Tokomairiro Presbyterian Church is a major church building in the New Zealand town of Milton, in the Otago Region. It was designed and built by Robert Lawson and officially opened in 1889.[1]
Presbyterianism was established in Milton early in the town's history, with the first service given by Rev. Dr Thomas Burns on Christmas Day 1851. A dedicated church was built and opened in 1863, at a time when Milton had rapidly grown as a staging post to the goldfields of the Otago gold rush.[1] The church took its name from the Tokomairaro River (formerly called Tokomairiro), which flows close to the town.
The current buildingedit
Calls for a larger and more permanent church to be built began in the early 1880s, and a new church, designed by Dunedin architect Robert Lawson and with capacity for 600 people, began later in the decade. The finished edifice, built by J. & W. Gore, was opened on 13 October 1889[1]by Rev. Donald Stuart.[2]
The church is located at the southern end of Milton's CBD, at the junction of the town's main street, Union Street, and Ossian Street, which was formerly a major thoroughfare to the coast via the township of Fairfax (now Tokoiti). The church forms an impressive terminating vista for Ossian Street. The building is listed as a Category 1 historic place by Heritage New Zealand.[3] The listing proposal, in 2008, generated a record number of positive submissions to the then New Zealand Historic Places Trust.[4]
The church is now used as the main place of worship of the Tokomairiro Co-operating Parish of Milton-Waihola, a joint arrangement reached between local Presbyterian and Methodist congregations in 1976.[5]
Architecture and constructionedit
The church is in the gothic style, with a frontage including a central tower topped by a steeple. Inside, there are short transepts and a rearward extension which houses the church hall.[6] The church is constructed of breccia sourced at Port Chalmers and limestone, with a slate roof.[1] Construction cost £3000.[5]
At the time of its construction, the 32-metre (105 ft) building[2] was reputed to be the tallest building south of Dunedin anywhere in the world. Lawson's original design included a taller spire, but a more truncated one was constructed to keep costs down.[6]
The steeple contains a bell re-cast from the cracked bell of the previous church building. Re-casting was completed in time for the 1889 building's inauguration.[2]
tokomairiro, presbyterian, church, major, church, building, zealand, town, milton, otago, region, designed, built, robert, lawson, officially, opened, 1889, lawson, impressive, church, dominates, road, fairfax, tokoiti, presbyterianism, established, milton, ea. Tokomairiro Presbyterian Church is a major church building in the New Zealand town of Milton in the Otago Region It was designed and built by Robert Lawson and officially opened in 1889 1 Lawson s impressive church dominates the old road to Fairfax Tokoiti Presbyterianism was established in Milton early in the town s history with the first service given by Rev Dr Thomas Burns on Christmas Day 1851 A dedicated church was built and opened in 1863 at a time when Milton had rapidly grown as a staging post to the goldfields of the Otago gold rush 1 The church took its name from the Tokomairaro River formerly called Tokomairiro which flows close to the town The current building editCalls for a larger and more permanent church to be built began in the early 1880s and a new church designed by Dunedin architect Robert Lawson and with capacity for 600 people began later in the decade The finished edifice built by J amp W Gore was opened on 13 October 1889 1 by Rev Donald Stuart 2 The church is located at the southern end of Milton s CBD at the junction of the town s main street Union Street and Ossian Street which was formerly a major thoroughfare to the coast via the township of Fairfax now Tokoiti The church forms an impressive terminating vista for Ossian Street The building is listed as a Category 1 historic place by Heritage New Zealand 3 The listing proposal in 2008 generated a record number of positive submissions to the then New Zealand Historic Places Trust 4 The church is now used as the main place of worship of the Tokomairiro Co operating Parish of Milton Waihola a joint arrangement reached between local Presbyterian and Methodist congregations in 1976 5 Architecture and construction edit The church is in the gothic style with a frontage including a central tower topped by a steeple Inside there are short transepts and a rearward extension which houses the church hall 6 The church is constructed of breccia sourced at Port Chalmers and limestone with a slate roof 1 Construction cost 3000 5 At the time of its construction the 32 metre 105 ft building 2 was reputed to be the tallest building south of Dunedin anywhere in the world Lawson s original design included a taller spire but a more truncated one was constructed to keep costs down 6 The steeple contains a bell re cast from the cracked bell of the previous church building Re casting was completed in time for the 1889 building s inauguration 2 References edit a b c d Tokomairiro Church Presbyterian Heritage New Zealand Retrieved 2 March 2024 a b c The saga of the Unlucky Tokomairiro Church Bell 29 May 2017 Retrieved 2 March 2024 Tokomairiro Church Presbyterian New Zealand Heritage List Rarangi Kōrero Heritage New Zealand Record submissions to recognise Milton church Radio New Zealand 7 October 2008 Retrieved 2 March 2024 a b Tokomairiro Parish Presbyterian Research Centre Retrieved 2 March 2024 a b Entwisle P 2013 R A Lawson s architectural works www cemeteries org nz Retrieved 2 March 2024 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tokomairiro Presbyterian Church 46 07 22 S 169 57 25 E 46 12278 S 169 95694 E 46 12278 169 95694 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tokomairiro Presbyterian Church amp oldid 1212680072, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,