A historically significant weatherboard church built nearly 150 years ago has been preserved and relocated as part of the Epping Road Upgrade.
The Wollert Church, which was constructed in 1878, is now located at Carome Homestead in Mernda, having been moved about 10km from its original location at the corner of Lehmanns Road and Epping Road, Wollert.
We acquired the original Church site as part of the Epping Road Upgrade and preserved the building due to its significance to the local community.
The Church, which was built to serve the local Methodist congregation, held its first service in 1878. The building later became the central hub of the community as the Uniting Church, along with the nearby post office, holding its final service in July 2006. We've worked closely with the City of Whittlesea and Working Heritage to protect and preserve the Church’s historic and social value.
In early 2022, technical specialists prepared the building for relocation by assessing the structure, removing hazardous materials, and dismantling the roof to enable a flat-pack transport method. Over the following months, the Church was carefully deconstructed before it was transported to its new location by specialist relocation contractors with expertise in heritage structures in May 2022.
Over the past months, the Church was rebuilt and restored to its former glory, using traditional materials and finishes.
Now open to the public, the church will be managed by Working Heritage and again become a hub for the community to use – for generations to come.
The Epping Road Upgrade will add additional lanes in each direction and improve 6 intersections between Memorial Avenue and Craigieburn Road East, to deliver safer and more reliable travel times for the more than 35,000 drivers who use the road every day. A new shared walking and cycling path and on-road cycle lanes will also be built as part of the project, improving safety and providing better access to community precincts, bus stops and new road crossing locations.
The Epping Road Upgrade is expected to be complete in 2025.