Joanna Tucker, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Copper Coast Council is set to buy an historic church near the tentatively listed UNESCO World Heritage Moonta Mines site which is continuing to deteriorate.

The East Moonta Methodist Church, at the corner of Verran Terrace and Deeble Street, had another wall collapse last week.

A Copper Coast Council spokesperson confirmed staff attended the site on Thursday, July 10 to assess safety and compliance risk, but could not do more as council did not own the church.

Council chief executive Dylan Strong said council was in the process of purchasing the site.

“Council is purchasing the site due to its heritage significance, and its proximity and historical connection to the tentatively listed UNESCO World Heritage Moonta Mines site,” Mr Strong said.

“It is an exciting time for the Australian Cornish Mining Sites; Burra and Moonta consortium.

“And the preservation of the former East Moonta Church site will add value to the application for World Heritage.”

Mr Strong said the site had been subject to unauthorised access, vandalism and theft.

“We’re urging locals to be vigilant and keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and report it to SAPOL or council,” he said.

“Council looks forward to working with the local heritage trust and wider community in exploring options for conversation and interpretation at the site.”

Locals upset about church condition

The East Moonta Methodist Church closed in about 1970 and was then bought by the National Trust of South Australia Moonta branch, chairperson Stephen Stock said.

Mr Stock said it was used as a storage area and a museum until it became unsafe and was put on the market in about 2003.

“We only sold it in faith — the fellow that bought it said he was going to repair it and had all these different ideas,” he said.

“It’s just a shame.”

Mr Stock said his great grandparents worked at the church, he was christened there and it was his family church.

“What’s happened to it has upset a lot of people,” he said.

“I’m upset when I talk about what our family’s history is with that building.

“We had our Sunday school there, we had our end of year anniversaries there and all that type of stuff.

“There’s many other people within the township that have the same feeling.”

Mr Stock said the damage the church had experienced over the years could be attributed to salt damp.

“Under the pews were eaten out with salt damp, salt damp (was) in the kitchen,” he said.

“There were big issues.”

He said he hoped to see it partly restored in the future.

“Maybe it’s something the community can get behind, get hold of it and look after it,” he said.

NTSA Moonta branch’s Graham Hancock said the trust was concerned about how the site would be treated in the future.

“It is with sadness that one of the churches in the Moonta Mines area has now reached a point of no return,” Mr Hancock said.

Copper Coast Residents and Ratepayers Association president Neil Windsor shared the sentiment.

“I think it is a sad reflection on the history of the area that it (the church) could just be left to virtually fall apart and become obliterated from history,” Mr Windsor said.

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 15 July 2025.