General News
25 September, 2026
Flashback: September 19, 1986
Arson squad detectives arrived in Warracknabeal on Thursday, September 18, to investigate a fire that gutted the town’s (at the time) 78-year-old Wesley Uniting Church.
Arson squad detectives arrived in Warracknabeal on Thursday, September 18, to investigate a fire that gutted the town’s (at the time) 78-year-old Wesley Uniting Church.
Detectives were also investigating a smaller fire that started around the same time in a women’s public toilet a block away on Woolcock St.
The church, one of the town’s oldest buildings, was burning fiercely when firemen arrived in two units on Tuesday, September 16.
Damage was estimated at up to $780,000.
In the toilet block, windows were broken, and panels were ripped off doors before toilet rolls were set alight, and soft drink bottles were smashed on the concrete floor.
Wesley Church, built in 1908, was one of Warracknabeal’s oldest buildings.
The Presbyterian Church in Australia amalgamated with the Congregational and Methodist churches in June 1977 to form the Uniting Church.
Three years prior, St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church at Warracknabeal was demolished, and all services were held at Wesley Church.
A stained glass window from St Andrew’s had been installed in the Wesley Church earlier in the year, made in memory of John Campbell, an early Wimmera pioneer, given to the church by his wife.
Wesley Church was ablaze when the fire siren sounded at 3.15 am.
The church's southern wall collapsed, and the remaining walls were demolished for safety concerns.
The community opened a replacement building on July 17, 1988.