The small timber Vestry Building at Temuka Cemetery, constructed some time from the late 1880s, is a small hexagonal building constructed of timber that was built as a robing room for clergy and as the repository for maps and burial records. It has architectural and historical significance. In the 1860s the new township of Temuka initially set aside land for a cemetery in a swampy area west of King Street and south of High Street (now Domain Avenue). A few people were buried there but it soon proved an unsuitable site and so a new cemetery was established at the eastern end of High Street (Domain Avenue). This cemetery had its first interment in February 1868. At first the cemetery was described as having a ‘wild and desert like appearance’ but soon became widely recognised as a model cemetery that was well-managed and with attractive well maintained plantings. Hedges of pine and macrocarpa were planted around the perimeter and gates were installed at the main entrance on the south side. Near the entrance gates a small cottage was built for the caretaker but this was taken off-site in 1887. In October 1887, the Temuka Cemetery Board decided to obtain tenders and plans for the erection, in the cemetery, of ‘a small building containing one room for the accommodation of the clergy’. A small hexagonal building, commonly known as the Vestry Building, was constructed on the site of the caretaker’s cottage some time after October 1887. The Vestry Building was constructed as a robing room for clergy and as the repository for maps and burial records. The building is a six-sided rusticated weatherboard building. It is built with classical detailing, including timber quoins on all corners and carved brackets under the eaves. The hipped roof is corrugated iron, tiered near the apex and topped by a wrought iron finial. A panelled timber entrance door is located on the northern elevation and on each of the other sides are narrow box sash windows. The interior comprises one room. In recent decades, the timber quoins, door architrave and window surrounds have been painted a dark colour, in contrast to the lighter cream colour paint of the remainder of the exterior.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Able to Visit
List Number
2037
Date Entered
6th June 1983
Date of Effect
6th June 1983
City/District Council
Timaru District
Region
Canterbury Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Res 857 (NZ Gazette 2006, p. 3589 and NZ Gazette 2013 p. 284), Canterbury Land District, and the building known as Vestry Building thereon. Refer to the extent map tabled at the Rārangi Kōrero meeting of 8 March 2018.
Legal description
Res 857 (NZ Gazette 2006, p. 3589 and NZ Gazette 2013 p. 284), Canterbury Land District
Location Description
The Temuka Cemetery is located on the corner of Murray Street and Milford-Clandeboye Road, Temuka. The Vestry Building is located by the main gates off Milford-Clandeboye Road.