New teacher housing on former church site at Marlborough

The Queensland Government has confirmed new government employee housing will be built on the former church building site at Marlborough.

The old Catholic Church at Marlborough.

New teacher housing will be built in Marlborough on the site of the former church building on Milman Street.

Livingstone Shire Council offered the freehold land and building up for sale in March 2022.

Council acquired the church site and four adjoining parcels of land from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton, who gave council the first option to purchase it as it included a public park.

Photos from the tender for the Marlborough Catholic Church.

The Department of Energy and Public Works purchased a parcel of the land for $25,000 in April.

In a response requested by this publication, the department advised it does not plan to demolish the church and will use the land to build government employee housing.

“Government employee housing helps attract workers to regional areas, including medical professionals, teachers and emergency services personnel, and reduces pressure on private rentals, freeing them up for other Queenslanders,” a spokesperson said.

Inside the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Marlborough.

A three-bedroom residence will be built through the government’s Modern Methods of Construction for the Department of Education to accommodate teachers in the town.

“The department will also be constructing further residences on the remaining land to meet the demand to accommodate essential government workers in Marlborough,” a spokesperson said.

The township of Marlborough has a population of 149 people and as of February 2023, there were 17 students enrolled at the prep to year six state school.

Marlborough is located 110km north of Rockhampton, on the way to Mackay.

The new teacher’s residence is due to be completed by the end of the year.

Originally published as New teacher housing on former church site at Marlborough