Project Brief
- Laser scan and output of accurate as-existing 2D CAD drawings.
- Condition and Defects Remediation survey and reporting.
- Liaison and consultation with HNZPT and Far North District Council.
Heritage Values & Background
- Date of Construction: 1835-1836.
- Christ Church, Kororāreka / Russell was constructed between 1835 and 1836 on land sold to the Church Missionary Society by Ngāpuhi chiefs and brothers, Rewa, Te Wharerahi, and Moka. Benjamin Nesbit was the likely designer, Gilbert Mair was the builder, and Charles Baker, missionary and later Reverend, supervised the construction. One of the first services at the church was held in January 1836. The church was named ‘Christ Church’ by Bishop Cowie in 1873.
- The church is a timber-framed and weatherboarded building arranged on a north/south axis with a similarly constructed porch at its northern end. The timber-framed roof structure is clad in timber shingles, with a belfry at the north end.
- In 1871 the original hipped roof was replaced with a gabled roof form, the porch and belfry were added, and the old box pews were used as dado panelling along the walls. Buttresses were added later in 1875. The additions had the effect of ‘Victorianising’ the church’s original Georgian simplicity.
- Christ Church has exceptional historic and cultural heritage significance, as the earliest surviving church building in New Zealand and for its association with the establishment of colonial settlement of New Zealand.
Heritage Recognition
- Far North District Council: Scheduled historic heritage place (ID: 50).
- HNZPT: Category 1 Historic Place (List No. 1).
