St Andrew’s Anglican Church (43 Queen Street)

The first Anglican service in Pukekohe was held on 4 May 1868, led by RevViscesimus Lush. Initially, services were held in private homes, at the Presbyterian Church, or at the nearby school. The residents had also erected a temporary building nicknamed the ‘Slab Church’ before building a proper permanent structure. The following years saw the construction of a permanent, wooden church in Wellington Street, consecrated as St Andrew’s Church on 23 April 1876 by Bishop Cowie.

In 1895, St Andrew’s was moved to a newly acquired site on Queen Street, pulled by a traction engine. With the growth of Pukekohe, the church was enlarged in 1911. Two years later, local church authorities acquired land adjacent to the property, intending to use it for a new church building and vicarage. Robert Bilkey donated the funds for the Memorial Arch that stands outside the church, built in 1921. It was erected to honour locals who served and perished in World War One. It is one of the five arches of this type in Auckland and the only one made of concrete rather than stone.

The foundation stone of the current brick church was laid in August 1931, including a time capsule in the foundation stone. It was designed by local architect and mayor John Routly and built by William Massey. The building was consecrated on 25 July 1933 in gratitude to peace after the Great War. This was followed by a memorial window dedicated to servicemen who fought in both world wars, installed in 1952. The pre-existing wooden church was converted into a parish hall in 1939. The hall and the adjacent Sunday School were moved to the west of the church in 1978 to make room for the new ring road.

Next door, the Vicarage is single-storey brick house, an example of the transitionary period of New Zealand’s architecture. It was built in 1915 alongside the wooden church, replacing an earlier vicarage erected on another site in 1906. It is a work of the local freelance architect F.W. Mountjoy.

Cross Wesley Street at the protected crossing and continue walking along Queen Street. Cross West Street at the crossng.