Weekly market land with heritage trees set to be sold off by church
Shire sale
The future of the Mossman Market and nine heritage-listed 120-year-old raintrees are under a cloud after receivers for the Anglican Church have flagged the pending sale of the block of land where they sit to help pay off multimillion-dollar sexual-abuse-redress debts.
The triangular parcel of land, which sits at the end of Mossman’s main road Front Street next to the historic St David’s Church, is part of a package of North Queensland properties owned by the church which are set to be sold off by receivers SV partners to help pay for what is expected to be more than $20m in redress claims by survivors of sexual abuse within the church.
The diocese has reportedly already paid out more than $9m and expects further claims of up to $15m across coming years.
Queensland Supreme Court documents lodged by SV partners earlier this year seek the authority to sell more than 20 churches and other properties.
About a half a dozen properties were put up for sale last month, with about a dozen expected to go on the market during July, as well as more down the track.
Newsport has been contacted by several Far North Queensland residents concerned about the future of the market and the trees once the land is sold off.
Frequent market-goer Rupert Russell said the “grand trees” were part of the attraction of the markets.
“The market site, along with more properties in the north, is now in the hands of receivers, with sale by tender foreshadowed in the near future,” Mr Russell said yesterday.
“Perhaps people of Mossman and all marketeers, indeed all residents of the Shire, will petition Douglas Shire Council to purchase the land for safekeeping of its beautiful trees and the important weekly market.”
Another local Mossman trader told Newsport he has been petitioning the council to help buy the site, and was trying to bring together a group of locals to contribute funds to help save the market and trees.
The Mossman Market, which is run by the church, operates every Saturday morning from 7am-1pm, while the about 35m-tall raintrees are classed as locally heritage listed by the National Trust after being introduced from Jamaica more than a century ago.
“These trees form an important landmark in the centre of historic Mossman, with which they are identified,” according to the Trust.
“They are associated with Rev Edward Taffs, Rector of St David’s, who came to the area in 1904 and Dan Hart, the first settler in the Mossman area.”
Newsport has contacted market management for comment.
