Saint Joseph’s Church was damaged in the earthquake

Benalla St. Joseph’s Church has been standing tall on Arundel Street since 1908.

The second incarnation of the church, it replaced the original building erected in 1866.

In its time, it survived fires, floods and minor tremors.

But on Wednesday, it shook and swayed with the rest of Victoria as the 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck.

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Fortunately, due to the strength of its construction, it handled the earthquake well.

Sadly, it has incurred some damage, which the parish now needs to repair as quickly as possible to ensure it lasts for another 113 years, and beyond.

The arch in the front of the church is completely cracked.

Approaching the large red brick building, you can see that something is not as it should be.

A red “danger” bar blocks the entrance to the grounds.

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The closer you look, the more you see.

A man in the foreground picks up parts of a masonry.

Cracks are visible up and down the structure.

When you head inside, the extent of the damage is more apparent.

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Cracks appeared on the far wall above and below the stained-glass window.

The window frames along the side walls cracked.

Amazingly, the stained glass windows have survived despite a large crack showing at the top and bottom.

The earth is full of rocks and dust.

The avatar came out revealing the bricks underneath.

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However, it is the large arch supporting the roof and the turrets within the front entrance that are most concerning.

It cracked in the middle. A temporary strut is now in place and the engineers have advised that the structure is safe.

The arch structure maintains its stability, but the engineers cautioned that it would need to be supported by a temporary buttress while it was being repaired.

The cracks that can be seen as you look into the church from Arundel St go through the wall and can be seen from the inside.

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Standing in church did not feel safe on Friday morning (September 24).

Parish Council President Gabrielle Downey said a structural engineer was due to visit the church later that day.

Dust and stone scattered from the roof as the building shook.

“He’s going to do a back-up report,” Downey said.

“And a construction worker was assigned to come and support the arch as there are concerns about its safety at the moment.

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“Once we know what the engineer’s report looks like, we’ll be able to move forward with looking at how the building can be repaired, and how safe it is to use it until then.

“We expect it to be very expensive due to the uniqueness of the building and we want to keep its look and heritage as close to the original as possible.

We know that insurance will cover part of it.

“But at this point it’s not clear to what extent.”

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With the church currently unusable, Ms Downey said the parish council has a short-term and long-term solution, should it need one.

“We are able to use the FCJ College Church,” she said.

The abutment now supports the arch in the front of the church.

“And then we can’t be in school because of COVID restrictions.

“So we might be able to use the parish center, which is Old Building 31.

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“However, it is not suitable for use at the moment, so we will have to invest a bit in that to get it as a temporary solution until we can get back to the church.”

Father Vijay was inside the church holding mass with eight worshipers on Wednesday morning (September 22) when the earthquake struck.

“I just started mass and then I felt something was wrong,” said Father Vijay.

Then suddenly the shaking started.

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“At first I thought someone might be working nearby, then 10 seconds later I saw cracks starting to appear near the ceiling and dust started falling.

“I told people this is an earthquake, please run out of your life.

Pieces of plaster fell off the walls.

“It was scary. I had never experienced such a thing in my life before.

“I’ve heard of earthquakes, but one experience was frightening.

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“There were only eight people inside, so we all got out really fast.”

The Board of Directors will investigate the possibility of any grants being available. However, St. Joseph’s Basilica is a heritage listed building and therefore repairs will not come cheap.

Ms Downey confirmed Tuesday morning that the temporary strut was in place and engineers advised the structure was safe.

“Now that everything is completed, repairs will begin in the near future,” she said.

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