Kilkivan gofundme raises money to buy St Kevin’s Catholic Church
A determined group of residents in the South Burnett has launched an ambitious campaign to raise the money to buy a disused church and turn it into the first phase of a much-needed aged care facility in the town.
Gympie
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A determined group of residents in the South Burnett has launched an ambitious campaign to raise the money to buy a disused church and turn it into the first phase of a much-needed aged care facility in the town.
The Kilkivan and District Community Care Association, spearheaded by president Rosie Fitzgerald, recently launched a gofundme campaign to raise the money to buy the former St Kevin’s Catholic Church in Church Street.
The town has long struggled with a dearth of aged care facilities and services, meaning aging residents are forced to leave the community they have lived in their entire life to get the nursing and medical care they need.
Ms Fitzgerald said yesterday her volunteer-based organisation felt it needed to buy the old church because of its strategic significance to their Rise & Shine Ageing-in-Place Project, and also because of its historical significance to the community.
“Obviously we have limited funds available to pay for the property so we have launched a gofundme campaign to assist with half the purchase price,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
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“We were fortunate to negotiate a three-month settlement date, so as soon as the contract was signed by all parties, we launched our funding initiative.
“The $3000 milestone has been reached – donations range from $20 through to two $1000 amounts which is just awesome.
“Any amount is very welcome and we love the fact that people from near and far are already contributing.”
Click here to go the gofundme link and donate or visit https://gofund.me/cc6a706d
The former church holds a special place in many hearts, but hosted its final mass in October 2023.
“Adding to the ecumenical vibe was the fact that the local Union Church congregation opted to attend that service in lieu of their own that day,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
“This echoed the many important contributions made by protestants and others to the establishment of the church in 1896, as detailed in media coverage at the time.
“The Baxter family was well represented at the final mass: Bernadette Baxter introduced the final service, noting that St Kevin’s Church is an especially powerful symbol of Kilkivan: the Celtic word Kilkivan literally means Church of Kevin.
“Fittingly, Bernadette was the very first donor to the gofundme campaign.”
Ms Baxter said she believed a critical part of ageing well was being able to live where your heart is and “this little church will be instrumental in allowing that to happen”.
“Far too many of our elderly residents, like my late father-in-law, are forced to leave the area for physical support but their spirit is devastated as a result,” she said.
“We desperately need to buy St Kevin’s and buy hope and peace of mind for our elderly. No one should be forced to leave their home area.”
The five surviving Baxter siblings - Cathy, Ann, Elaine, Shane and Matthew - all returned to honour and remember their family’s extensive connection with St Kevin’s.
Their late brother John (Bernadette’s husband) had, with his father Barney, built the distinctive bell tower which stands at the rear of the church property and John would ring the bell ahead of each mass he attended until the family’s relocation to the Gympie area.
Ms Fitzgerald believes that all these are some of the important elements of a small community that need to be remembered and honoured.
However, she said it was not just about respecting and celebrating the past; it was “very much about the future role of the church”.
“We have a tremendous opportunity to transform this church building into the focal point of our Rise & Shine Ageing-in-place Project by converting it into a community hub – that will enable all community members to enjoy using it in its reimagined role,” she said.
“That will require a lot more money, hopefully from grants and philanthropists, but we must try.”
“ KDCCAI hopes the future community hub would include a multi-purpose flexible meeting/communal space, a commercial kitchen, offices and other elements to support activities involving locals from across the Kilkivan-Goomeri-Woolooga districts.
“And if financial support can be secured to build the accessible, rental ageing-in-place accommodation envisaged for the adjacent vacant blocks owned by council, the community hub would also support the social needs of those residents.
“For four years KDCCAI volunteers have worked tirelessly to implement services for senior residents, especially so they can age better in the community they love.
“We do not want anyone else to have to leave our area prematurely just because there are insufficient services and facilities here – it’s not
as though we are in a remote location.
“If you can’t aspire to ageing well here, there’s something seriously wrong.”
KDCCAI member and local history enthusiast Dawn Choate is a strong supporter of the community’s decision to try to buy the church. “In the last 25 years Kilkivan has lost two distinctive timber structures from the townscape: the railway station and the railway bridge – and we weren’t about to risk either losing this building to removal or to a developer who might have misaligned intentions for the vacant land adjacent to the church,” she said.
“We may not succeed in raising sufficient funds, but we are giving it our best shot.”
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