The Port Macquarie Seventh Day Adventist Church will build a new church in Bridge Street, West Port, at a cost of approximately $45,000.

Their church previously stood in Horton Street, but was on Friday moved to Savoy Street, where it will be used as an assembly for the Seventh Day Adventist School.

Pastor Moe said the Horton Street property had been sold, and the proceeds would go towards the cost of the new church, to be built on church land in Bridge Street.

He said the new church would seat 300, as compared to 130 in the old building, and would have facilities for Sabbath schools. It would incorporate a hall and a welfare department for disaster relief.

The demolition work on the old church was done by voluntary labour, over two weekends.

For its use as an assembly hall, a new roof will be put on, and the building will be raised to allow a recreation area underneath.

Rally here again?

The choice of Port Macquarie as stop-over point for the 1970 Southern Cross Rally last week has been widely praised by drivers and organisers, and indications are that the 1971 "Cross" will also be centred here.

The rally started and finished in Sydney, but for the three nights and days Port Macquarie was where the action was.

The cars arrived on Thursday morning, left for a "loop" to Grafton on Thursday night, returned here Friday morning, made a loop through Tamworth that night, spent Saturday here and returned to Sydney on Saturday night.

The rally scoring centre and press room was located at the Macquarie Motel in Grant Street, where the numerous service vehicles maintained by the larger teams, including the British Leyland service unit - the size of a bus, also gathered.