First Church of Otago in afternoon light

First Church is a prominent church in the New Zealand city of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

. It is located in the heart of the city on

Moray Place Moray Place is an octagonal street which surrounds the city centre of Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. The street is intersected by Stuart Street (to the east and west), Princes Street (to the south) and George Street (to the north). Like many ...

, 100 metres to the south of the city centre. The church is the city's primary

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church. The building is regarded as the most impressive of New Zealand's nineteenth-century churches, and is listed by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

as a Category I structure.

Earlier structures

Prior to the construction of the church, smaller earlier buildings had been used by the congregation,Herd & Griffiths (1980) pp. 61–62. but the rapid rise in the city's population meant that a larger, more permanent structure was necessary. The original First Church stood close to the former beach in the city's lower High Street. This was a rough,

weatherboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of those terms, is wooden siding (construction), siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Cla ...

building, erected very quickly, and capable of holding some 200 people. It was opened in September 1848, within six months of the arrival of the city's first permanent European settlers from Scotland. So hasty was the construction of the building that early congregations had to remain standing, as seating was not installed until three months later.Croot (1999), p. 55 A stone church was built in 1850 which expanded and extended the original structure, doubling its capacity. This building not only served as a church, but, in the city's early days, was also a school, public lecture hall, and served as the

Otago Provincial Council The Otago Province was a Provinces of New Zealand, province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the provin ...

chambers. The building was utilitarian, and may have only ever been intended as a temporary solution, as plans for a more stately building were being mooted as early as 1856. After construction of the permanent church, the 1848 and 1850 buildings were used as a wool store, but were destroyed by fire in 1865. From 1864 a third structure ("The Interim Church") was used, on a site above the previous buildings on Dowling Street. A sturdy wooden structure on a stone base, it had seating for 600, and was used until the present building was ready for use in 1873. The wooden building was dismantled and moved to Fryatt Street, where is served as a tram workshop; part of the original stone foundations on Dowling Street are still visible adjoining a city council car park.

Construction

The current church stands on the stump of Bell Hill, a major promontory which initially divided the heart of Dunedin in two. In the city's early years, gold was discovered inland, resulting in rapid growth in the city. The hill became a massive obstacle to the development of Dunedin, and a decision was made by the

to make a substantial excavation into the hill. This resulted in a cutting through which one of the city's main streets,

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

, now passes, and the reduction of the height of Bell Hill by some . Much of the excavated soil and stone was used in the reclamation of land which now forms the

Southern Endowment South Dunedin is a major inner city suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located, as its name suggests, to the south of the city centre, on part of a large plain known simply as "The Flat". The suburb is a mix of industrial, retai ...

of South Dunedin. The church's site, on a promontory of what is left of the hill, commands views to the south across Queen's Gardens towards the

Otago Harbour Otago Harbour is the harbor, natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour m ...

and

South Dunedin South Dunedin is a major inner city suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located, as its name suggests, to the south of the city centre, on part of a large plain known simply as "The Flat". The suburb is a mix of industrial, retai ...

. The building, in

decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

style, was designed in 1862 by Robert Lawson, who also designed the city's Knox Church, which has a similar tower. Lawson had won a competition for the design of the church from among six entrants. Construction was delayed after the decision to reduce Bell Hill, with the foundation stone being laid in May 1868 by Dr. Thomas Burns, and was officially opened on 23 November 1873, by which time Burns, its champion, had already died. The church is dominated by its multi-

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

d tower crowned by a

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

rising to . The spire is unusual as it is pierced by two-storeyed

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d windows on all sides, which give an illusion of even greater height. Such was Lawson's perfectionism that the top of the spire had to be dismantled and rebuilt when it failed to measure up to his standards. It can be seen from much of central Dunedin, and dominates the skyline of lower

, and has a capacity of over 1000. The expense of the building was not without criticism. Some members of the

synod felt the metropolitan church should not have been so privileged over the country districts where congregants had no purpose designed places of worship or only modest ones. The Reverend Dr Burns's championship of the project ensured it was carried through against such objections.

The building

Externally, First Church successfully replicates the effect, if on a smaller scale, of the late

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

cathedrals of England. The cathedral-like design and size can best be appreciated from the rear. There is an

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

flanked by

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

s, which are dwarfed by the massive gable containing the great

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

. It is this large circular window which after the spire becomes the focal point of the rear elevations. The whole architectural essay appears here almost European. Inside, instead of the stone vaulted ceiling of a Norman cathedral, there are hammer beams supporting a ceiling of pitched wood and a stone pointed

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

acts as a simple

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

to the central

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

. Above this diffused light enters through a

of stained glass. This is flanked by further lights on the lower level, while twin organ pipes emphasise the symmetry of the pulpit. At , the spire makes the building one of the tallest in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

, and it was the island's tallest building until the construction of

ChristChurch Cathedral, Christchurch Christ Church Cathedral, also called ChristChurch Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of th ...

was completed in 1881. It again held that rank briefly from 1888, after the latter building was damaged by an earthquake. The church is currently the city's tallest building, and the fourth tallest building in the South Island (after Pacific Tower, the Forsyth Barr Building, and Rydge's Hotel, all in Christchurch). The building is constructed of Oamaru stone, set on foundations of

basalt breccia Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

from

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers () is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The or ...

, with details carved by

Louis Godfrey Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

, who also did much of the woodcarving in the interior. The use of "cathedral glass", coloured but unfigured glass pending the donation of a pictorial window for the rose window is characteristic of Otago's 19th-century churches, where donors were relatively few reflecting the generally "low church" sentiments of the place. Similar examples can be found in several of Lawson's other churches throughout

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

. Other notable features of the building include stained glass windows dedicated to those fallen in war and to the Otago Mounted Rifles. For many years, the church housed a 1908 Norman & Baird organ, though this was replaced in 1983 by a digital organ by Allen. A full set of eight change-ringing bells, cast by the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

, was installed in 1975 and are rung by members of

the Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

. At that time the only such set in a Presbyterian church outside the United Kingdom and claimed to be the southernmost ring of bells in the world. A large bell on a pedestal stands outside the church, sent from Scotland in 1851.Knight & Wales (1988), p. 131 Also located in the grounds in front of the church is a memorial plaque to Dr. Burns. The entrance gates to the church feature two lamps which started life as Edinburgh street lamps, another connection to the homeland of many of the city's first settlers. A miniature of the church was created by Lawson in the city's Northern Cemetery as a family tomb for noted early Dunedinite

William Larnach William James Mudie Larnach (27 January 1833 – 12 October 1898) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He is known for his extravagant incomplete house near Dunedin called Larnach's castle by his opponents and now known as Larnach Cas ...

. Regular Sunday services are held in the church in English (10.00am), Cook Island Maori (12.00 Noon), and

Samoan Samoan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean ** Something of, from, or related to Samoa, a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands ** Something of, from, ...

(2.00pm). The church is also used for a variety of both religious and secular civic and cultural events within the city.Croot (1999), p. 61

Notes

References

*Croot, C. (1999). ''Dunedin Churches, Past and Present.'' Dunedin: Otago Settlers Association. . * Knight, H., and Wales, N. (1988) ''Buildings of Dunedin''. Dunedin: John McIndoe. . *Herd, J. and Griffiths, G.J. (1980) ''Discovering Dunedin.'' Dunedin: John McIndoe. . *McGill, D., & Sheehan, G., (1997) ''Landmarks: Notable historic buildings of New Zealand.'' Auckland:Godwit Publishing. . *Reed, A.H. (1956) ''The Story of Early Dunedin''. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed.

External links