Baptist Church Ballarat Restoration Australia Series 3 Episode 5

When a former Baptist Church cum nightclub hits the market in Ballarat, local anaesthetist Michael Whitehead buys it and plans to turn it into a home, but he soon finds the task could drag on for eternity!

Link to iview

The Dawson Street Baptist Church had been one of the places that defined the character of Ballarat - or the character of refined establishment that its citizens preferred to project. It featured prominently in the early 1970s guide by K.J. Turnbull "Townscape : an impression of urban Ballarat for those who hate guide books", and of course it was on Rose postcards. But this was in the 1970s, when heritage was only coming to be appreciated and god was loosing command. So the Baptists sold it in 1972.

The Baptists abandoned their Dawson Street church in 1972 and it became the White House restaurant and then the Power House night club, described as notorious by the local media but fondly remembered by former patrons.

But after having been left derelict for more than a decade and a home to vermin, the "CBD icon" was purchased by Ballarat anaesthetist Michael Whitehead who apparently "relished the chance to show some love" to the faded structure ... and its column façade." Whitehead is a Board Member of the Ballarat Arts Foundation, President of Ballarat Lyric Theatre, and a recipient of the Ballarat South Rotary-BAF Denis Bateman Award for contribution to the Ballarat Arts community. As close to a Medici as Ballarat is likely to get. We clearly need more of his sort of philanthropist if heritage buildings will survive in the future. 

The building was listed for sale at $800,000 + GST (tax) and had been on the market from about 2011, but a long campaign by various real estate agents seemed unfruitful, despite The Ballarat Courier making a clever music pun with its video of the band Damaged.

Damaged though it clearly was, there was not much in the episode to show its condition before the restoration works had already started. I presume there was an archival record made prior to the works commencing. Fortunately we have the prolific local heritage photographer Lisa Gervasoni to thank for some documentation.

The VHR says:

Designed by Ballarat architect J.A. Doane, begun in 1866-67 and completed externally in 1875-79.  renovated in 1891, 1910 and again in 1933. In 1958 further internal changes were made. A new pulpit and panelling in front of the choir stalls were dedicated in September 1959. The stuccoed main facade features a double storied, pedimented prostyle portico on fluted Corinthian columns. The main wall is faced with giant Corinthian pilasters supporting the parapet and continuous entablature and is infilled with ashlar masonry and blind pedimented openings. 

In its heyday, it was a grand and imposing edifice, probably modelled on the Collins Street Baptist Church in Melbourne where the resident historian Ros (Otzen - no surname provided) provided the back storey.

The Ballarat Baptists played a small role in scientific debates in the nineteenth century, pronouncing on matters such as Darwins new evolution theory:

“Cast away all doubt suggested by reason [and pursue] a thorough belief in the assurance contained in the text and a faith in the spirit by which all prayers will be heard and answered.”  Rev. C Clarke of London, Dawson Street Baptist Church, Ballarat, June 1869  

Dr Whitehead doesn't seem like the do it yourself sort of restorer, and the building he has taken on, like several other of the projects in this season, is on a scale that any individual is unlikely going to be able to tackle. So he gets the local company, Nat Twaits Building, to manage and complete the project. Like Episode 1 of this season, we wonder if this firm has the skills and experience to understand and properly carryout an authentic restoration of this sort. Nat's own website actually provides more substantial information on the progress of the works and the process of filming it, noting that Restoration Australia visited about five times: when the hydronically heated floor was installed; when it was all framed up;  when it was all plastered; when structural steel was going in; when the double-glazed windows were installed; and then the final. (I don't think Harrison mentions that the windows were double glazed). Whitehead does have a go at tidying up the render with a little grinding wheel on a drill, and knocking out a few bits of glass.

While building shell has undergone a cosmetic restoration (there doesn't seem to have been any d=need of major structural repairs) , the big change has involved building a complete new house along with a separate flat inside the church. The once impressive classical space can no longer be appreciated in its awe inspiring whiteness. In any case after 150 years as a public venue for the sacred and profane, private ownership now excludes public access. Except for an Open House event that allowed some public inspection, so perhaps this might continue in the future.

The design philosophy was "...to bring the property into the modern era, while retaining the architectural style and unique elements ... Our focus was to honour the architecture of the building while also creating a liveable, modern residence...We not only retained and restored the building’s striking roman columns, but have also incorporated the original Baptism pit as a feature of the main living area.”

Of course there are the technical issues to overcome, and heritage regulation means there has to be a compromise. As usual, the heritage architect is all powerful and to be feared. In this case it is  Wendy (Jacobs - why can't they give people their full names?) who has the final say, and that Heritage Victoria is leaving it up to her. Either Wendy has considerable sway with the bureaucrats, or government cutbacks mean they can't spare the time to make decisions. Since new permits seem to be required for all the changes of mind, it is more likely that the whole business is worked out through the usual complexities of consultations, meetings, emails, updated plans, new permit applications, and amendments. 

Wendy is finally convinced that the window frames can't be saved so reproductions can be made. Ballarat local carpenter Andrew does a great job on these using his grandfather's book to design the nail-less key to tie in the parts (again Andrew isn't given a surname - do they have to pay them under equity rules if they get a proper credit?)

A concrete floor is desired, but another heritage permit is required and causing further delays, and then the bureaucrats won't give in, so a timber floor is reinstated, and Harrison concedes that this is probably good heritage practice, but their is no sign of it in the final restoration - just lots of tiles. One wonders what might have been under the floor. Usually these projects turn up various bits of archaeological evidence, a few coins, some religious ephemera perhaps.

Some more light is needed at the back and Heritage Victoria approve cutting some big holes through the back wall. They can't be that bad then.

Some of the changes include cutting holes in the roof for skylights since the "glass box inside a bluestone box" makes getting natural light into the rooms a problem - but it did become possible to expose some of the original trusses. 

Strict heritage regulation prohibited touching the walls, so the actual residence is a mostly freestanding structure set inside the church. But should it matter since next to no one will see the inside.

The don't touch the walls rule seems to have been broken in a couple of places, such as the cut into the balcony.

The baptismal bath is sacrosanct (from a heritage point of view) and options are to use it as a spa, or cover it up, but in the end it gets a glass floor over it in the middle of the new lounge room. glazed over. For a lounge room covering it with carpet might have been more comfortable. 

There is the usual issue about the cost blowing out. In fact where would the drama be in these projects if there wasn't the risk of either ruined relationships or bank balances. The test set down in the beginning is a a cost of $1.6 and time scale of 18 months, but then there are the $200,000- to $500,000 quotes to fix the facade.

But by some miracle the cost becomes only $80,000, even though this is just "for the public to see a beautiful building" and of no benefit to him. It is however, a good looking result.

In the end time and costs blow out to $3 million with the purchase. Still that seems reasonable for a passion project and the ultimate trophy home.

Reuse of former spiritual places is a peculiar phenomenon. It tells of the diminishing numbers of the faithful, but also society's inability or indifference to maintaining places of communal value.  The last few decades of commercial use and now the private capital input to restore it shows how heritage conservation outcomes are now dependent on market forces rather than public funding.

Will we eventually loose all the grand internal public heritage spaces.

Some Sources:

A History of Ballarat Baptist Church, leaflet housed in the Victorian Baptist Union 

archives. Dawson Street Baptist Church (Ballarat, Vic.).  1960,  The Building of a church : historical outline of the first 100 years of the Dawson Street Baptist Church : 1860 - 1960  The Church, 

 Ballarat Star, 13 September 1871, p2c4. 

http://www.ballarathistoricalsociety.com/collection/Records/Record387.81.htm