Misha Ketchell writes:
First some bad news. A spokeswoman from the Australian Church of
Scientology this morning officially denied a tip that Tom Cruise
will be personally jetting into Melbourne to open a new Church. More’s
the pity.
The good news is that Australian followers of L. Ron Hubbard, who have
outgrown their current digs in Melbourne’s Russell Street, are moving
to a new $7 million premises on Mount Alexander Road in Ascot Vale. And in the turf war of the
religions this one will be especially sweet – the site used to belong
to the Australian Catholic University.
According to Scientologist spokeswoman Virginia Stewart the site, complete with heritage listed buildings, recently
fell into the hands of a property developer, whose plans to build
apartments on the site fell foul of local residents. Enter the
Scientologists, who were impressed by the potential to use the existing
facilities for a higher purpose.
The Church’s Australian HQ will remain in Sydney.
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