St Anne's Catholic Church

84 Austin Road, Seaford

History
In May, 1951, Father Joseph Kealy moved to Frankston to become the Parish Priest of the Frankston parish. In the same year he purchased various blocks of land for the Roman Catholic Church, one of which was 5 acres in Austin Road, Seaford.1 St. Anne's Church Hall was built here in 1962.2

The Roman Catholic Trust of East Melbourne commissioned Frankston builders, S.W. & J. Gardiner, to erect a church on Lot 77, Austin Road, in 1981.3 The architect was Denis Payne and the engineers, B J O'Neill and Assoc... The 600 square church was to seat 500, was estimated to cost $500,000 (final cost $650,000) and was called St. Anne's.4 The roof membrane was supplied by Environment Structures (Aust) Pty.Ltd ., the crucifix created by Mrs. Leopoldine Mimovich and the tabernacle by Ernst Fries.5 The church was dedicated by Most Rev. T F Little 25 July 1982.6 The church was built for celebration of the Eucharist and liturgical prayer as well as providing a chapel-meeting room for the parish. The tent form of the church was liturgically – based with reference to Exodus (33:10) where Moses encountered the Lord Yahweh in a tent, while in the New Testament St. John noted that 'The word was made flesh and pitched his tent among us'.7 The twelve masts supporting the tent symbolized the twelve apostles while the cable network radiating from the cross resembled the influence of Jesus Christ.

Description
The most recent structure investigated in the study, this church is too striking a concept to ignore in any appraisal of the city's architecture. It was also possibly the first use of the Teflon fibre-glass in Australia to roof a conventional permanent building.8

A fan-shaped plan is a perfect vehicle for the hyperbolic paraboloid, translucent white Teflon fibre-glass roof which appears tent-like when viewed externally, held down by cable guys. Internally, the tan brick wall provides the visual solid, while the roof disappears as if an overcast sky.

Light membrane roofs are as yet uncommon in the southern states, in other than external canopy use, (I.e., Westgate Freeway service station canopies). This exampled followed American precedents and was promoted by the roof material distributor, Chemfab, and its manufacturer, Deupont.9

External Integrity
Generally Original

Context
Isolated from any surrounding context, but distinguished as a public building.

Significance – Study Grading C
Architecturally, this church illustrates a use of distinctive building material and its resulting free architectural form. Judged among any building type the outcome is unusual and is particularly suited for a church, both form an inspirational and functional viewpoint: of local and regional importance.

Historically, the church as yet is without long associations in the community, but it is already a vehicle for public gatherings. It is one of the earliest of a new style of Catholic Church designs and the fan shaped plan was a response to liturgical changes in the church and changing ideas about the relation of laity to clergy. As a result of the Vatican II 'Reformation' of Catholicism, the design of this church is an historic early response to these great changes; of local and regional importance.