A Waterfront Church Sells for $4.6 Million as a Diocese Raises Money for Abuse Survivors

• The heritage-listed Sandy Bay church sold at auction for $4.6 million
• The buyer, developer Errol Stewart, plans to turn the hall into a home
• The diocese estimates total abuse liability at $19.4 million
• More than 50 properties have been sold, with 25% of proceeds going to redress

A historic waterfront church in one of Hobart’s most expensive suburbs has sold for $4.6 million, ABC News reported on 10 December 2021. The heritage-listed Sandy Bay Anglican Church, known as the Red Chapel, had been held by the Anglican Church for more than 150 years.

Bidding at the auction opened at $3.5 million, with three bidders competing. The buyer was Errol Stewart, a Launceston car dealer and property developer, who plans to convert the 213-square-metre hall into a private residence but leave the church building itself as it is. “Just leave it as it is … we don’t aim to do anything with the little church,” he said.

The sale is part of a wider programme. The Anglican Diocese of Tasmania has paid about $5.5 million to 51 survivors through the National Redress Scheme and civil claims, and estimates its total liability at $19.4 million. It is selling property to help meet that bill, with 25 per cent of proceeds directed to the redress fund. More than 50 properties had been sold, with another 20 under contract or pending.

Waterfront land in a high-value suburb turned a small chapel into a multi-million-dollar asset. For the diocese, the property market has become a key way to meet obligations it cannot cover from ordinary income.

The case shows how quickly a church’s real estate can shift from a place of worship to a source of cash when liabilities arrive, and how a sale can keep a heritage building standing while changing who uses it.

For Jamaican churches, there are two takeaways. First, church buildings on prime land may be worth far more than a congregation realises, and knowing their value is part of good management. Second, strong safeguarding is also financial protection: failures in care can end with a church selling the very buildings that generations built up.

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