The Churton Memorial was built in 1908-1909 to the memory of the Reverend J.F. Churton (1797-1853), the first vicar of St Paul's Anglican Church. It lies close to both the site of an earlier monument to Churton, and the demolished church. Construction of the current memorial occurred as part of a broader trend of monument-building in early twentieth-century Auckland, commemorating significant members of early colonial society. Other memorials erected at this time included a statue to the former Governor and Premier, Sir George Grey (erected 1904) and a monument to the New Zealand Wars (commissioned 1912, erected 1920), located at opposite ends of Wakefield Street.

The first Churton Memorial:
The first Churton Memorial was built in Emily Place in circa 1855, immediately to the west of St Paul's Church. St Paul's was a major centrepiece of religious life in early colonial Auckland, erected in the same year that the town was established (1841). The church and the first monument occupied a prominent ridge-top site in a prestigious part of the settlement, close to the town's main administrative and military buildings, including the first barracks on Britomart Point. As the formal religion of British royalty, the Anglican faith was closely linked to the exercise of colonial power.

John Frederick Churton was the first minister of St Paul's, occupying that role for fourteen years. Born in London in 1797, he completed a law degree before taking holy orders. Churton arrived in Wellington in 1840 to take up an appointment as chaplain for the Church of England Society, but within a few months was appointed to Christ Church at Russell in the Bay of Islands (currently the earliest surviving church in New Zealand). Under Governor William Hobson, Churton became colonial chaplain, also serving as the first minister of St Paul's after the foundation of Auckland as colonial capital. He ministered to the imperial troops stationed in New Zealand, hospital patients and prisoners. He died in January 1853, at which time the New Zealander reported that: 'the death of Mr. Churton cannot be regarded as less than a calamity.'

The idea of a memorial was raised within a few days of Churton's death, and in mid March 1853 a public meeting was called at the Mechanics' Institute. Subscriptions had already been collected and though a limit of five shillings per subscriber had been set, the sum of £68 had been raised, including £25 from the 58th Regiment stationed at Auckland. Further funds were expected from the Bay of Islands. The meeting discussed possible forms that the memorial might take including the erection of a free hospital named for Churton or a tablet to be installed in St Paul's church. The meeting decided that a public monument should be erected. A committee was then elected to take charge of finding a suitable site and having the monument built. This included Reverend F. Thatcher, architect and clergyman, Captain Balneavis of the 58th Regiment and C.W. Ligar, the surveyor general. The Reverend Thatcher may have been responsible for designing the monument, having been the successor to Churton at St Paul's, and having designed numerous churches for Bishop Selwyn and structures for Governor George Grey. Construction of the monument incurred greater expense than was initially anticipated, but it appears likely that it was completed after March 1855.

The memorial stood alongside St Paul's church until 1885 when the Auckland Harbour Board began cutting down Emily Place. This was part of a large reclamation project begun in 1879 whereby Point Britomart, which had separated Commercial and Official Bays, was cut away to provide material for the infilling of a large part of Commercial Bay. St Paul's Church was demolished after careful removal of the marble and brass memorial tablets inside. These had been erected to some of the city's founding fathers including Captain William Hobson, first Governor of New Zealand; Major General Geo. Dean Pitt, Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Province and Commander of the colonial forces; Felton Matthew, first Surveyor General; John James Coates, Private Secretary to Hobson; and numerous military officers.

The church authorities were approached regarding the fate of the Churton Memorial but it was reported in the New Zealand Herald that they took the view that as it was on public land, they held no responsibility. Meanwhile, a relative of Churton suggested to the Auckland City Council that the memorial be re-erected in Albert Park. With no firm proposal on the future of the monument the council requested that the contractor carefully dismantle the structure. However, the contractor evidently had some difficulty with his task. The obelisk toppled over and fell down the bank but the slate tablet was preserved.


The current Churton Memorial:
While the 1855 memorial had been dismantled it was not entirely forgotten. In July 1894 the Town Clerk wrote to W.H. Churton, son of the late Reverend Churton, enquiring after the memorial tablet. In early 1895 plans were drawn up for the laying out the Emily Place Reserve. The plans were subsequently adopted and the superintendent of parks was instructed to have the ground prepared and planted and call tenders for fencing.

In 1900 the issue of the memorial was raised again and the Council expressed the opinion that they did not consider the Emily Place Reserve a suitable site for its re-erection. The following year Messrs R.R. Hunt and J.J. Craig took the matter up with council. They intended to have the original slate tablet set into the base of a memorial drinking fountain at the Emily Place Reserve. By early 1908 the Council had elected to allow the re-erection of the memorial in the park. The sum of £20 was gifted by the council while the remaining £78 was raised through public subscription. The erection of the memorial was completed in 1908.

On 7 February 1909 a ceremony was held at which Mr R.R. Hunt, Secretary of the Churton Memorial Fund, handed over the Churton Memorial to the city of Auckland. The Mayor, Arthur Myers received the memorial on behalf of the city and Mr Hunt thanked Mr J.J. Craig and Mr E. Holm Biss for their respective services as treasurer and auditor of the Churton Memorial Fund. Mr Myers noted that it must surely have been the first public monument erected to an Aucklander by his fellow citizens.

The new memorial featured the slate inscribed tablet from the original memorial with a new stand and obelisk of Coromandel granite in a similar design to the original monument. The eastern and western sides of the memorial were adorned with drinking fountains. It was erected to the east of its original site above a set of steps, where it was surveyed as lying in a similar position to the southern transept of St Paul's Church. At the time of the memorial's construction, other structures dedicated to historical events lay in the vicinity, including the Auckland Museum in Princes Street. The desire to re-erect and replicate an early colonial monument can be seen, in part, as reflecting the strength of bonds between New Zealand and Britain, at a time when the importance of belonging to the British Empire was particularly promoted.

The memorial had an ongoing role as a place of commemoration. On 27 July 1941 a week long celebration of the centenary of St Paul's Church was held. On the first day of the celebrations a bronze memorial tablet was unveiled by the Governor General, Sir Cyril Newman, on the site of the church. It was placed on the obelisk of the Churton Memorial. This event occurred while both New Zealand and Britain were fighting in the Second World War (1939-1945). The century-long link between the two countries was emphasised by references to the foundation stone of St Paul's being laid by the first Governor of New Zealand, while the military nature of contemporary events was alluded to in the title of the Governor General as Marshall of the Royal Air Force.

The memorial remained undisturbed in the park until 1968 when the obelisk became unstable and had to be temporarily removed. At some stage during the twentieth century the drinking fountains were put out of service and filled.

Today the Churton Memorial can be found amongst the mature pohutukawa trees that have grown up around it in the Emily Place Reserve.