Royal Derwent Hospital Church, new life

Over on the east side of the Lachlan River is what is left of the once proud Royal Derwent Hospital, lots of open ground and a few buildings, some in disrepair and others partly demolished. One of the only buildings that could not be demolished is the church and this has sat in the middle of a demolition site for the past 14 years suffering a great deal of vandalism.  I spotted some activity the other day at the old church site and went to ask what was going on. The two workers were inviting and showed me through the building and told me there were plans that the new owner had for the building so I went to see the owner to find out what the plans were. Dave Curtis from Our Valley Kitchen was open to discussing the new idea of the concept he called “Our Valley Church”. Unlike the normal idea of church, Dave has a new thought, which includes a wine bar, Indian restaurant and large venue for entertainment. Dave went though some of the line up, which included blues music and stand up comedy. The local house band will be Indigo and Dave hopes to be opened for the Christmas season. He said that he is receiving great support from the Derwent Valley Council in his venture and will have a new access road to the venue from Glebe Road. Dave also envisages the venue to appeal to the more mature clientele.