| St Peter's Church | |
| Fullname: | St Peter's Anglican Church |
| Location: | Onehunga, Auckland |
| Denomination: | Anglican |
| Website: | https://aucklandanglican.org.nz/find-a-church/st-peters-onehunga/ |
| Functional Status: | Active |
| Architectural Type: | Church |
| Chaplain: | The Reverend Petra Zaleski |
St Peter's Anglican Church is a Selwyn church in Auckland, New Zealand. The church is located in the suburb of Onehunga, on the corner of Onehunga Mall Road and Church Street. It is one of Auckland's first churches, with the site being allocated in 1847 and construction completed in 1848.[1] Situated next to the church is a cemetery which houses the gravesites of many of the area's fencible colonial settlers including the first woman Mayor of the British Empire, Elizabeth Yates.
St Peter's Anglican Church and surrounding cemetery are located in Onehunga on land formerly occupied by Māori iwi Te Waiohua and Ngāti Whātua.
St Peter's Church held its first service on the 29th of June 1848, Saint Peter's Day. The original church, alongside a vicarage and school were built from wood and later replaced with stone. To accommodate the church's growing congregation an extension was made in the 1860s and 1870s.Rev. A.G. Purchas was the first Minister of St Peter's Church.[2]
The original church structure built in 1848 was overseen by the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand, Bishop George Selwyn. The wooden Selwyn church, in his namesake, are a group of churches in New Zealand which use a neo-gothic style and were built between 1846-1867.[3]
The wooden chancel and Selwyn-style tower were torn down in 1931 and a brick chancel and tower was put in its place, designed by Auckland architect D.B. Patterson. Due to timber degradation, the congregation chose to construct a new church which wrapped around the earlier structure. By 1980, construction was underway on the building and some surrounding gravesites. The parish celebrated its 133rd birthday in June 1981, in the newly built church.
St Peter's Church is located next to an Anglican Cemetery which houses the gravesites of Onehunga's early Anglican community. It later become a burial ground for those of various Christian denominations. The graveyard also houses the remains of unknown people, people who died by suicide and unhoused people.[4]
A notable headstone is of the first woman Mayor of the British Empire, Elizabeth Yates, who is buried next to her husband and former Mayor, Captain Michael Yates.[5]
Sailors who perished in the 1863 H.M.S. Orpheus shipwreck are buried in a naval section in the churchyard, including the ships Chaplain, Rev Charles B Haslewood.
The current parish is led by Reverend Petra Zaleski.[6]
St Peter's Church has made the news for its current Vicar Petra Zaleski who remarks to have found healing, empowerment and community in the faith after suffering alcohol abuse.[7] Zaleski encourages inclusivity and support within the church and wider community.
In July 2017, Keith Johnson, an unhoused man, was found dead on the bench he frequented at St Peter's Church Cemetery.[8] A surf board has been permanently attached to the back of the bench in Johnson's memory.[9] This incident, among others, sparked discourse on the lack of support of homelessness in Auckland.[10]