{Australia} Historic Sandy Bay church sells to raise funds for Anglican Church's abuse redress scheme

ABC ^ | 10 December 2021 | Fiona Blackwood

[Cronos]

A heritage-listed church and community hall on prime waterfront land in one of Tasmania's most expensive suburbs has been sold for $4.6 million to car dealer and property developer Errol Stewart.

The Sandy Bay property, which has been held by the Anglican Church for more than 150 years, has been sold as part of the redress scheme for victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the clergy.

Many speculated the prime real estate would be developed into apartments, but Mr Stewart plans to make the 1,556 square metre site a private home for himself and his wife.

"This side of the city, looking north and over the waterfront is nearly as good as you get anywhere in the country," he said.

Mr Stewart said while he would have liked the bidding for the property to have stopped earlier, he still had a "little bit left in us", adding he had no plans to develop the site.

"Just leave it as it is ... we don't aim to do anything with the little church. Maybe someone wants to have a private dinner there, I haven't put my mind to it too much," he said.

He said he would be open to community groups using the church.

"It's been here a long time and I think it's an important cultural asset to the city."

The 213 square metre hall will be converted into a home, but he plans to keep the exterior facade.

"This is just a beautiful house, that's how I see it," Mr Stewart said.

"Internally you put some bedrooms and some bathrooms in, but externally nothing at all, perhaps another window here or there."

But the Launceston resident still has some convincing to do with his wife.

"I've got to convince my wife to come to Hobart, but the grandchildren will put a bit of pressure on her … my children both live down here, my grandchildren all live here so the long-term aim is that I live here."

The Anglican Church has sold over 50 properties and another 20 are under contract or yet to be sold.

A spokesperson for the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania said 25 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of church properties was directed to the redress fund.

So far, the Anglican Church has paid close to 5.5 million dollars to 51 survivors of sexual abuse through the National Redress Scheme and civil litigation.

The Anglican Diocese has estimated its liability under the scheme to be $19.4 million dollars.

[Cronos]

This is really sad. Australia has rapidly been de-Christianizing

[Cronos]

According to the 2016 census, religious distribution is as follows: Protestant 23.1% (Anglican 13.3%, Uniting Church 3.7%, Presbyterian and Reformed 2.3%, Baptist 1.5%, Pentecostal 1.1%, Lutheran .7%, other Protestant .5%), Roman Catholic 22.6%, other Christian 4.2%, Muslim 2.6%, Buddhist 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3% (Eastern Orthodox 2.1%, Oriental Orthodox .2%), Hindu 1.9%, other 1.3%, none 30.1%, unspecified 9.6%.

From Wikipedia

The total number of "no religion" or "unspecified" is 40% --> nearly the same as the combined "Protestant" and Catholic (23+22 = 45%)

[Cronos]

New Zealand seems the same way only further along

Almost half (48.6 percent) of New Zealanders stated they had no religion in the 2018 census and 6.7 percent made no declaration. However, Christianity remains the most common religion; 37 percent of the population at the 2018 census identified as Christian.

Around six percent of the population is affiliated with non-Christian religions.

Hinduism is the second-most popular religion, claiming 2.6 percent of the population,

and Sikhism is the fastest-growing faith.

[Jacquerie]

Satan has been busy.