Curious case of the church, the dead millionaire and the bayside nursing home
Would the late Sir Edwin Tooth, noted businessman and philanthropist, be rolling in his grave over the Anglican Church’s plans to redevelop an aged care home built in his name?
A will executed almost 60 years ago may be the last hurdle for the Anglican Church as it moves to develop, and profit from, an aged care home on Brisbane’s bayside.
Upon his death in 1957, Sir Edwin Tooth left the church most of his estate, which was valued then at £719,852 and in today’s dollars would exceed $23 million. Tooth had already given money to support various schools, hospitals and institutions around Brisbane, and the church later made his Hamilton mansion the Archbishop’s residence.
In one of many distributions in his will, Tooth directed that part of his estate go towards the renovation of St John’s Cathedral, and part go to the church “for the purpose of establishing within the Diocese a home for Aged Persons to be prescribed as ‘The Edwin Marsden Tooth Memorial Home”. That portion was used to buy a 37,000sq m parcel of land at Lota, where a home was built in Tooth’s name and still stands today.
Now, the church plans to go into partnership with a private company to redevelop the site, overlooking the Manly marina, into a $67 million, multi-storey retirement facility with 103 luxury units. The church would share profits from the development, and the aged care operation, with the company.
However, the plans have proved unpopular with the bayside community. The Brisbane City Council last year rejected the development application, submitted on behalf of the Village Retirement Group, for being too big and out of character for the area. Part of the site is also heritage listed.
The group took the case to the Planning and Environment Court and in December had the council’s decision overturned. The last remaining hurdle appears to be Tooth’s will.
Last month, the church filed an application in the Supreme Court, with Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath listed as the respondent, for an order that it is “justified in regarding itself as having been beneficially entitled to the provisions which came to it from the estate … and which it has all the powers of an absolute owner”.
Alternatively, the church would be satisfied with an order that Tooth left them a “conditional gift” on which they have honoured any and all conditions, or a gift on trust for charitable purposes that, given the circumstances, the church could use as it sees fit. Whatever way, it wants the right to redevelop the site.
D’Ath and the government solicitors have yet to file any documents in the case, which is set down for a directions hearing on March 19. It remains to be seen whether the development dispute becomes a political issue, however council elections will be held on March 28.
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Tooth had been a salesman and, after serving in World War I, founded Austral Motors, which was so successful it became a public company with him as chairman.
He bought the Hamilton hilltop mansion Farsley, formerly known as Eldernell, where he lived with his wife until he died. From there, Tooth had been able to survey the city he helped develop, with buildings bearing his name.
The church purchased Farsley as a residence for the archbishop in 1962 – Tooth would have left it to the church had his wife not survived him – and sold it in 2007 for $11.2 million. At the time, it was the most expensive residence in Brisbane, and the church made an $8.6 million profit after relocating the Archbishop to a cheaper mansion nearby.
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