St Andrew’s Anglican Church
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Church life was an important part of people’s lives in early Cambridge. As well as worship, the congregation arranged concerts, picnics and community events together.
Anglican Church congregations picnic in Hamilton, RICHARD STOWERS COLLECTION
The first Anglican church on this site was built in 1873. Cambridge grew so quickly that only eight years later a larger church was needed. The original building was moved behind the new one, where it still stands today.
St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Cambridge CM2958/2/14
When the new church opened, the day was declared a public holiday so that the whole town could celebrate. Built from kauri in the Gothic Revival style, the church is admired for its stained glass windows and its 1890s organ.
One of the most striking features is the WWI memorial window, installed in 1923. It shows the liberation of Le Quesnoy in France – the final engagement for New Zealand troops in the war. This event created a bond between Cambridge and Le Quesnoy, and they are now sister cities.
WWI Memorial Windows in St Andrew’s Church, Cambridge. The one on the right commemorates the Liberation of Le Quesnoy in France. RICHARD STOWERS COLLECTION
High in the spire hang six cast steel bells, which hold a special place in history. They were the very first bells in the world to ring in the new millennium at midnight, 2000. Listen to a recording of the bells from 2018 below.
Just outside on the corner stands another piece of living history: a red letter box installed by New Zealand Post and Telegraph in 1898. More than a century and a quarter later, it’s still in use.
The church bells recorded by Colin Morley in 2018 CM4410/3