‘More heritage disappearing’ as historic Copper Coast church razed
Locals are concerned about the “sad loss” of an historic church, with one wanting to reuse its stones for his own restoration project.
The East Moonta Methodist Church on the Yorke Peninsula is currently being demolished by the Copper Coast Council after an engineer’s report found that its condition was “irretrievable” and “unsafe”.
Moonta history expert Professor Philip Payton said he was surprised the town was losing more of its history, given the current push for its World Heritage listing.
“I am surprised to see another part of Moonta’s heritage disappearing at a time when World Heritage site status is being considered,” he said.
The Cornish mining sites at Moonta and nearby Burra were added to Australia’s UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2024, with a final decision on the bid expected in October this year.
Payton has authored numerous books on Moonta and its Cornish heritage, including Making Moonta: The Invention of Australia’s Little Cornwall.
He said Methodism in its various forms was historically “extremely important” to the local community.
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“It gave them some sense of spiritual direction, obviously, but it also gave them social cohesion,” he said.
“It was part of being together, worshipping together – a whole array of community activities centred around the various Methodist churches.”
Wayne Edwards, who owns the heritage-listed Wesleyan Methodist church on Stirling Street in Wallaroo, said the local community was upset about the news.
He is currently restoring the front façade of the Wallaroo church, which is missing its front wall, saying, “I want to put it back, so it looks beautiful again”.
“Because it’s on a heritage trail, we do have people just pull up and take photos, and I’ve chatted to quite a few people and a lot of say, ‘My mum went here, my grandmother, my grandfather went here’, so there have been a lot of stories,” he said.
Edwards said he approached the Copper Coast Council with a proposal to repurpose the stone from the East Moonta church for his restoration, but was told that it had already been allocated to other projects.
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The East Moonta Wesleyan Methodist Church opened in 1872 and was originally a school chapel, with an extension added in 1875.
InDaily understands that the East Moonta Methodist Church was previously owned by the National Trust of South Australia but was sold to a private buyer in the early 2000s.
According to the Copper Coast Council, which took ownership of the church in August 2025, an assessment in late 2024 “indicated that it may have been possible for council to manage the site as an historical ruin/adaptive re-use building, given its significance to the Australian Cornish Mining Sites (ACMS) world heritage bid”.
“However, the building deteriorated substantially, with significant structural collapse, between the time of assessment and acquisition on 8th August 2025, due to a combination of weather conditions, vandalism and theft,” the council stated.
“As a result of the deterioration of the building, an engineer’s assessment was undertaken following settlement. Professional archaeologists were also consulted, and it was concluded that the former church was now irretrievable and unsafe. Controlled demolition of the structure is necessary.”
The Copper Coast Council said that before demolition began, local historians were consulted about the location of foundation stones and any remaining significant heritage items, with the council retaining all “salvageable” parts of the structure for preservation or reuse.
“It is never pleasant to see our heritage degraded, and council take every effort to preserve the historic sites across our region,” council CEO Dylan Strong said.
“This is a sad loss, and serves as a prescient reminder that our actions today have a lasting effect. Council hopes the community will work with us to their full extent to maintain the valuable assets the Copper Coast is renowned for.”
It comes as the National Trust controversially took control of the Moonta Mines site and disbanded the committee earlier this year, leading to volunteers launching a Supreme Court case to reverse the decision, while a parliamentary inquiry into the non-profit is currently also underway.
The National Trust was contacted for comment.
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