 Mrs Catherine English, an avid Catholic, wanted to see the church built in her time, but she died before it was finished.The building of the church was finalised by November 1926 and the church, then named St James, was opened and blessed by Bishop John Heavey on Sunday 23 January 1927.The St James Catholic Church is a small, low set, single storeyed timber church situated on a large block of land in Monash Avenue, Malanda, overlooking the town and district of Malanda.