Built in 1847, All Saints Anglican Church, on the corner of Cook and Selwyn Streets and overlooking the Hauraki Gulf in Howick, Auckland, is registered as a Category 1 historic building by Heritage New Zealand.
Built in 1847, All Saints’ originally served the Fencible community, soldiers stationed at Howick and other strategic sites along the Auckland isthmus to protect against Maori attacks.
In preparation for the settlement, the government granted an acre to the Anglican Church. Bishop Selwyn picked the site himself and had Frederick Thatcher design it. The church was a prefabricated structure, built at the nearby St John’s College before being moved by boat and later by hand to the site for assembly. It was the first building in Howick to be constructed and was completed before the fencibles arrived.
Originally built to a cruciform plan with equal span transepts, chancel and nave, with a tower. In 1862, the church was too small, and the aisle was duplicated to extend it. In 1893, a belfry was added to separate the existing tower. These modifications give All Saints’ Church a unique look.
The picturesque church is set amidst mature trees and surrounded by the historic cemetery where many of the area’s early settlers and those who fell victim to the scarlet fever epidemic of 1854 are buried.
