Holy Trinity Church, Port Chalmers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church in 2008
45°48′59″S 170°37′22″E / 45.81643°S 170.62290°E / -45.81643; 170.62290
Country	New Zealand
Denomination	Anglican
History
Status	Church
Founded	7 June 1871 (1871-06-07)
Founder(s)	Bishop Samuel Nevill
Dedicated	28 April 1874
Consecrated	6 October 1907
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Robert Lawson
Architectural type	Church
Style	Academic Gothic Revival
Years built	1871-1874
Specifications
Capacity	300 people
Materials	Volcanic stone
Administration
Parish	Port Chalmers-Warrington
Diocese	Dunedin
Province	Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia

Holy Trinity Church in 2008

Holy Trinity Church is an important Anglican church building in Port Chalmers, Otago, New Zealand. It was finished in 1874. This church is built from volcanic stone and features beautiful stained glass windows. It is recognized as a Category I Historic Place by Heritage New Zealand, meaning it's a very important historical site. Holy Trinity Church is part of the Port Chalmers-Warrington Parish, which belongs to the Diocese of Dunedin.

History of Holy Trinity Church

Early Days in Port Chalmers

In the beginning, Port Chalmers was mostly settled by Scottish Presbyterian people. This meant that Anglicans, who follow a different Christian tradition, often had to share places of worship with Presbyterians. The first Anglican priest in the Otago area, Reverend J. A. Fenton, arrived in 1852. He had a huge area to cover, so he could only hold services in Port Chalmers about twice a year.

By 1870, other Christian groups like Congregationalists and Methodists had already built their own churches in Port Chalmers. Anglicans were holding their services in the Masonic Hall. They decided it was time to build their own church. In August 1870, the Anglican community started looking for a good spot to build.

Building the Church

The idea of building a new church got a big boost in 1871. That year, Samuel Nevill became the Anglican Bishop of Dunedin. He encouraged the creation of new church areas and new churches. The Anglican community in Port Chalmers formed a building committee. The women of the community worked hard to raise money. They managed to buy a good piece of land on the corner of Grey and Scotia streets for NZ£150. This land was about 2,000 square meters.

The committee wanted a church big enough for 300 people. They looked at designs from different architects. In the end, they chose the design by Robert Lawson.

Construction Begins

Bishop Nevill officially laid the first stone of the church on June 7, 1871. This was a special event with a Masonic ceremony, and about 400 to 500 people attended. It was the Bishop's first official act in Dunedin. Soon after, the first priest for the parish, Reverend T. L. Stanley, was appointed.

Building the church took a long time. It wasn't until 1873 that a builder named Mr. Borlase was hired to finish the work. The church was finally ready and opened on April 28, 1874. The Bishop of Dunedin spoke to a crowd of 300 people. He congratulated Port Chalmers on having its fifth place of worship.

The first priest of the completed church was Reverend W. Leeson. He had been leading the community before the church was finished. He left in April 1876 to go back to England. He mentioned how difficult it had been to build the church. He said that when he arrived, it was "a mere heap of stones."

Changes and Improvements

Reverend Lorenzo Moore took over after Leeson and served until 1878. He left after his offer to pay for a parsonage (a house for the priest) was not accepted. Reverend F. J. Sotham from Oxford, England, replaced him.

The community then built a Sunday school hall and a bell tower. The bells for the tower were blessed on November 14, 1879. This was the first bell tower built in the Dunedin Diocese. The larger of the two bells had been sent from England three years earlier by Reverend Leeson, but it hadn't been put up because of money problems. The bell tower has since been taken down.

By 1879, the church's Sunday school was very popular. It had 116 students, with 50 girls and 40 boys regularly attending.

Reverend Sotham left in 1880. Reverend Frederick Charles Platts then became the minister. He arrived in Port Chalmers in May 1880 from Australia. One of his children was Daisy Platts-Mills, who later became one of the first female doctors in New Zealand.

On December 1, 1880, a fundraising event was held to raise money for a parsonage. The hall was beautifully decorated with flags, ferns, and flowers. The ladies of the church provided lots of good food. The Bishop of Dunedin spoke at the event. He suggested that the reason so many ministers had left the church was because there was no parsonage. He encouraged everyone to donate. The fundraising was successful. By November 1881, the parsonage was built next to the church. It cost NZ£950. It was a large, two-story wooden house with 12 rooms.

However, the church community struggled to pay off the money they owed from all their building projects. They eventually had to sell the parsonage.

Reverend Platts remained the church's minister for 20 years, until shortly before his death in May 1900.

The church also had problems with its roof leaking, which cost a lot to fix. This was finally sorted out in 1906 when Reverend Tewsley provided money to put a new roof on the church and make other improvements. The new roof, made of special tiles, was put on in 1909.

Consecration and Recent Times

Once the church had paid off all its debts, it was officially consecrated on October 6, 1907. In 1916, an organ was installed inside the church. The Sunday school building was taken down in 1981.

In 1987, the church got a new red steel roof. The church was given its Category 1 Historic Place status by Heritage New Zealand on July 2, 1982. This means it is a very important historical building.