St John’s on the Hill
Location: Wakefield
Denomination: Anglican
Built: 1846
This beautiful kauri church on the hill is the oldest in the South Island, and is believed to be the oldest parish church in continuous use in all of New Zealand. St John’s first service was held on the 11th of October in 1846 by Reverend Charles Reay. Historical records show that Charles’ wife, Marianne Reay “drew a design for the church which was approved”. This makes Mrs Reay the first recorded female architect in New Zealand.
Not all characters involved in St John’s history were of such good repute. Reverend Francis Tripp, who pastored the church from 1863 to 1868, officiated 17 marriages during his time – but only registered four. This meant that for the remaining 13 marriages, there had to be an act of parliament to legalise them. As you can imagine, there was great upset about this and Reverend Tripp was seen sent packing to Australia.
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