A former Uniting Church reverend accused of historical sex offences has been granted bail by a Gold Coast court.
It is alleged 73-year-old Maurice Arthur Frazier Wildish indecently touched a teenage girl at a Carrara residence between 1995 and 1996 and at a Port Douglas motel in 1997.
Police allege he was working as a Uniting Church reverend during this period.
Mr Wildish was arrested on Sunday at Swan Hill in Victoria and extradited to Queensland on Tuesday, where he was charged with five counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16.
He appeared briefly in the Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday morning, wearing a blue long-sleeved t-shirt and navy tracksuit pants.
No plea was entered, however, outside court Mr Wildish's lawyer Stephen McGhie said his client "vehemently denies" the allegations.
Magistrate Dermot Kehoe granted Mr Wildish conditional bail, allowing him to return to his home in Victoria.
The matter is set down for committal at Southport Magistrates Court on April 2, but Mr Wildish is not required to appear.
Mr Wildish retired from the Uniting Church in Swan Hill, where he was a minister, in 2013.
Detectives from the Gold Coast Child Protection and Investigation Unit have been investigating the case since 2015.
Police are calling for anyone with information that could assist detectives to contact Crime Stoppers.
