City’s oldest surviving church days from move
It’s taken months of planning but Hamilton’s oldest surviving church is finally set for its move.
The St Paul’s Methodist Church on London St was farewelled by a weekend service last March with it originally scheduled to be moved to Te
Ko¯ whai in April, 2018, so the new owners could renovate it into a cafe.
But that was delayed, St Paul’s parish steward Ray Mudford said.
It is now just days from being transported, he said, at the end of January.
‘‘It’s the process we’ve all had to go through to get it from here to Te Ko¯ whai,’’ Mudford said.
‘‘Although it appears to be quite a simple move from an outsider’s perspective, the technical detail and the elements in the way that need to be moved, and moved by appropriate professionals, all need to be taken into account and all get signed off.’’
The church, a category B heritage item, was closed in 2012 because the congregation did not have the money to bring it up to earthquake standards.
Mudford said the consent process with Hamilton City Council and Waikato District Council was only part of the delay. They had to satisfy New Zealand Transport Agency roading requirements, ensure road signs were moved and returned and provide certainty to electricity suppliers that powerlines would not be damaged. That pushed the move past April.
‘‘Winter is not a very good time for moving anything, particularly a building of that size, so with April slipping by that meant we were looking at the next fine period,’’ Mudford said.
House removal specialists are now on site bracing the church building.
The two annexed sections of the building will be separated for transport and the roof will be taken off in order to clear overhead obstacles.
‘‘Getting it out of London St will be interesting to watch,’’ Mudford said. ‘‘My guess is that at some point in time, the parking will be stopped on the street for a little while, while they bring the trucks in and get the building on the trailers.
‘‘It’ll be nice to see it on this new site and then, of course, the rebirth of this building back into a community asset. I think it’s really, really good.’’