It was in the middle of a client’s haircut and over the phone that former The Block contestant and advocate for unique homes Mat Johnson bought a 116-year-old church sight unseen in the small South Australian town of Brinkworth. The hairdresser and ex-reality star is something of a property mogul, with several properties in his real estate portfolio, but, as he shared with Elle Lovelock on The Edit podcast, he’s not in it for the cash.
“I’ve bought [properties] that are affordable to me and in my realm, but I haven’t bought these places to make money. So I haven’t bought any of these to sell…I’ve bought these because as they’ve resonated with my heart and with my soul.”
Mat Johnson
It has been a few months since Mat was handed the keys to his $250,000 purchase, and since, he’s been elbow-deep in renovations, transforming the church to meet his future goals of being an “urban gypsy”, allowing him to scoot from city, to beach to countryside as he pleases.
Listen to Mat Johnson on The Edit podcast:
Mat has teamed up with interior designer Georgie Shepherd to transform the property. Aside from his own future aspirations, his dream is to help bring visitors and subsequently money, back to a town he has described as “dying”.
“There’s not a shop. There’s not a cafe. There’s no service station. There’s nothing. It’s effectively a bit of a ghost town. But we’re reigniting Brinkworth.”
Mat Johsnon
Thankfully, the locals have been nothing short of supportive. “You just don’t know what people are gonna be like,” Mat explained on The Edit podcast. “The community has been so behind me, and they just stop in, pop in, say g’day, bring me snacks. They empty my bins. They take my rubbish out for me.”
Aiming to be respectful of the church’s history and social purpose, Mat assures us that he plans to leave the exterior aesthetic untouched, and instead, capitalise on the six-by-twelve-metre interior by adding a mezzanine and small kitchen and bathroom.
“I don’t want to take away from the church,” he explained on The Edit. “In Norwood, which is a beautiful area, my street is all heritage listed, and you’ve got these beautiful old homes which [are] not allowed to be demolished, but on the back they have put on this concrete or gray-black box that sits disjointed and multidimensional to the house…it takes away from the beautiful heritage of the building and the area.”
While Home Beautiful was only able to pick his brains about his renovation plans briefly, thankfully, Mat is bringing his followers along for the ride. Creating an social media account dedicated to the church revival, which has ammassed almost 30k followers already.
“Join me on a fabulous journey from The Block to transforming a country church into a vibrant home! Expect laughs, drama, & fabulous vibes!” the account reads.
Mat also revealed to Home Beautiful that the church will first be an Airbnb.
The former Anglican church, known as St Mary Magdalene’s, is a heritage property built in 1910 and was listed as “a piece of South Australian history”. It boasts period craftsmanship and architectural details crying out to be preserved – from leadlight glass windows to double timber doors – with Mat seemingly the perfect person for the job, given the eye for design he showcased on the series.
As one half of Adelaide-based best-mate duo Mat and Robby, the pair became fan favourites throughout the 21st season thanks to their good humour and memorable antics. While they were tipped to be in the running to win – bolstered by bold moves including a winning kitchen and a wine cellar — it wasn’t meant to be.
They didn’t fare as badly as the two couples who left empty-handed, but the boys did walk away with relatively modest winnings of $109,999 (split between them) when Danny Wallis bought House 5 for $3,099,999, particularly when compared to the 2024 contestants who all made lucrative sales thanks to billionaire Adrian Portelli purchasing all five properties.
As Adrian famously declared, he wasn’t returning in 2025, having joined forces with rival network Channel 7 and their soon-to-launch revamped version of My Reno Rules in 2026. The move left teams Han and Can, and Emma and Ben, still waiting for their homes to sell. New parents Emma and Ben have since sold their own home, with The Block outcome falling short of their hopes.
There’s still potential for all contestants to make the most of their moment in the spotlight — and it seems Mat is firmly continuing the renovation ride, with enormous potential in this latest purchase for a beautiful transformation and a big sale, if all goes to plan.
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