Knox Presbyterian Church, Parnell

I joined Parnell Heritage this afternoon to listen in on a show-and-tell event they held in Knox Presbyterian Church in Birdwood Crescent.

The site has two buildings -- the 1899 white wooden church, still basically the same as when R. W. de Montalk designed it, except that the northern pinnacles are now gone from the buttresses. Its foundation stone was laid on 29 November 1898 by Lord Ranfurly, the Governor of New Zealand.

The Knox Hall joined the church from 1906, also a design by de Montalk. The church complex is named after John Knox of the Scottish Presbyterian church, but Mrs. Elizabeth Knox was the one who laid the foundation stone for what was initially a Sunday School hall. Mrs. Knox is immortalised on one of the brass plaques that line the inner walls of the main church building. It was finally lined and finished inside during the First World War. From 1980 it was Knox Community Centre, then came to be used as a pre-school for the local Niuean congregation.

Falling numbers of European local parishioners meant integration of the remaining parishioners with the Niuean congregation in 1997.

The two buildings are quite close to each other, as you can see. The afternoon, by the way, was wonderful -- listening to stories of Parnell's past, and enjoying an afternoon tea of sandwiches and scones. I'm grateful for the kind invitation.