A Pioneer Built It in 1873 and Gave It to the Church. Now It Is Being Sold to Pay for Abuse Redress

• The Anglican Diocese of Newcastle in New South Wales is selling churches to help fund abuse redress
• St James Church at Bungwahl, built in 1873, sold for more than $450,000
• The diocese takes 40 per cent of parish property sale proceeds for redress
• Its bishop estimated redress costs at about $10 million

The small St James Church at Bungwahl on the New South Wales mid-north coast has become a symbol of how abuse redress is reshaping church property. The ABC reported on 30 March 2018 that the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle was selling closed churches, partly to help fund compensation for survivors of child sexual abuse.

St James was built in 1873 by Alexander Croll, described as a Scottish pioneer, on land he had bought, and he gave it to the diocese in 1888. It sold for more than $450,000 after initially failing to reach its $500,000 reserve. Under the diocese’s rules, 40 per cent of the proceeds from selling parish property now goes towards redress. According to the report, at least 18 churches had closed since 2010, and 11 had been sold, raising about $5 million.

Bishop Peter Stuart estimated the diocese’s redress costs at about $10 million. “We understand the sadness that a closing of the church will bring. It is our current responsibility to address the harm that was done in the past,” he said.

Locals were angry. Greg Thomas, whose family had helped maintain the church’s setting, said: “We’re not particularly interested in doing any more work for the Diocese. They’ve turned their back on the community efforts made in the past.” Kevin Carter of the local historical society said: “I would have thought some of the pioneers would be turning in their grave.”

The Bungwahl sale raises a question that faces churches everywhere: who really owns a church that local families built, maintained and cherished for generations? Legally it may belong to the diocese, but the community often feels it is theirs.

Many Jamaican churches were built on land given by families and maintained by local volunteers, while the title sits with a denomination. The Newcastle story is a reminder that if a church must sell property, clear communication with the local community matters. It also shows why church trustees in Jamaica, and diaspora families who have donated land, should document gifts and any conditions attached to them, so that future decisions are made with the donors’ intentions in view.

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