St Barnabas Anglican Church, Auckland

St Barnabas' Anglican Church is a Selwyn church located in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden. It is the fourth oldest Anglican church in Auckland, originally erected in 1847 then reestablished on its current Mt Eden site in 1877. St Barnabas is part of the Diocese of Auckland and the current Vicar is Scott Malcom.

History


The original St Barnabas Church was built in Parnell's Mechanics Bay and is the oldest Māori church in New Zealand. The church was constructed in the 1860s, and was first built to accommodate Māori people moving between the gulf islands and Auckland to sell produce. The chapel at the Parnell location, opened in 1849, was designed by prominent New Zealand architect Frederick Thatcher.

The church was moved in 1877 by horse and wagon to its current position in Mt Eden and reopened for services in 1878 as the Holy Sepulchre Parish. Due to the increasing number of new church members the building underwent renovations to accommodate them. The brick extension to the church was complete by 1886, and the Parish of Mount Eden, as it's known today, came together in 1890. Vicar T.H Sprott led the parish from 1890-1891 followed by W.H. Johnson from 1892-1902.

Further building took place in 1908, including the addition of stained glass windows while E.J. McFarland was vicar. By 1932 further wings and passages were added and by 1985 the Bellevue Road church hall had been sold. By 1991, the grounds had been completed and the interior was improved.

Owing to its importance in the history of the New Zealand and of Auckland, the building gained a Category II listing from Heritage New Zealand in 1981.

Current Parish
Vicar R.D. Hornburg served from 2010-2019 and was replaced by the current Vicar Scott Malcom who started in 2020.

The Parish plays host to a number of Congregations including Anglican Chinese, Presbyterian Korean and Anglican Telugu.