Knox Church

Church Buildings

Knox church was originally opened on May 6th, 1860. At that time it Knox Church - original building was located on the corner of Great King street and Frederick street. Because the church had been founded with the intention of serving the needs of a broad section of people, it soon became an important center of religious life. (In the late 1850s and early 1860s, social life was still largely centered around the church.) Knox Church was also fortunate enough to have a minister who was 'large-minded, prudent, affable, gentle’, and soon became well known on the streets of Dunedin. The church became very popular, and it soon became apparent that a larger church was needed.

Old Knox Organ In 1859, John Hyde Harris gave the sections on the north-east corner of King and Frederick streets as a site for the church. The foundation stone was laid on November 23 rd 1859. At first it was known as the Second Presbyterian Church, but Hyde Harris suggested that it should be called Knox Church after John Knox. The church was opened on May 6 th 1860. however, by June 1861, the church needed to be enlarged, and again in November 1862. Further expansion wasn’t possible on the existing site,
so in 1871 it was agreed to build a new church on the current site. The land cost 369 pounds, and the cottage and stable on the land cost another 200 pounds. The new church was designed to seat 1000 people and a choir of 30. there would have to be a belfry and a gallery, and the total cost of the building was fixed as 5000 pounds. A competition was held to design the new church, and 17 plans were submitted. The first choice was the plan by R A Lawson, but this design could not be achieved within the budget allowed. The budget was raised to 6000 pounds, but it soon became clear that this would not be enough. So, on August 22 nd, 1872, David Ross (architect of the Otago Museum) was appointed Painting of Knox Church architect with 7200 pounds allocated to build the church and to provide seating and lighting. However, David Ross disagreed with the building committee about which stone to use, and whether or not they needed an inspector. These arguments causes many problems, and Ross was given notice after his contract was ended on January 16 th 1873. The church deacons offered generous compensation, but Ross went to the supreme court and came away with only 40 shillings. A new building committee was formed and R A Lawson was appointed as the new architect. The foundation stone was laid on November 25 th 1872, exactly 300 years since the death of John Knox. The building took four years to complete, and cost over 18000 pounds. The new Knox Church can seat around 900 people and has been a place of worship since November 5 th 1876. This building is the one we see today.

The Knox congregation was a union in 1860 of members from First Church (one third of its membership) and from the independent congregation, except for its Wesleyan and Baptist members who formed their own churches at the time.

These people had worked together for 18 months planning their new church and calling a minister, the Rev. Donald M. Stuart from Falstone in Northumberland, England.

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