St Francis Catholic Church was built at Bethanga in 1876 by the Wesleyans and was also a place of worship for Anglicans, Presbyterians and the Salvation Army.

Bethanga was part of three parishes from 1865 - Wangaratta, Beechworth and Chiltern, before it joined Wodonga in 1890 where it since remained.

The church was relocated in 1917 after it was decided the original location was unsuitable because of the steepness of its approach.

Parishioners found it particularly difficult to attend in winter as the surrounds became wet and muddy.

Land was purchased which had stables for horses and coaches that would stop between Wodonga and the Upper Murray.

Reverend Dr James Flynn hired a carpenter and other workers to demolish the building and cut the church into sections where it was hauled and rebuilt on the new site now known as Bridge Street.

Wodonga Catholic Parish priest Father Junjun Amaya delivered the last mass at Bethanga in December 2019, but said the decision to sell wasn't taken lightly.

He revealed the plan was to move the church to St Francis of Assisi Primary School at Baranduda, but the Bethanga Bridge is too low for it to be transported over, while the height of powerlines prevented it from going through Tallangatta.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"The structure itself is hard to divide into parts. It's a long structure," Fr Amaya said.

"It's a shell, so there's no beams on the inside or anything like that.

"St Francis would like to get an architect to make a plan of the church and try to make a replica and they will be taking some of the contents of the church as well to continue that connection.

"If we have a replica built on the St Francis school grounds, we can continue to use it for mass and weddings, which is good for the people connected to Bethanga."

Bethanga General Store owner Felicity Conway said there had been plenty of interest from the community about the sale of the church.

"Everyone has got an idea of what it could be turned into. I went up and had a look through on one of the open days and it's a beautiful church," she said.

"I'm hoping someone will renovate it and use it as a residence rather than getting rid of it, but I don't know what they will end up doing."

Father Junjun said anyone who donated items to the church will have the opportunity to collect them before the sale is finalised.

The estimated selling price for the 2700-square-metre site is between $380,000 and $415,000, with expressions of interest to close on July 29.

To read more stories, download The Border Mail news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: