage listing will impose on any new owner.<\/p>\n

[Photos: Supplied]<\/strong><\/p>\n

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