Charity in bid for church
Sale plan ‘blindsides’ community group vying for centre for acoustic music
Plans to sell a nearly 100-year-old church in inner Auckland for potential redevelopment as apartments or a nightclub has outraged community groups.
St David’s Church on Khyber Pass in Grafton will be put up for tender by the New Zealand Presbyterian Church this week. The church failed earthquake standards in 2014 and has faced demolition since.
However, a community charity Friends of St David’s has requested the Presbyterian Trust “place a covenant on a sale-purchase agreement” so it can own the building to use as a centre for acoustic music.
“While this lack of consultation is hugely disappointing, our focus remains steadfast on the preservation of our taonga which is a sacred place built in honour of our soldiers, and a special space for all New Zealanders,” Paul Baragwanath, Friends of St David’s Trust chairman, said.
“We have already invested $100,000 to commission a fully researched proposal and business plan to bring this dream alive so it would be the principled next step.”
The charity said the decision by the Presbyterian Trust to put the block up for tender had “blindsided” them. On the site for sale is the memorial church, a hall and an adjoining carpark.
The charity says the RSA and Royal New Zealand Engineers Charitable Trust support their cause.
Yesterday at its Anzac service outside the church, the Friends of St David’s Trust officially announced an initiative to transform the church into St David’s Centre.
“It’s a match made in heaven for musical performances given it has the most incredible acoustics, that have been verified by consultants Marshall Day,” Baragwanath said.
RSA president BJ Clark said the church was paid for and built as a living memorial to the lives lost in WWI so it needed to be protected with that purpose written into the deed of sale.
Artist Max Gimblett, whose brass Remembrance quatrefoils covered the church in 2015, has also added to the chorus of support.
“This is devastating news. The Presbyterian Church must place a covenant on the title to protect the sacredness of St David’s and its role as a living memorial in the community. It must continue — lest we forget.”
St David’s Presbyterian Church was built in 1927 of brick and Oamaru stone. It has stained glass in memory of parishioners who died in both world wars. In its heyday, it held three services each Sunday.
The last service at St David’s was November 8 last year.
St David’s Church has been approached for comment.