The Catholic Church in Wolllongong has denied it tried to dodge a heritage listing by using a Complying Development Certificate (CDC) to demolish the old St Joseph’s convent at Bulli.
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The old convent, on Park St, had been identified by Wollongong City Council as having strong heritage values and the council is seeking to preserve it.
But the Diocese of Wollongong sought to knock the convent down to build a new administration block for St Joseph’s primary school.
So it had a private certifier approve the demolition and new building – until a parishioner told the council and an immediate heritage order stopped further work.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Wollongong said the use of private certifiers was “standard practice” in this kind of development.
“The CDC was in train prior to any application by local residents to have the old convent building and the church considered for heritage listing,” he said.
In arguing that the convent should be demolished, the Catholic Bishop of Wollongong Peter Ingham invoked Australia’s Saint Mary MacKillop, saying she would prefer the new administration block be built to improve the school, rather than hang onto a “disused” building.
St Joseph’s had an “urgent” need for extra space, and was the only Catholic schools with room to expand to serve the growing northern suburbs population.
The Diocese said the convent’s prior function did not contribute to heritage value.
“It was the opinion of the legal owners of the site (the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Wollongong) that the building formerly used as a convent was not a spiritual landmark and that its prior function as accommodation for the Sisters of St Joseph did not contribute to its heritage value,” a spokesman said.
Since the council had pushed ahead with the heritage listing, the Diocese drew up another plan to build the administration block while leaving the convent intact.
Bishop Ingham’s submission to the council also questioned whether Mary Mackillop had ever visited St Joseph’s at Bulli during her trips to the area.
It had been believed by many locals, including being stated on the St Joseph’s Primary School website, that Mark MacKillop visited several times in her role as the co-founder of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
This order established schools in the Illawarra and other regions to help educate less fortunate children.
