St Michael's Church, Waimea West

St Michael's Church
St Michael's Church
	St Michael's Church in Waimea West
	41°20′17″S 173°06′21″E / 41.33815°S 173.10578°E
Address	Waimea West Road, Brightwater, Tasman District
Country	New Zealand
Denomination	Anglican
Website	www.nelsonanglican.org.nz/waimea-parish
History
Founded	24 November 1866
Founder(s)	Mrs Blundell
Dedication	Saint Michael
Consecrated	13 November 1867; by Bishop Andrew Suter
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Thomas Brunner
Architectural type	Church
Administration
Province	Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
Diocese	Nelson
Parish	Waimea
Clergy
Minister(s)	Rev. Paul Milson
Heritage New Zealand – Category 1
Official name	St Michael's Church (Anglican)
Designated	5 April 1984
Reference no.	248

St Michael's Church is an heritage listed Anglican church, located in Brightwater in the Tasman District of New Zealand. St Michael's was the first church in the wider Nelson Region. The building was listed by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I heritage building on 5 April 1984.

History

A church service was first held in the shed of John Kerr's father on 4 December 1842. Two of his neighbours, Saxton and Tytler, gave land for a church and vicarage, and the first service was held in the church on 24 December 1843.^[2] The church was the first church in the Nelson Province.^[3]^[1] The building had an overall length of 52 feet (16 m) and cost £105.^[4]

A building committee decided on building a new church and in May 1866, it appointed Thomas Brunner as the architect.^[4] The foundation stone for the new church was laid on 24 November 1866, and the ceremony was attended by many prominent people: Colonel Mathew Richmond, Sir David Monro, Arthur Seymour, Brunner as the architect, Edward Baigent, with the service conducted by Bishop Selwyn. The foundation stone was laid by Mrs Blundell.^[5] The committee decided on Christmas Day of 1866 that a memorial tablet to Captain Francis H. Blundell was necessary, as he had been one of the driving forces behind the new church building.^[4] It was probably New Zealand's first memorial church. Blundell was an immediate neighbour to the church and had died in 1865; he is buried in the church's graveyard on land that he gifted.^[1]^[4] The first service was held in the new church in July 1867.^[6] The new Bishop of Nelson, Andrew Suter, was due to arrive later in the year, and hence the church was not consecrated until 13 November 1867.^[4]^[6]

The church community tried to sell the old church, but received no suitable offers. It was used by Mrs Blundell as a Sunday school until it was blown over in high winds.^[4]

On 5 April 1984, St Michael's was registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now Heritage New Zealand) as a Category I structure with registration number 248.^[1]

St Michael's is located on Waimea West Road within Brightwater (also known as Waimea West), just south of the boundary to Appleby.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "St Michael's Church (Anglican)". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
^ "Waimea West". Journal of the Nelson Historical Society Incorporated. 3 (3). Nelson: Nelson Historical Society: 21, 27. September 1977. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
^ Walrond, Carl (15 November 2012). "Nelson places – Richmond and the Waimea Plains". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "The History of St Michael's Church". Brightwater Community Anglican Churches. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
^ "Laying the Foundation Stone of St Michael's Church Waimea West". Colonist. Vol. X, no. 957. 27 November 1866. p. 2. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Consecration of St. Michael's Church, Waimea West". Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle. Vol. XXVI, no. 146. 5 December 1867. p. 4. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
^ "St Michael's Waimea West". Google Maps. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

Bibliography

Palmer, Leonard Russell; Bloyce, J. W.; Stewart, J. (1968). St Michael's Anglican Church: Waimea West, Nelson, New Zealand. Nelson, New Zealand.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)