The Father’s House Christian Healing Centre is hoping to build a new place of worship at Bullaburra.
As well as giving them a new church, plans lodged with council aim to restore some of the historic features of the site, which lies on the southern side of the highway between Lawson and Bullaburra.
Stephen Clarke, from the Christian centre, said the site had a long religious history.
It was originally owned by Charles Hoskins, who built a grand house on the land in 1914, intending to live there with his ailing daughter, Nellie.
Although Nellie died before the house was completed, Mr Hoskins and his wife Emily still moved in. They built the stone rotunda which still exists today and named the property Cadia Park.
It was later owned by two separate orders of nuns – the Benedictines who used the mansion as a nunnery, then the Sisters of St Joseph, who built a new chaplain’s cottage, a handyman’s cottage and a steam laundry and ran it as a rest home for sisters.
All the buildings, except the laundry and the rotunda, were destroyed in the great Lawson bushfire of December 1977 and the property has been vacant ever since.
The church sold it to the Father’s House about 15 years ago, said Mr Clarke.
“When we bought it, there was three nuns buried there. They were exhumed and re-buried at Jamberoo.”
The Father’s House has been trying for some time to build on the site but has faced difficulties, Mr Clarke said.
Once they had a DA approved but didn’t have the funds to go ahead. The approval lapsed and the site was subsequently rezoned.
He is hoping the current DA, which emphasises preserving the heritage of the site as well as the construction of a simple church, will be successful.
As well as the rotunda, there is evidence of the grand gardens which were planted out in the early years of the 20th century.
A heritage report noted: “Although there are few surviving plantings from the fine Hoskins garden, the edging of flower-beds are legible close to the boundary fence. The property … extends right down the gully ... where terracing is still apparent.”
The Father’s House is keen to build a permanent home. They are currently in the former Lawson golf clubhouse but council is preparing a master plan for the entire golf course site.
The Father’s House is keen to build a permanent home.