How reconstruction works at a local church reconnected a community and strengthened social values.
Written by Phillipa Hall
Images by Peter Bennetts
At rba it is our aspiration to undertake projects that allow us to not only explore, identify and conserve the tangible features and the intangible values – the genius loci (the spirit) – of a place which make it culturally significant, but also to produce outcomes that will strengthen and prolong the connections between people (the users and wider community) and these values.
These values, accumulated throughout time, may have several meanings which may be shared – or not – across different cultural and community groups. Our recent conservation works at the state listed Mar Thoma Church (former College Church) demonstrate the benefits, for both the place and wider community, of identifying and communicating these values.
The pluralistic context of modern intercultural communities was particularly visible in this project. The Mar Thoma Church, a relatively recent cultural and religious minority group originating from Kerela in India, proudly use a former Presbyterian Christian building, constructed using congregation raised funds during the depression of the late 1890s.
At the time of its construction, the church tower bore a delicate and ornate limestone crown and lantern – an architectural feature considered unique in Australia and rare internationally. By the early 1980s, the lantern had weathered to such an extent that dismantling was required, and a supporting scaffold installed under the remaining structural buttresses. While this intervention removed an immediate risk of collapse, it diminished both the building itself, and the ability of the community to appreciate its cultural significance. In the 40 subsequent years, the condition of the tower continued to deteriorate, and knowledge of its history, held by only a few individuals, was declining.
In 2008, the Mar Thoma Church purchased the building to house their growing congregation – an unusual situation at the time for a nation with declining religious affiliations.
The parallels between the aspirations of the original Presbyterian congregation and the current Mar Thoma congregation are striking, but in practice the integration of the Mar Thoma community into the suburb had been difficult at times.
Alongside the purchase of the building by the Mar Thoma Church, and a small addition completed in 2020, some long-term residents had prioritised the tangible elements (the built fabric, its context and views to it) over the intangible elements – the continued religious use of the building and its spiritual associations. With minimal connection between these groups, the meaning of the place as belonging to the Mar Thoma congregation was little understood by others. Without this understanding and communication, the ability to recognise – and therefore conserve – the holistic significance of the place was limited.
In contemplating the extent of conservation works, rba identified that the reconstruction of the lantern would meet the church’s three linked objectives: firstly to re-state the ongoing Christian use of the building, secondly to maximise the impact of available funds, and thirdly to provide aesthetic value for the wider community.
The conservation of the tower enabled some of the shared values of both groups to be acknowledged and appreciated. The use of the building as a place for Christian worship and for church and community events can continue, and the place has acquired new values as the first church in Australia for the Mar Thoma congregation. In parallel, the effort to reconstruct the lantern is respected and enjoyed by those in the community who value these tangible and historical elements of the building’s significance.
The lantern is now a physical and permanent demonstration of a commitment to preserve the shared and dynamic values of the place in the Parkville community, from the original Presbyterian congregation, many of whom were also immigrants, to the most recent Indian immigrant congregation.
Throughout all stages of this project, there was a shared belief that the final conservation outcome would justify the substantial efforts invested. The pride of the whole community in the conserved church as it was revealed has proved this to be the case.
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