{"id":392818,"date":"2026-01-05T09:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T09:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/392818\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T09:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T09:22:10","slug":"the-block-star-mat-johnson-buys-church-in-bid-to-save-dying-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/392818\/","title":{"rendered":"The Block star Mat Johnson buys church in bid to save \u2018dying\u2019 town"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adelaide\u2019s The Block fan favourite Mat Johnson is swapping TV drama for a real-life rescue mission: reviving a decommissioned Anglican Church to help bringing visitors \u2013 and dollars \u2013back to a town he describes as \u201cdying\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fresh off finishing third on the 2025 season of the hit reality show with best mate Robby \u2013 Mat on styling, Robby on the tools \u2013 the duo\u2019s wicked sense of humour and big-hearted approach made them one of the season\u2019s most-loved teams. <\/p>\n

They were tipped to win The Block\u2019s 21st season, but walked away with just $109,999 between them after buyer Danny Wallis paid $3,099,999 for their house.<\/p>\n

Back in Norwood at his hair salon, MJ by Mat Johnson, Mat told Glam Adelaide <\/a>the church dream has been years in the making. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you the reason I wanted a church or the need that I wanted one,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cBut it\u2019s been a goal that I\u2019ve had for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED<\/p>\n

Block winners drop surprise housing bomb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Sad\u2019: Block couple sell own home amid financial limbo<\/a><\/p>\n

Block stars Emma and Ben forced to sell dream home after auction failure<\/a><\/p>\n

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Years of searching led Mat Johnson to a church in Brinkworth, and he\u2019s got plans to create a country getaway.<\/p>\n

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He plans to share his reno project on instagram.<\/p>\n

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The 116 year-old church sold at auction for $250,000.<\/p>\n

Six weeks ago, that long-held idea suddenly turned into a reality. <\/p>\n

On a Friday morning scroll, a listing popped up for the former St Mary Magdalene\u2019s Anglican Church in Brinkworth. <\/p>\n

The auction was in two hours, however, Mat \u2013 a working hairdresser \u2013 was in the midst of making one of his clients look their best when the hammer was expected to fall.<\/p>\n

So instead, he registered to bid over the phone, popped in his AirPods, kept cutting \u2013 and bought the church.<\/p>\n

Realestate.com.au listings data shows the 1910-built property sold for $250,000 through Ray White Clare Valley. <\/p>\n

\u201cI could tell by the structure and everything that it was sound. Properties like this don\u2019t come up very often, structurally sound, ideal location, on land with an incredible view,\u201d he told Glam Adelaide.<\/p>\n

MORE NEWS: Sad pictures show Edelsten\u2019s property decline<\/a><\/p>\n

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Matt plans to consult the community on what they would like to see the church being used for.<\/p>\n

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Brinkworth is a town in the Mid North region of South Australia with a current population of 243<\/p>\n

\"Supplied<\/p>\n

Robby Lippett and Mat Johnson. Picture: Supplied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I had to have it there and then.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church, decommissioned in 1997 and largely untouched since, won\u2019t be hosting services or funerals \u2013 Mat\u2019s vision is boutique accommodation that puts Brinkworth back on the map. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a dying town. I want to breathe life back into it and support local businesses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to meet with the locals and find out everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to build trust and respect. I don\u2019t want them thinking some whacko from TV is just coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll share the restoration in real time on Instagram, where he\u2019s already racked up 12.5 thousand followers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Adelaide\u2019s The Block fan favourite Mat Johnson is swapping TV drama for a real-life rescue mission: reviving a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":["post-392818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}