St James’ Church (Presbyterian) was constructed in 1905-6, when Waihī was ‘one of the great gold-mining districts of the world’. Designed by local architect, Robert Simms, the well-preserved Gothic Revival church directly reflects the expansion and prosperity of the settlement after the development of new methods for extracting gold. Superseding a simple Mission Hall shared with the local Wesleyan community, the more imposing, purpose-built church directly indicates the importance of the Presbyterian community in Waihī, whose members included successive managers of the Martha Mine as well as businessmen and ordinary mineworkers. Used for worship until 2013, the place is historically associated with events of local and national importance including the 1912 Waihī Miners’ Strike. Waihī has connections with many iwi. Following the opening of Ohinemuri District for mining in the 1880s after local iwi opposition, a township at Waihī formed around the goldmine at Pūkewa (Martha Hill) where gold was found in 1878. With the introduction of a new method for extracting gold - the cyanide process - in 1894, Waihī became a major goldmining centre. The settlement rapidly expanded, attracting large numbers of miners and settlers from varied backgrounds and faiths and was the largest town in the South Auckland region by 1906. The first place of worship used by the Presbyterians, known as the Mission Hall, was built in 1895. However, within a decade the congregation had outgrown the building following a religious revival at the settlement. In 1905-6, St James’ Church (Presbyterian) was erected beside it. Described as ‘a large and handsome structure’, the timber Gothic Revival church contrasted with the plainer design of the earlier hall. It was built of heart rimu and could seat 500 parishioners - or approximately a tenth of Waihī borough’s population. Gothic Revival was an important architectural style in colonial New Zealand, encompassing a wide range of expressions from simple rural forms to more elaborate urban examples. The design of St James’ Church included pitched roofs and gable ends, finials, buttresses, and lancet windows, as well as a cruciform plan. Internally, its nave and transepts featured an impressive timber ceiling, open to collar height. The building’s cruciform plan was completed by a rear vestry under a lean-to roof. The Church was subsequently involved in important social issues at Waihī. This included support for the No-licence movement, which successfully campaigned for alcohol prohibition in Ohinemuri County, including Waihī, in 1908. The 1912 Waihī Miners’ Strike directly affected the Presbyterian community, which included both the Martha Mine manager, James Gilmour, ordinary mineworkers, and the church minister, Reverend William White. From 1923 onwards, ANZAC Day services were held in the church. After the Second World War (1939-45), the church was associated with the New Life Movement - which sought to grow Presbyterian communities. In circa 1954, minor changes were made to the church interior by noted Auckland architects M.K. and R.F. Draffin reflecting changing theological needs as Presbyterian churches moved towards a more inclusive use of space. The building ceased being used by its congregation in 2013. Since demolition of the adjacent Mission Hall in 1992, the building is the oldest remaining Presbyterian building in Waihī and the only structure of this denomination to survive from Waihī’s early gold boom.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
732
Date Entered
4th April 1983
Date of Effect
5th May 2020
City/District Council
Hauraki District
Region
Waikato Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Sec 24 Town of Waihi (RT SA10B/601), South Auckland Land District, and the building known as St James’ Church (Presbyterian) thereon. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the List entry report for further information).
Legal description
Sec 24 Town of Waihi (RT SA10B/601) South Auckland Land District
Location Description
NZTM Easting: 1851380.1 NZTM Northing: 5857986.6 (approximate centre of church building)
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
732
Date Entered
4th April 1983
Date of Effect
5th May 2020
City/District Council
Hauraki District
Region
Waikato Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Sec 24 Town of Waihi (RT SA10B/601), South Auckland Land District, and the building known as St James’ Church (Presbyterian) thereon. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the List entry report for further information).
Legal description
Sec 24 Town of Waihi (RT SA10B/601) South Auckland Land District
Location Description
NZTM Easting: 1851380.1 NZTM Northing: 5857986.6 (approximate centre of church building)
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value St James’ Church (Presbyterian) is historically significant for its connections with the early development of Waihī - considered one of the great gold-mining districts of the world by 1900. A large building of relatively ornate design, it directly reflects the growth and prosperity of the settlement during the gold boom of the 1890s and early 1900s, when building activity was at its peak. It especially reflects Waihī’s emergence as the largest settlement in the South Auckland region, which occurred at the same time that the building was being constructed. The place has specific links with Waihī’s mining history, including through its opening by Thomas Gilmour, the town mayor and manager of the Martha Mine when it adopted cyanide extraction techniques; and subsequent associations with the nationally important Waihī Miner’s Strike (1912). St James’ Church (Presbyterian) is additionally significant for demonstrating the importance of religion in gold mining communities such as Waihī, which drew migrants of varying creeds and social backgrounds. It especially reflects the presence and importance of Presbyterianism, a significant settler faith said to have had the largest number of worshippers of any religious denomination in New Zealand at the end of the nineteenth century. It is the oldest and most historically important Presbyterian building to survive in the town. The place demonstrates important stages in the development of Presbyterianism in Waihī, including the latter’s emergence as a sanctioned charge district; and consolidation of a distinct identity through the first construction of a purpose-built Presbyterian church in the town. It directly reflects a feature of religious development in many emerging colonial settlements - the establishment of sole-denomination places of worship after an initial period of sharing premises.
Physical Significance
Architectural Significance or Value St James’ Church (Presbyterian) has architectural significance as a well-preserved example of ecclesiastical Gothic Revival design. Gothic Revival was an important architectural style during the colonial period, with New Zealand’s timber Gothic Revival churches seen as a particularly important and distinctive contributor to the country’s landscape. Created in 1905-6, the church demonstrates the importance of Gothic Revival as a signifier of Presbyterian religious activity into the twentieth century, of a scale appropriate to an emerging large town. Its individuality reflects the New Zealand experience of New Zealand Gothic. The place is largely intact, both externally and internally, with few substantive changes to its initial design.
Detail Of Assessed Criteria
It is considered that this place qualifies as a Category 2 historic place. It was assessed against all, and found to qualify under the following criteria: a, b, c and k. (a) The extent to which the place reflects important or representative aspects of New Zealand history Incorporating a well-preserved structure from 1905-6, St James’ Church (Presbyterian) reflects the early development of Waihī, one of New Zealand’s main goldmining settlements. Goldmining was an important New Zealand industry, which underwent a boom following introduction of new extraction processes in the 1890s. The place demonstrates Waihī’s growth in population and expansion in wealth resulting from the Martha Mine’s adoption of cyanide extraction techniques. It particularly reflects the additional stimulation in building activity that occurred after Waihī became connected to the main North Island railway system in 1905, an important factor for regional development at this time. St James’ Church (Presbyterian) also demonstrates the expansion of Presbyterianism in the Hauraki area in the early twentieth century as one of the main settler religions. The building’s size and scale reflects the importance of the Waihī Presbyterian community, which included significant individuals connected with development of the Martha Mine as well as businessmen and ordinary mineworkers. It demonstrates notable stages in the development of Presbyterianism in an emerging community, including a rise in status from mission station to ministerial charge status, and consolidating a distinct identity after initially sharing premises with another denomination. It also reflects a broader religious revival at Waihī that occurred in 1905. Retaining most of its early fabric and design, St James’ Church (Presbyterian) reflects the importance and durability of Gothic Revival architecture in colonial New Zealand. It opened the year before New Zealand ceased being a formal British colony and achieved Dominion status. Its form and scale reflect the particular use of ecclesiastical Gothic for an emerging town of relatively large size. The inclusion of an attached vestry under a lean-to roof may be a particular Presbyterian response to the adoption of a Gothic, cruciform ground plan. (b) The association of the place with events, persons, or ideas of importance in New Zealand history The place is connected with the 1912 Miners’ Strike, an event of national importance in New Zealand’s labour history. The church minister, Reverend William White, was directly involved in the national conversation about the strikes, and a letter he sent to the Government requesting it to intervene was included in a formal report on the dispute. The place has close associations with significant individuals in Waihī’s broader mining history, notably Thomas Gilmour, manager of Martha Mine when the latter adopted new cyanide extraction techniques that dramatically increased production levels. It is also linked with his son, James Gilmour, subsequent manager of the Martha Mine for 33 years, including during the 1912 Miners’ Strike. The place additionally has connections with the No-licence movement, especially its successful campaign to make Ohinemuri a dry district in 1908 - coinciding with the height of the national movement’s achievements. The place is also associated with Anzac Day commemoration from the early 1920s onwards, and the later activities of the New Life Movement - which strove to expand the size of Presbyterian congregations after the Second World War. (c) The potential of the place to provide knowledge of New Zealand history Incorporating a well-preserved early twentieth-century building, the place has potential to provide information about church construction and design in settler communities. This includes information about uncommon timber elements such as internal corbels and large finials. Through marks on surviving timbers in the ceiling, it has the potential to provide information about early 1900s timber stacking techniques. The place also has potential to provide information linked with use by separate religious groups, who shared hall accommodation immediately to the south of the site on the same legal property. This potential exists as the place incorporates soil fill which may seal earlier deposits relating to prior use of the site between 1895 - 1903, including a water course and land forms, and has potential to provide information about Waihī’s urban environment at an early stage in its development as a mining town. (k) The extent to which the place forms part of a wider historical and cultural area Located in central Waihī, St James’ Church (Presbyterian) forms an integral part of a historical and cultural landscape representing Waihī’s history as one of New Zealand’s main goldmining centres. The place is one of a group of surviving structures in the town centre constructed during the emergence and rapid early expansion of the mining settlement. Other listed places that form part of this landscape include the nearby Rob Roy Hotel (1896, List No. 733), Martha’s Kitchen (1880s, List No. 4660), Miners’ Cafe (c.1895, List No. 2688), Waihī Courthouse (1901, List No. 4685) and St John’s Church (Anglican) (1906, List No. 731). At least two of these structures - Waihī Courthouse and St John’s Church (Anglican) - also have associations with the 1912 Waihī Miners’ Strike. Erected at the same time as St James’ Church (Presbyterian), the Waihi Railway Station historic area (1905, List No.7329) also survives. Summary of Significance or Values St James’ Church (Presbyterian) has been assessed as a Category 2 historic place. It has historical significance for reasons that include its close associations with the early development of Waihī as a major goldmining centre; notable stages in the development of Presbyterianism in Waihī; and events and individuals connected with the mining industry, including the 1912 Miners’ Strike. The place has architectural value for its well-preserved Gothic Revival design, which demonstrates the variety, importance and endurance of this notable colonial style into the early twentieth century.
Construction Professional
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Name
Robert Simms
Type
Architect
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Name
Hutchinson & Ludwig
Type
Builder
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Name
M.K. & R.F. Draffin
Type
Architectural Partnership
Construction Details
Description
Soil fill added to level up the site
Start Year
1903
Type
Physical access improvements
Description
Wall lining added
Period
n.d.
Type
Modification
Description
Pulpit relocated to rear wall
Start Year
1937
Type
Modification
Description
Extension to rear vestry
Start Year
1954
Type
Addition
Description
Divisions between nave and transepts removed, and pulpit platform reshaped
Start Year
1954
Type
Modification
Description
Reblocking
Period
1950s
Type
Modification
Description
Removal of external roof ventilators and two finials
Period
pre-1968
Type
Modification
Description
Re-roofing
Start Year
1973
Type
Modification
Description
Carpeting of main hall, renovation of vestry
Start Year
1986
Type
Modification
Description
Porch added to S. transept
Period
pre-1990
Type
Addition
Description
Removal of door between vestry and pulpit
Period
Pre-1991
Type
Modification
Description
S. door of front porch boarded over
Period
Pre-2006
Type
Modification
Finish Year
1906
Start Year
1905
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Timber, with corrugated iron roof. Timber and concrete footings.
Early history Waihī has connections with many iwi groups. The Ohinemuri River, which runs through present-day Waihī, is traditionally said to have been formed from the tears of Hinemuri, daughter of Te One-ki-te-akau of Ngāti Te Ūpokotioa. The river formed part of a network of routes connecting the coast and plains that were used by taua or war parties during inter-iwi conflicts. Pūkewa - a prominent hill overlooking the Ohinemuri at Waihī - held a pā and urupā on its slopes, and was considered tapu. A number of waterways around the hill were also important for ritual and the everyday practices of local Māori. In the decades after Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi (1840), desires by European settlers to exploit the region’s gold resources often conflicted with the perspectives of Māori communities. While mining began in surrounding districts from 1853 onwards, Ohinemuri iwi resisted this occurrence for a number of decades, under the leadership of Te Hira Te Tuiri of Ngāti Tamaterā. During the 1870s, the Crown began to increase pressure on iwi through monopoly purchasing powers and raihana, eventually forcing open the district for mining in order to settle debts. The Native Land Court divided the land between Māori and the Crown in 1880 and 1882. The Ohinemuri 8 Block, encompassing all of Waihī, was awarded to the Crown in 1882. Gold was first found on Pūkewa in 1878 by John McCombie and Robert Lee. After the Crown took ownership of the area, mining on the maunga, which became known as Martha Hill, began in the 1880s. Large-scale production, however, only became possible after a new cyanide process for extracting gold was introduced in the 1890s - causing Waihī to become ‘one of the great gold-mining districts of the world by 1900’. The volume of gold produced was such that contemporaries credited the industry for lifting the wider Auckland region out of a prolonged economic depression. Owned by the Waihi Gold Mining Company, the Martha Mine became the largest in the country. Presbyterianism in Waihī and initial religious use of the site (1895) During the gold boom of the 1890s and early 1900s, an associated township surrounding the Martha Mine at Waihī expanded rapidly. The settlement attracted miners and other settlers from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds, and numerous faiths became established. Among these was Presbyterianism, a settler faith especially popular among Scottish and Protestant Northern Irish migrants, which is said to have had the largest number of worshippers of any religious denomination in New Zealand at the end of the nineteenth century. Presbyterian authorities took particular interest in goldfield settlements and saw a need to provide services and pastoral care to combat the threat of what it considered a ‘materialist spirit’. Presbyterian services at Waihī appear to have begun by 1890. Three years later, a number of Presbyterian stations in Ohinemuri, including Waihī, successfully petitioned to be established as a separate ministerial charge within the South Auckland Presbytery. As in other emerging settlements in colonial New Zealand, the Presbyterian congregation initially combined with members of another denomination - in this instance the Wesleyan community - to create a dedicated place of gathering. A residence site licence was issued in April 1895 for Section 24, Town of Waihi - the wider property on which the current church is located - and a wooden Mission Hall subsequently erected. Of simple design, this seated 150 people and was used for separate Presbyterian and Wesleyan services as well as public meetings. As settler numbers increased, the Presbyterian area of Ohinemuri was subdivided in 1897 and Waihī became the centre of its own district. The Wesleyans left the Mission Hall the following year to erect a new place of worship. The town’s expansion was especially rapid around the turn of the century: between 1896 and 1906 the population grew from 1,102 to 5,594. In 1906 the settlement was the largest in the South Auckland region, with Presbyterians also now forming 20% of the town’s population. As the Presbyterian congregation increased, its members applied to have the district raised from a mission station to a sanctioned charge, and in 1903 the Reverend James Leburn Pattullo, a Scottish immigrant, arrived. Reflecting both the district’s raised status and other factors, the congregation began preparing a site within the Mission Hall property to accommodate a substantially larger place of gathering. Construction of St James’ Church (1905-6) The new structure was to be the first purpose-built place of worship for sole Presbyterian use in Waihī. Unlike the Mission Hall, it was specifically designed as a church, whose size and appearance directly expressed the importance of Presbyterianism in Waihī and the town’s prosperity as a gold-mining centre, as well as the building’s role as the main Presbyterian place of worship in the district. In 1903 preparation of the site began, including piping a water course; filling a depression to level the site; and purchasing timber required for the project. The Auckland Presbytery, however, was reluctant to give permission for raising the necessary loan to begin construction. With the timber sitting on the site while plans were on hold, options to fund the build were considered by the congregation. Whilst the church was still unbuilt, a religious revival movement took hold at Waihī in 1905, with an increase in conversions and church attendance by miners and other settlers recorded by all the main churches. This upsurge was reported as widely as Auckland and Otago. By mid-1905 the Presbyterian congregation was larger than could fit into the existing Mission Hall, and plans for the new building progressed. In August 1905, a tender from Hutchinson and Ludwig for £744 13s was accepted to erect the church, which had been designed by local Waihī architect Robert Simms. Simms had previously designed the Waihī Catholic Church in 1896 and went on to create the Katikati Presbyterian Church in 1908. A foundation stone was laid in September 1905 at a ceremony performed by the Mayor of Waihī, Thomas Gilmour (1841-1923) - a former manager of the Waihi Gold Mining Company mine and chair of the Waihi Hospital Board for many years. As manager of the Martha Mine from 1890, Gilmour had overseen the introduction of the cyanide process and ensuing development of the mine. He also appears to have been a member of the Presbyterian congregation. Capable of holding 500 parishioners, the new building was erected of heart rimu timber and had a corrugated iron roof. Its relatively ornate design incorporated pitched roofs and gable ends, buttresses, finials and lancet windows, and a cruciform ground plan - all identifying it as a Gothic Revival church. Gothic Revival was an important architectural style in colonial New Zealand, and in ecclesiastical buildings was particularly associated with ‘high-church’ Christian faiths, although ‘low-church’ creeds increasingly adopted it. At Waihī, the new structure contrasted with the plainer design employed for the Mission Hall – shared with ‘low-church’ Wesleyans. Encompassing a wide range of individual expressions from simple rural forms to more elaborate urban examples, timber Gothic Revival churches have been referred to by historian Michael King as New Zealand’s ‘one memorable contribution to world architecture’. The style has also been seen as an expression of colonial identity and authority - the Martha Mine was effectively British-owned and the Waihī church was completed the year before New Zealand was transformed from colony to Dominion (1907). The church interior was also influenced by Gothic ideas. Its main internal space was T-shaped, incorporating a nave and two transepts. A separately enclosed vestry at the west end completed the cruciform plan. A Gothic-design pulpit was centrally located at the west end of the main space, on a raised platform. The transepts were visually separated from the nave by divisions, defining separate space for a choir and orchestra. The nave and transepts contained a high and impressive ceiling incorporating herringbone-patterning. Lighting was supplied by the recently opened Waihī gasworks. Due to a lack of funds, the church walls were initially unlined. Described by contemporary reports as a ‘large and handsome structure’, the church was opened in February 1906 by Mayor Gilmour in front of a crowded congregation. Reverend Robert Sommerville, the Clerk and Moderator of the Auckland Presbytery, gave a sermon which remarked on the importance of building churches of an appearance that the worshippers would be proud. Erection of the new church was part of an upsurge in building activity in Waihī associated with the success of Martha Mine, particularly after the town was connected to the main North Island railway system in 1905. The Anglican community also built a new church in 1906. This similarly adopted Gothic architecture, although combined with more ‘English’ Arts and Crafts influences. Early use of the church In addition to Mayor Gilmour, the church community evidently included the subsequent manager of the Martha Mine for 33 years - his son James Gilmour. The congregation also encompassed Waihī borough councillors, traders and ordinary mineworkers. The congregation expanded over the next years, partly attributed to the efforts of Reverend Pattullo. In February 1907, Pattullo abruptly resigned after the church committee passed a resolution against his dealing in mining scrip and other issues. His successor, Reverend William White, accepted the call in December 1907 and later became the first clerk of the Waikato Presbytery. The Presbytery was created due to the growth of Presbyterian churches in South Auckland, including Waihī. The church was involved in important social issues at Waihī. In 1905 the Auckland Presbytery undertook formal support for the No-Licence movement, which sought to prohibit alcohol. The movement was more supported by middle class ‘suburban and settled small farming folk’ and was less popular with the working and upper classes, including miners. Reverend White was noted for his support for the movement and spoke in favour of Prohibition before and after Ohinemuri voted to join twelve other counties and become a ‘dry’ county in 1908. This was the same year that the Prohibition movement peaked nationally. The 1912 Miners’ Strike was also a significant event for the church, with its connections both to mine management and ordinary miners. The strike, which was triggered by the formation of an alternative trade union in Waihī that undermined the anti-arbitration stance of the existing Miners’ Union, was the beginning of a national industrial conflict under the Reform Government (1912-1928) between unions and employers that hardened political attitudes and ultimately led to the formation of the Labour Party in 1916. White encouraged the congregation to continue to tithe if they were able and support those who were in struggling in the community. As the strike continued, he was one of five local leaders who wrote to the government asking for action and support for ending the strike. His letter was included in a subsequent official report on the situation. While White appears to have agreed with the Anglican minister that the unions were turning from Christianity, he also gave a speech at the Presbyterian General Assembly at the end of the year which noted that ‘it was the capitalist rather than the worker who kept out of the church’ and that ‘there was a far stronger connection between the Church and Labour than was apparently supposed’. In 1913 the Presbytery gave St James’ Church additional funds due to the strike’s impact on its finances, and a market day to raise funds was held at the Miners’ Union Hall. The church was regularly used for major ‘life cycle’ events for the community such as funerals and weddings, and was an important location for gatherings such as musical recitals as well as other social and celebratory events. Following the First World War (1914-18), which saw 45 men of the congregation serve overseas, a roll of honour was created and hung in the church. ANZAC Day services in the building began in 1923 and were carried out subsequently for many years. These formed part of a national network of commemoration across New Zealand that allowed communities to remember those they had lost. Later history The congregation of the church declined during the 1920s, mirroring a reduction in people employed at Martha Mine. Through the 1930s and 1940s the church continued its ministry and made special appeals for money from the congregation at times for necessary projects, potentially reflecting the effect of the Great Depression and Second World War (1939-45) on the regular finances of the church. In 1937, the pulpit was moved to the rear wall and the choir seats were rearranged. In the 1950s, the New Life Movement (NLM) became prominent at St James’ Church. The NLM was a national evangelism movement focused on expanding the Presbyterian Church during the post-Second World War baby-boom, through missions and reaching out to the non-Presbyterian community. With the congregation increasing to the point that it was declared self-supporting in 1952 and no longer needing grants, renovations to the church in preparation for its Golden Jubilee were planned. Notable Auckland architects M.K. and R.F. Draffin - who were later to design extensions to the Auckland War Memorial Museum (1960) - were engaged to prepare plans and advise on redecorating the interior. The alterations, completed in circa 1954, saw earlier divisions removed from the transepts, the pulpit platform reshaped to be octagonal, and an additional room extension added to the vestry. Some of these reflected the changing theological needs of the congregation, as Presbyterian churches across New Zealand moved towards a more inclusive use of space. After the Martha Mine closed in 1952, Waihī changed from being a major goldmining centre to focussing on a service function, and also pivoted to manufacturing electronics at the Pye factory. Church maintenance included reblocking in the late 1950s, and by 1968 external roof ventilators and two finials had been removed. Successive changes to the adjacent Mission Hall included its enlargement in 1970, and the eventual replacement of the 1895 structure in 1992. The latter followed the re-opening of the Martha Mine as an open cast operation, leading to an increase in population. By 1990, a small covered porch on the south transept, nearest the hall, had been added to the church. In 2013, due to concerns about seismic strength following the Christchurch earthquakes, the congregation relocated services from the church to the adjacent hall. The church currently (2019) remains unused. Following the demolition of the Mission Hall in the 1990s, St James’ Church (Presbyterian) is now the oldest remaining Presbyterian building in Waihī, and the only one of this denomination surviving from Waihī’s early gold boom.
Current Description Context St James’ Church (Presbyterian) is located in Waihī, a goldmining town east of the Hauraki plains containing a considerable number of surviving late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century buildings. The church lies 250 metres southwest of a large open cast pit at Martha Mine, and within the western part of the commercial centre of the town. It is situated close to Waihī’s main civic and retail thoroughfare at Seddon Street, which retains a number of recognised historic buildings. Formally identified historic places in the town include a number that were constructed during the early years of permanent settlement at Waihī. These include the Rob Roy Hotel (1896; List No. 733, Category 2 historic place), Martha’s Kitchen (1880s; List No. 4660, Category 2 historic place), Miners Cafe (c.1895; List No. 2688, Category 2 historic place), Waihī Courthouse (1901; List No. 4685, Category 1 historic place), Waihī Railway Station (1905; List No.7329, historic area) and St John’s Church (Anglican) (1906; List No. 731, Category 2 historic place). In addition to St James’ Church (Presbyterian), the Waihī Courthouse and St John’s Church (Anglican) have been especially noted for their associations with the 1912 Waihī Miners’ Strike. The St James’ Church (Presbyterian) site lies towards the southern end of Moresby Avenue, near its intersection with both Seddon Street and State Highway 2 - where the Rob Roy Hotel is located. Its immediate neighbourhood contains commercial premises and residential housing, including a large timber villa directly to the north and other late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century houses on the east side of Moresby Avenue. Waihī Central School is located to the northwest. Immediately to the south of the site - but within the same property - is a late twentieth-century Presbyterian hall complex incorporating brick and timber walls with concrete foundations, timber gables and corrugated iron roofing. The main body of the hall is aligned on an east-west axis, mirroring the church nave. The Site The St James’ Church (Presbyterian) site is broadly rectangular with road frontages to Moresby Avenue and School Lane, respectively on its east and west sides. The ground is relatively flat with a minor downward slope to the west bounded by a low, timber retaining wall, and a slighter downward slope from north to south. The level of the site was formed in c.1903, with fill from the excavation for the Salvation Army citadel property on Seddon Street, which may preserve the earlier ground surface and deposits. The church building occupies most of the site and is prominently positioned facing Moresby Avenue. Rising above the height of the surrounding buildings, it is a relatively prominent local landmark, visible from surrounding streets. The building’s main elevation, including its front porch, directly adjoins Moresby Avenue. A picket fence runs along the pavement boundary of Moresby Avenue, between the church and hall. The land around the Church is mainly in grass with some planting on the southern side. St James’ Church (1905-6, with extension c.1954) The church building is a well-preserved example of ecclesiastical Gothic Revival architecture, being relatively little modified from its initial design. It is constructed of timber, with a corrugated iron roof and timber and concrete foundations. The building exterior is dominated by a considerable variety of Gothic Revival features, including prominent gables, lancet windows and buttresses. The Gothic nature of its design applies not only to its general appearance but also its plan form, which is cruciform. The latter is made up of a main nave, north and south transepts, and a vestry under a lean-to roof at its west end. The vestry has been slightly extended at the building’s southwest corner. A prominent porch of Gothic Revival design at the east end of the building forms the main entrance to the church. The well-preserved nature of the Gothic design extends to the building interior. This incorporates a large T-shaped space, dominated by an impressive ceiling to collar height containing herringbone patterning. Other distinctive Gothic elements include timber corbels beneath each roof truss. Initial elements such as wall linings - including wainscoting - and doors survive. Exterior The building’s timber frame structure is externally clad throughout with horizontal weatherboards. Dominant Gothic elements include a gabled roof of steep pitch with gable ends emphasised by bargeboards; some surviving finials of unusually tall type; stepped, angle buttresses at each corner; and lancet style windows. The latter incorporate tracery influenced by medieval precedents and contain painted glass. The only notable departure from Gothic design lies at the rear, where the vestry roof is of lean-to type. The main (east) elevation towards Moresby Avenue is comprised of a prominent gable end with bargeboards above an entrance porch with angle buttresses. Reflecting its status as the main façade, it is the only elevation clad with rusticated weatherboards. This elevation contains an Early English Gothic arrangement of three clustered lancet windows in the prominent gable end above the porch. Further ecclesiastical references on the front elevation include small bullseye windows. At the gable apex is the lower surviving part of a tall, central finial. The porch is centrally located below the main gable, incorporating a gabled roof that retains a tall finial at each front corner. Unusually, the latter extend from beneath the roof cladding, and incorporate ornate detailing such as applied rosettes. The porch has a double-leaf door with a herringbone pattern in its east wall and a square-headed double-leaf door on the north elevation. A southern door, matching that on the opposing wall, is still present but boarded over externally. The porch also has angle buttresses at each corner, which are of smaller dimension to those on the main body of the church. The main side elevations of the church broadly mirror each other, incorporating plain, overlapping weatherboards and a series of single, lancet-style windows. The south side has an additional door in its transept end, which is covered by a small roofed structure with steps to a low deck leading to the hall complex. The gabled end of each transept contains a single lancet window in its upper part, above a symmetrically arranged pair of identical windows at lower level. The rear (west) lean-to is of single storey height with a monopitch roof. The 1905-6 portion contains two sash windows in its west elevation and the 1950s extension has a casement window in its south wall. A door of plain type is located in the north wall of the lean-to, associated with a small set of external timber steps. The lean-to elevations lack buttresses and are entirely unadorned, in contrast to the elevations visible from Moresby Avenue. The relative lack of Gothic elements in this part of the building may relate to its functions as a vestry, identifying it as different from the sacred space in the nave and transepts used for worship. The inclusion of an attached vestry against one end wall of the church may be a particular Presbyterian response to the adoption and use of a Gothic, cruciform groundplan. Interior Internally, the main T-shaped space contains no separation between the nave and transepts. Its ceiling is open to lower rafter and collar height, with decorative, herringbone lining and decorative ceiling roses for ventilation. Some ceiling boards bear weather marks from storage on site before construction in 1905-6. Distinctive timber corbels beneath each main rafter on both sides of the interior imitate medieval, stone-built forms. The main internal walls are clad throughout with horizontal matchlining, above vertical-board wainscoting and moulded skirting boards. Double-doors connecting the front porch and nave retain large and ornate metalwork handles, and elaborate architraves. A raised octagonal platform is centrally located at the west end of the crossing between nave and transepts, on which is located a wooden pulpit of Gothic design. A pair of four-panel doors flanking the platform provide access to different rooms in the vestry. Each door has moulded architraves. Hymn book shelves are attached to the nave wall in the southeast corner. A bench and sink are located in the south transept. An arch of Classical design behind the pulpit contrasts with the Gothic design of the rest of the church. It may be conceptually linked with the adjacent vestry, or possibly a later modification. The vestry interior is divided into two rooms: the initial 1905-6 space and a smaller, added room at the south end. Each room contains a built-in cupboard, and is wallpapered with a plastered ceiling. The doors and sash windows of the 1905-6 space have moulded architraves. An original door in the north wall of the 1905-6 room accesses the exterior.
Completion Date
10th October 2019
Report Written By
Alexandra Foster and Martin Jones
Information Sources
Auckland Star
Auckland Star
Auckland Star
Auckland Star
McAra, J. B., 1988
J B McAra, Gold Mining at Waihi 1878-1952, Waihi, 1988
McEldowney, D., 1990
Dennis McEldowney (ed.), Presbyterians in Aotearoa, 1840-1990, Wellington, 1990
Barber, 1985
L Barber, 1985, No Easy Riches : a History of Ohinemuri County, Paeroa and Waihi 1855-1935, Ohinemuri County Council and Richards Publishers
Waihi Daily Telegraph
Waihi Daily Telegraph
Waihi Daily Telegraph
Waihi Daily Telegraph
Waihi Daily Telegraph
Waihi Daily Telegraph
Waihi Daily Telegraph
Waihi Daily Telegraph
New Zealand Herald
11 Nov 1903, p.6.
New Zealand Herald
11 Nov 1903, p.6.
Carmine, M., 2011
Carmine, Mary, Perspectives of a Strike: Waihi 1912, Waihī, 2011.
Report Written By
Disclaimer Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions. Archaeological sites are protected by the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, regardless of whether they are entered on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero or not. Archaeological sites include ‘places associated with pre-1900 human activity, where there may be evidence relating to the history of New Zealand’. This List entry report should not be read as a statement on whether or not the archaeological provisions of the Act apply to the property (s) concerned. Please contact your local Heritage New Zealand office for archaeological advice. A fully referenced copy of the Review Report for this place is available on request from the Mid-Northern Office of Heritage New Zealand.
Current Usages
Uses: Religion
Specific Usage: Church
Former Usages
General Usage:: Religion
Specific Usage: Church