A modernist church in Far North Queensland designed by seminal architect Eddie Oribin will be sold by the local parish, prompting the Australian Institute of Architects to launch a bid to have the building added to the Queensland Heritage Register.
The Mareeba Uniting Church, built in 1960, is one a number of church buildings Oribin designed in Far North Queensland. In 2014, it was recognized with the Enduring Architecture prize at Far North Queensland Regional Architecture Awards. The jury described it as “an exquisitely conceived and executed building that has a sense of completeness, from its external brick and timber fabric to its bespoke furniture and religious elements. The church has a sense of enduring quality, and has endured, due to the skilful use of beautiful materials and details that are used sparingly, yet are absolutely suited to their purpose.”
The Uniting Church Australia Presbytery of Carpentaria announced it would sell the building and land because of “the ongoing cost of maintenance” and that it will use the proceeds to re-establish the congregation elsewhere in Mareeba.”
The planned sale has sparked fears the building could be demolished and the Australian Institute of Architects wants to make sure the building is heritage protected. The Institute has submitted a nomination for heritage listing to the Queensland Heritage Council.
The Uniting Church in Mareeba by Eddie Oribin, photographed by Sarah Scragg in 2014.
Image: courtesy John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
Queensland architect Don Watson said both Eddie Oribin and the church are highly regarded. “Oribin’s work is exceptional and is outside the normal work that was being done [at the time].”
“The Mareeba church is quite original. It’s quite a small site and the church had very little option but to be square. It’s a glass box with very interesting louvred shading devices that protect the building from early morning and late afternoon sun. It is so very clever,” he continued
“And the way he’s used materials in the most unusual. The brick coursing is not horizontal running at an angle. The building itself has a degree of geometry about it with its angular zig zag walls.
“Oribin was very keen on Frank Lloyd Wright throughout his whole career. There are several buildings done in the late 1950s that are very Wrightian in their imagery and that includes the Mareeba church. Although the detailing is influenced by Wright, the building is by no means a copy.”
Eddie Oribin is a significant Queensland architect who practised mainly in Cairns and has buildings across North Queensland. A number of his buildings have been added to the Queensland Heritage Register, including St Paul’s Anglican Church in Proserpine, which was added in 2013 along with the Mareeba Shire Hall, and the St Andrew’s Memorial Church in Innisfail, which was heritage listed in 2003.
Oribin’s own home and studio in Cairns won the Enduring Architecture Award at the 2013 Queensland Architecture Awards. He also lends his name to the building of the year award in Far North Queensland.
Watson said he was alerted to the upcoming sale of the church site by architectural historian Cameron Logan at the University of Sydney. He worked on the heritage nomination in collaboration with Queensland chapter of the Institute’s heritage committee and Laurie Jones with input from Lisa Daunt, Richard Stringer and Shaneen Fantin, supported by materials from the Oribin collection held the Fryer Library at the University of Queensland.
The church told local media that “the decision to close the church and sell the land and adjoining buildings was prompted by a number of factors, including the expansion of a nearby roundabout, noise and changes in gatherings due to COVID-19.”
Watson said he would like to see the building retained for public use. However, Mareeba Shire Mayor Angela Toppin has ruled out acquiring the site.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
