Originally established as Mareeba Methodist Church, it was built during a period of Christian modernisation and growth, and served as its congregation's place of worship from its dedication in August 1960 until January 2021.

[2] In the 1880s, the Atherton family established a wayside inn and store at the crossing of Granite Creek, supplying goods to traffic passing between Port Douglas to the north and the new tin mining township of Herberton to the south.

[3] A settlement developed on the southern side of Granite Creek, on the traditional lands of the Muluridgi people, and was surveyed by E. B. Rankin as the town of Mareeba in 1891.

[7] Owing its prosperity to a diverse agricultural economy, post-World War II (WWII) Mareeba grew to become the largest tobacco-growing centre in Australia, and in 1954 the town's population reached 3,369.

[11][12] It spread rapidly throughout the United States of America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries through itinerant preachers and later throughout the world through Methodist missionaries.

[18][19][1] Many new Methodist churches, Sunday school halls, and parsonages were constructed throughout Queensland in the 1950s, replacing older buildings and meeting demand in new suburbs and growing regions.

In addition, the church constructed new buildings to support its various charities and organisations including aged-persons homes, hostels, Young People's Department (YPD) Camps, and Kings College (opened 1955) at the St Lucia campus of University of Queensland.

[23] Carried out between 1953 and 1957, the Mission was the largest attempt ever made by the Methodist Church to reform the nation, emphasising the Christian faith as the only answer to social and industrial problems.

Meetings were held in capital cities and main provincial centres throughout the country, conducted by campaign leader Reverend Alan Walker.

In 1950, Oribin moved to Brisbane to work and study, and on 10 February 1953 he obtained his registration as an architect in Queensland, returning to Cairns the following month to begin a partnership with Barnes.

[36][1] During the 1950s, Barnes and Oribin were well known architects in Cairns and the Atherton Tableland as well as further afield, receiving numerous commissions for a range of small and medium scale projects, such as fire stations, shops, and hospital facilities.

[1] The contractor employed was Les Tinsley, a local builder who had worked with Oribin previously, having just constructed Paul's Anglican Church at Proserpine in 1959.

[43][44] A ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone was held on Saturday 2 April 1960, attended by Methodist church representatives from the Northern District.

The stone was set by senior circuit steward Mr Andy Smith and an address delivered by the Reverend R W Moreton (of Cairns).

The tower was dedicated as a memorial to those who had served in World Wars I and II, with a small continuously lit red lamp intended to signify the people's remembrance.

Oribin's first house was included in a 1969 journal article, which detailed organic architecture and its wide variety of forms, materials, and interpretations employed by Australian architects, with features such as clearly expressed timber structure, textured brickwork, free massing, and complex geometries that complemented natural elements of their site.

[72][73] Some of the studio's features, such as the peaked gable roof form and angled timber side walls with triangular fanlights over casement windows, were reused and adapted by Oribin to suit the site and scale of the church.

The timber and glass front screen walls incorporated operable ventilation panels and their repeated patterns cast a changing dappled light effect on the interior during the day and made an impressive display of the church when illuminated at night.

A contrast between light and dark materials was used for dramatic effect on the interior, where a central lower ceiling of stained and clear-finished timber boards appeared to hover over the seated congregation and formed a background wall to the chancel and its large cross.

[50] Original plans show that a 2.8-metre (9 ft 2 in) high screen was to divide the entrance lobby from the church; however, no evidence of it having been built was found.

[75][1] Originally set within the front entrance doors were four triangular glass panels featuring the Methodist Church emblem that were designed by Oribin and imported from England.

The building is highly intact, designed in a bold mid-century Modernist architectural style and, viewed from the intersection across its open front church ground, it makes a strong contribution to the immediate streetscape.

[1] The building has a Modernist style with bold forms and high-quality construction techniques, including finely-constructed brickwork and joinery, minimal and colourful material palette, and triangle and diamond motifs throughout, found in features such as the shape of the roof, fascia ornamentation, integrated external flower beds, glazing panels, and fixed and movable furniture.

The chancel is raised by one step from the nave and its V-shaped rear wall is lined with diagonal timber boards matching the ceiling.

The wall has a large, plain cross made from roughly-finished timber, and a diamond-shaped, cantilevered "holy table" similar to that of the war memorial shrine.

[1] Interior finishes in the church are generally minimal, with face brickwork exposed and joinery either stained and clear-finished, or painted brown-orange.

Its Modernist design reflects the post-war mission of the Methodist Church to become more relevant to modern society through liturgical change and extending its services across the state.

Highly intact and an exceptional example of its type, it retains its: bold Modernist architectural style; incorporation of traditional Christian spaces (nave, chancel, vestry), configurations, and motifs in non-traditional forms; minimal material palette; tower; and original church furniture (holy table, pulpit, lectern, baptismal stand, presiders chairs, communion rails, pews, and plant pots).

Embodying architectural concepts Oribin developed and refined over his career, Mareeba Uniting Church (former) is remarkable for its complex architectural simplicity, incorporating: the use of a rational plan grid and geometry; unconventional roof form; a high degree of craftsmanship and attention to detail; triangular decorative motifs; screen walls of glass and timber; simplified building forms and spatial arrangements; minimal material palette; creative manipulation of natural light and ventilation; and custom-designed, hand-crafted furniture.

Prominently located on a corner site and highly intact, it possesses beautiful attributes derived from its symmetry, form, scale, materials, detailed and meticulous assembly, careful manipulation of light and shadow, and cohesive Modernist style.