From high Anglican rites to disco, St Paul's church in Adelaide city avoids demolition in 1980s heritage marker
From being the first South Australian Anglican church to have high-church pre-Reformation (Catholic) rites for its congregation of Adelaide's city's most wealthy and prominent citizens, the 1850s St Paul's on the Pulteney/Flinders streets corner, was deconsecrated in the 20th Century and became a nightclub. It survived a demolition bid by a developer and was state heritage listed to protect it. It also was used as a hub for creative industries, for SA Music, and Adelaide Music Collective's South Australian music hall of fame.
St Paul's church – Adelaide city’s temple for high Anglican rites in the 19th Century – was saved from being demolished in a stunning turning point for heritage in the late 1980s.
Built on the northeast corner of Pulteney and Flinders streets in 1857-1859, St Paul’s attracted Adelaide city’s resident wealthy social strata tas the first in the city to have high-church revived pre-Reformation (Catholic) rites, advocated by the Tractarian (Oxford) Movement. The colourful ceremonies at St Paul's also gained interest among the city's working class.
Despite its wealthy congregation, St Paul's building, designed by architect James Cumming, was never completed with its northern tower. Built in bluestone rubble with brick dressings, St Paul’s was assessed as having “few stylistic” illusions. This was a factor in the church being passed over for listing on state and city heritage registers in 1983. Yet its manse in Flinders Street was placed in the state list. With Adelaide city's population declining from the 1930s, St Paul's congregation dwindled until it wasn’t viable. The church was deconsecrated, sold in 1982 and, three years later, reopened as a nightclub. The owner went into receivership and had to sell the building.
In 1989, the developer Moore Corporation applied to demolish the former church on behalf of its new owner and replace it with a four-storey office complex, with the manse converted into a tavern. Adelaide city council refused this in a 14-2 vote, including all pro-development councillors, except Charles Mouschakis (the other dissenter was alderman Chris Douglas). The council held that the “proposal would be contrary to principles 19 and 20 and to the desired future character statements for Pulteney Street and Frome Street precincts”. Those principles blocked development next to heritage buildings: in this case, the Flinders Street manse.
The developer appealed to the council assessment panel in 1989, while pro-development councillor Jim Crawford moved that the lord mayor start a public fund to save the building. The council even considered buying St Paul's, with strong support from the community and Aurora Heritage Action to save the building. Adelaide Lord mayor Steve Condous predicted that “public pressure will save it in the end”.
In 1990, the developer won its appeal, giving Moore Corporation months to start the project. The developer negotiated with the council and the state government environment and planning minister for concessions – including a five-year rates holiday and $500,000 – in return for retaining St Paul's. When council refused the concessions, the developer couldn’t proceed with the project, and the building was put on the market.
This enabled the environment and planning minister to place St Paul's on the state heritage interim list and to issue an urgent conservation order in 1990 to protect it. The city council also added St Paul's to the City of Adelaide register in 1991.
The concerns of many councillors and the Adelaide community about the loss of St Paul's pushed the council to protect other items on its 1982 character schedule. In 1990, the council began reviewing all buildings on the schedule to consider whether they met the criteria for heritage listing, a move opposed by the development lobby. During the review of heritage items, the council also began a prolonged and bitter campaign to protect Adelaide city’s built character through its townscape initiative.
St Paul’s, placed on the state heritage list in 2001, was leased by the South Australian government in 2014 as a hub for creative industries. Besides a brief revival of Heaven nightclub, the building was also the home of Music SA and the Adelaide Music Collective’s SA Music Hall of Fame. In 2023, the state government announced it would not renew its rental lease on the building, with SA Music moving to the city's east end and creative space at St Paul’s to be provided elsewhere.
