New op shop rises from ashes

A new building now stands where the beloved Uniting Church Match Factory op shop used to be 19 months ago before it was burnt down in an electrical fire.

The new building is the Match Factory’s replacement building, and has been renamed Bay Life Op-Shop to establish a stronger connection with the church.

Busselton Uniting Church secretary Yvonne Robinson said volunteers hoped to be trading again by next month.

“We’ve had a few months without operation now and we’re very excited to have the new building on-site,” she said.

Bay Life Op-Shop will have more floor space and is expected to be more practical than the old building because of its purpose-built layout.

Ms Robinson said the new building boasted a dedicated staff room, an office for the op shop manager, and air-conditioning, and it would be a pleasant place for staff, volunteers and clients.

The old Match Factory op shop was burnt to the ground in March of 2019 when an electrical cord sparked, causing the building and most of the goods within to go up in flames.

“Smoke was observed coming from the old house that was the op shop, and despite the attendance of firefighters from Busselton, Dunsborough and Bunbury, the building was not able to be saved,” Ms Robinson said.

“It burnt to the ground and had to be demolished.”

She said the new op shop would operate in the same way as the Match Factory did, and would be more than a standard op shop.