This is the only surviving Selwyn Church built of stone. It was constructed on land provided in 1849 by way of a Crown grant and built about 1857 by local Maori who supplied the materials and labour. Bishop Selwyn made a donation towards costs.
The design is attributed to Dr Purchas, although the reverend R Burrows supervised construction. Lack of familiarity with this type of construction led to difficulties in building a structurally effective nave crossing, bizarrely overcome by using brickwork. Unfortunately the brick piece was not a true arch and it, in turn, has now been strengthened by a well designed and subtle steel arch.
References:
Edna Soar History of the Anglican Church of St Peter's, Onehunga
J King Davis The history of St John's College
Scheduled: NZHPT cat 1 Manukau City Council category A
