A heritage-listed Carapooee church that cost £710 to build is one of two churches for sale in central Victoria.
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St Peter's Anglican Church, known locally as the Pebble Church, was built in 1869-70 by prominent Melbourne architect Leonard Terry, then the diocesan architect for the Anglican Church.
The Gothic style church, located on a 6746 square metre allotment is comprised of a single room, being the former altar and celebration hall.
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Heritage Victoria said the building is significant as it's an unusual example of the use of English building materials and techniques in Victoria.
Vernacular traditions, used in the church's construction, were made fashionable in the nineteenth century, with the cobbled walls a common vernacular building material in parts of England.
The church is a tribute to the local population's nineteenth century English origins, with the isolated church building a reminder of the many small gold mining towns in central Victoria that have virtually disappeared.
St Arnaud contractors Phil Crone and Henry Edwards were assisted by local men to construct the church, gathering cobbles from the hill opposite and carrying them to the site.
Plans made provision for a chancel and tower with a belfry possible at the east end, but they were never completed.
Random-coursed rounded water-worn white quartzite cobbles set in a pinkish mortar adorn the church's walls, which rest on a granite base.
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The Gothic arched door, window surrounds and corner buttresses are of red brick with the roof made of corrugated iron.
Internally, the walls are plastered and painted white.
A stone font, timber altar, altar rails and early timber pews feature, as do two marble memorial plaques commemorating local men killed during World War I in France and Gallipoli.
A short drive away in Rheola, St John the Baptist Church, a circa-1890 brick construction on 2940sqm is for sale.
Consisting of main chapel and altar areas, with small sacristy and workshop entrance, the building's timber floor and plaster ceiling are in excellent condition.
Both allotments have connection to the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline available.
Expressions of interest are welcomed by FP Nevins & Co Real Estate.