FORMER ST FRANCIS XAVIER CATHOLIC CHURCH

The former St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, south of Campbell's Forest, is a Gothic-influenced timber church that incorporates 'bungalow' and Arts and Crafts touches. Since the cessation of services at the church in 1971, the building has been adapted to a private residence, a process that has resulted in extensive alterations. The church was built in 1935, replacing an earlier place of worship on the same site. The previous church dated to 1873. St Francis Xavier's is one of the more substantial historic properties remaining in the settlement of Campbell's Forest and provides evidence of the settlement's early twentieth century heyday. The property also demonstrates the religious life of the Catholic community in the area, which formed a large and active congregation from the 1870s until its gradual decline from the late 1940s. 

The former St Francis Xavier Catholic Church built in 1935, is of local historical significance.

The former St Francis Xavier Catholic Church is of local historical significance (Criterion A) for its capacity to recall the religious life of the Catholic community in the area. The church had a large and active congregation until the late 1940s, a legacy of the presence in the district of the early Irish Catholic pioneers and their descendants. The site, south of Campbell's Forest, was selected as the location of the Catholic place of worship as early as 1873. The present church was built in 1935, replacing the original structure. St Francis Xavier's is also one of the more substantial historic properties remaining in the settlement of Campbell's Forest and provides evidence of the settlement's early twentieth century heyday. The former church, in its original form, was a well executed timber building in the vernacular Gothic mode, which successfully incorporated 'bungalow' and Arts and Crafts touches. However, the modifications to the building, to adapt it to residential use, have impacted on its original form, and also on some of the original detailing. While it is recognised that the church is one of the few surviving timber churches in the City of Greater Bendigo (Criterion B), the degree of alteration has detracted from the aesthetic significance of the building.