After operating for more than 160 years, the church and adjoining parish hall were sold by Ray White last month to a private investor.

Doug McMillan who attended the church every Sunday for more than 80 years said he was saddened the by church’s closure.

Mr McMillan said parishioners at the church had supported each other through life’s peaks and troughs for decades.

"We’ve always been like one big family," Mr McMillan said.

"But in the end there was no choice but to close the church. It's very sad for all of us. There is a group of people who have called the church their second home for many, many years and it is sad that has now been lost.”

The decision was sparked by the dwindling numbers of parishioners in recent years.

A decade ago there were at least 30 people at a Sunday service, but this had dropped to just 14.

But while the sale spelt the final chapter for the parish, new life will be breathed into its historic 1889 pipe organ.

The fate of the rare instrument was under threat following the closure of the church but it was thrown a lifeline by community campaign lead by the Organ Historical Trust of Australia.

The organ is being dismantled by Hargaves Pipe Organs and refurbished in Melbourne before it  will be relocated to St Johns Anglican Church in Creswick. 

Organ builder Campbell Hargraves said more than 1000 pipes needed to be individually dismantled before it can be moved.

“It’s a real gem,” Mr Hargraves said. “It only needs to cleaned and have a few minor repairs to it.”

But while the organ has been saved, the fate of World War I stained-glass windows inside the church remains uncertain.

Mr McMillan said attempts to hand over the historic triptych memorial windows onto other organisations had so far been unsuccessful.

“It’s would be a costly exercise to relocate it but we are still hopeful it will find a new home,” Mr McMillan said.

The Courier understands the developer planned to subdivide the land and resell it off in smaller blocks.