History of the Church
St Barnabas Anglican Church is the oldest church building in Mt Eden. The Selwyn portion of the church may be the oldest surviving Maori chapel in New Zealand, though like many Selwyn churches it has been extensively modified.
On 21st January, 1849 a chapel was opened and consecrated in the name of Saint Barnabas sited above the foreshore of what is now Mechanics Bay in Parnell. It had been built for the Maori people who came from the gulf islands to sell their produce in Auckland, and for students of St Stephen’s Native School.
The original building was designed by Frederick Thatcher who planned many of the "Selwyn" churches built during the episcopate of the first bishop. During 1877 Anglican services began to be held in Mt Eden at the local schoolroom. As the Church of St Barnabas had fallen into disuse, it was moved by bullock-drawn wagons to the present site where it was re-opened as part of Holy Sepulchre Parish on 6th October, 1878.
Very soon growing numbers meant that an enlargement was necessary. The roof was raised, the side walls separated to provide aisles, and the whole building lengthened. This was done in 1886. The Parish of Mount Eden was established in 1890.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Barnabas_Church,_Mount_Eden
A Brief Timeline of the History of the Church as it stands today.
1847 Rev. G.A Kissling fundraises to build Saint Barnabas
1848 Original chapel built at Mechanics Bay, Parnell
1849 Consecrated by Bishop Selwyn
1877 After falling into disuse the original building moved by bullock to Mount Eden and re-opened in 1878
1890 St Barnabas leaves Holy Sepulchre to become the centre of the new Mount Eden parish
1908 More growth prompted the replacement of the small wooden sanctuary and transepts with a much larger brick structure. The stained glass windows in St Barnabas donated in the first half of the 20th century are amongst the most important stained glass windows in Auckland.
1923 The social wing known as the guild room was built.
1932 The vestry and connecting passage were
added, thus freeing the space on the North side
of the chancel which had been the vestry, to be
transformed into the Selwyn Chapel.
1985 The church hall on Bellevue Road was sold.
1987 The existing Parish Centre was built out
from the Guild Room.
1989 The car park and grounds were completed.
1991 To allow for greater flexibility in the ways
that worship space could be used, the interior
of the Church was re-ordered. The high altar was
moved to a more central location, movable curved
communion rails replaced fixed straight ones and
the choir stalls were relocated in the transepts.
Minor adjustments were made to pew length in
order to widen the aisles, a new heating and lighting
system installed, and carpet was laid throughout
the church.
We have also, of course, had plenty of Vicars since the beginning of the Church. In fact there have been 13 over the past 129 years.
T.H. Sprott 1890-91 (later Bishop of Wellington)
W.H. Johnston 1892-1902
E.J. McFarland 1902-21
H.H. Foster (Acting) 1922-23
E.E. Bamford 1923-30
F.G. Harvie 1930-37
G.R. Monteith 1937-49
H.J. Steele 1949-69
G.L. Maffey 1970-80
B.A. Graves 1980-91
J.R.M. Wilson 1992-2007
P. Clarke 2008-2009
R.D. Hornburg 2010 –2019
S. Malcolm 2020 - Current
