A Natimuk real estate icon has found a new owner with the sale of the St John's Catholic Church on Friday August 6.
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Selling agent, Tim Coller of Harcourts, Horsham, said the historic property was destined to attract attention when it went on sale.
"I've actually been lucky enough to sell the property three times. The first was on behalf of the Catholic diocese in Ballarat in January 2011. Later the property was resold in 2014 to the current vendor," he said.
"There's a lot of history about the church."
Mr Coller said the property attracted enquiries and inspections from throughout Victoria and interstate when it was advertised, with a majority of prospective buyers coming from Melbourne.
The purchaser plans to run his internet-based business from the property and make it his permanent residence.
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"He's a Melbourne man seeking a country retreat, a tree change," Mr Coller said.
The illustrious property was opened in 1889; prior to that mass was held at the National Hotel, a state school, the Mechanics Institute and in people's homes.
Under Father Hogan a church was constructed to finally give Catholics in the region a place of worship.
However, the original church was destroyed by a cyclone in 1897, with the current building opening in 1915.
St John's Catholic Church remained in regular use right up until 2010, when the congregation left the site and it entered private hands.
The church's final mass was performed on Sunday May 2, 2010 with Bishop Peter Connors and Father Peter Sherman presiding.
The ceremony concluded with a procession to the Uniting Church, a few doors down the road, where mass continues today.
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