Lost Churches of South Australia: New Maughan Church

 Lost Churches of South Australia:

New Maughan Church

New Maughan Church 2012

After the demolition of the former Methodist New Connexion Church in 1963, a new church was built on the same site.
  In 1965, to much fanfare, the New Maughan Church was opened. It included a neo-gothic revival style church designed by Brown and Davies, the new Radio City headquarters of 5KA, 5AU and 5RM.^[1] The Salvation Army band played at the opening with three choirs and two thousand worshippers present. A procession also features the South Australian Governor, 30 clergymen of different denominations, including Catholic and Protestant, all dressed in the finest robes. The festivities were broadcast live on 5KA.^[2]

 The neo-gothic church was distinctive for its folded copper plate roof that formed a 24-sided “crown” atop a steel-framed octagonal form. It also had a redbrick tower at the corner of the site. The building had been deemed one of South Australia’s most nationally significant examples of 20th-century design by the Australian Institute of Architects, South Australian Chapter.^[3]
  The City of Adelaide Heritage Survey in 2009 stated of the building, “a notable and prominent example of contemporary Gothic architecture which is rare in South Australia and unique in the city centre.”^[4] 

  Despite this, in 2016, provisional heritage protection on the neo-gothic New Maughan Church was revoked by the Labor Government. This allowed the historic church and former Radio City buildings to be demolished. 

In their place a new twenty-story edifice was constructed, named ‘Uniting Communities’. The new building features apartment buildings for people with a disability, a retirement village and space for conferences and worship. It opened in 2019.

To view stunning photos of the church during its demolition, please visit Autopsy of Adelaide here: https://autopsyofadelaide.com/2016/10/12/urban-exploration-adelaides-maughan-church/

Researched and written by Allen Tiller ©2020

[1] Donovan & Associates, City of Adelaide Heritage Survey: 2008–2009 Volume One, (2009), pp.31-2.

[2] Transmission, vol 1, no 13, (July 1962), p. 1.

[3] Rick Goodman, Wreckers tear down historic Maughan Church in Adelaide CBD, The Advertiser, (14 August 2016), https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/wreckers-tear-down-historic-maughan-church-in-adelaide-cbd/news-story/76c1e1d453fdfc67cb32d4d308217322.

[4] Josh Harris, Vertical retirement village to be South Australia’s greenest building, ArchitectureAU, (15 February 2018), https://architectureau.com/articles/vertical-retirement-village-to-be-south-australias-greenest-building/.