The Waiau River rises in the Spenser Mountains and flows eastward to the Pacific Ocean. Also called the Waiau-ua or Waiau-uha (and also the Dillon River), this river is associated with a Maori legend. According to the story, the Waiau-uha (Waiau) and the Waiau-toa (Clarence River) were respectively male and female spirit lovers living in the Spenser mountains who were later separated and transformed into rivers. Various historians write of oral traditions and written records outlining old Maori trails in North Canterbury. The township of Waiau, in the Amuri District, originated in the 1860s when George Rutherford chose the site of the Waiau ferry and accommodation house. A reserve for the township was set aside some time between 1864 and 1868. In 1883 the Waiau River was bridged, and in 1887 a road opened to Kaikoura. The railway line to Waiau was completed in 1919, ensuring Waiau’s continued importance as a farm servicing and transport centre. Waiau is known as an egalitarian district with a strong community spirit. The first Presbyterian church service in the district was held in February 1863 at the property known as the Glens of Tekoa by the Reverend David Bruce. The Reverend Hogg then became responsible for the Amuri. Hogg had a huge area to cover, ranging from the mountains to the sea, from the Ashley River to the Conway River. Hogg did so monthly, and on foot at first, covering a distance of over 150 miles (241 kilometres) for a round trip. On 12 March 1873, a meeting of local notable men at Waiau met with the purpose of building a church and manse at Waiau. J S Caverhill, George Rutherford, William Rutherford, Robert Tinline and others all pledged money towards the project. George Rutherford was perhaps the greatest benefactor, gifting one acre of Waiau land for the church site and £50. J S Caverhill donated five acres for a manse and glebe. The first church was built and finished in 1877, and the manse was completed in 1876. Both these buildings were on Leslie Street. This first church, built by George Anderson, soon became too small and it was converted into the Sunday School. In March 1888 plans were submitted and accepted for the building of a new Presbyterian Church and it appears this was built in that same year. The new church was built in timber with a shingle roof and it was located at 18 Leslie Street. Typical of Victorian treatment of timber buildings, the exterior timbers were painted primarily in a light colour (probably white), with a darker paint used as a contrast for key timber elements such as framing. An instrumental figure associated with both the original church and its replacement was the Reverend William Rickarby Campbell (1840-1918). The year 1874 had seen the arrival of Campbell from Timaru who, until the manse was completed, lived at Neville’s inn in Waiau. Campbell’s devotion to his extensive but sparsely populated district and congregation is legendary. Through his hard work and travel, sharing the hardships and dangers of the locals of the rugged Amuri district, Campbell won the respect of run-holders, shepherds and workers. He is said to have differed from other pioneering clergy in his catholic spirit and lack of cant or sectarianism, as well as his unfailing kindness in the practical expression of his Christian faith. Like his predecessor Hogg, Campbell travelled great distances, holding services at all the major stations, from Cheviot Hills to Hanmer to St Leonards, to the Glens of Tekoa. This circuit he did for almost 30 years, until 1903. Campbell was pioneering in education in Amuri, and it was during his time at Waiau that the Ladies Guild developed from 1894. In 1900-1901 he was moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. In 1990 the Presbyterians combined formally with the Anglicans, forming the Amuri Co-operating Anglican/Presbyterian Parish. These two congregations of the Amuri District had always closely co-operated, ever since the Presbyterians offered their church to the Anglicans from 1877 (this shared arrangement had continued until 1925 when the Anglican Church was built). With declining congregations, the cooperating parish’s building committee began a rationalisation of the parish’s church buildings. The process began in 1998 with the sale and relocation of St Mark’s in Rotherham, followed a few weeks later with the Waiau Presbyterian Church being gifted to the Amuri Historical Society’s cob cottage museum in Waiau. Other churches in the area have also been shifted. With consent from the NZHPT, in 1998 the Presbyterian church building was physically relocated from 18 Leslie Street in Waiau to 6 Cheviot Street, Waiau, on local purpose reserve land. It now functions as part of the museum complex and houses various photographs, artefacts and information relating to the history of the Amuri district, Culverden, Rotherham, Waiau and Hanmer Springs. The relocation of the church tells part of a story of numerous church buildings in the Amuri District that have been shifted from their original location in recent times.

Located in a relatively open area on a local purpose reserve at 6 Cheviot Street, Waiau, the relocated church sits approximately ten metres to the east behind the small cob museum building. The church is aligned in an east-west direction, with a small gabled entrance porch (two metres by two metres) at the west front. Relocated wrought iron gates from the original church site are situated five metres to the west of the entrance porch and join with the church by a modern concrete ramp. The main body of the church rises approximately six metres in height at the apex of its gable, and has a floor plan of six metres by ten metres. At the eastern rear is a six metre by three metre addition with a slightly lower gable roof than the main part of the church. Whereas the windows of the taller part of the church are single lancet openings, the windows at the eastern end comprise a set of triple-lancet windows. On the interior, the floors of the church are timber and above are open timber trusses. With the exception of the roof, which is corrugated steel instead of the original shingle tiles, both the exterior and interior fabric of the church appears to be largely authentic. Contextual Analysis New Zealand, including Canterbury, has many nineteenth century churches of significance. The recent earthquakes in Canterbury in 2010 and 2011 have damaged and destroyed a large number of masonry buildings, notably churches. Surviving nineteenth century churches form a poignant reminder of a building type that was, until recently, relatively common in Canterbury. While relocation is not considered a form of conservation, as it removes the building from its original setting, in some cases a relocated building may be considered to maintain its historical context and value in its new location. Although the Church (Presbyterian) no longer operates as a church, and is situated in a new (albeit nearby) location, its building fabric and architecture allow it to tell the story of the church and its historical and community association.