Trinity Church on Barnard Street, Timaru New Zealand by Muir and Moodie Te Papa C014369. The first Presbyterian church in Timaru, built of bluestone, opened on 7 July 1867. It stood in Barnard Street and was replaced, on an adjacent site. The first Trinity church (bluestone, 1867) was built on land gifted by the Rhodes Brothers (Robert Heaton Rhodes and George Rhodes).
Imagine walking down Barnard Street in the late 1800s. Ahead of you rises a neoclassical temple. Tall white columns, a triangular pediment, heavy masonry that looked more like Athens or Rome than a colonial port town. This was Trinity Presbyterian Church, one of Timaru’s most ambitious landmarks, and the mother church of Presbyterianism in South Canterbury.
Today, nothing remains of the building, but Scottish Hall with links to its founders, a car park and a used furniture store. The building that once echoed with congregations, baptisms, weddings, funerals, and generations of Sunday worship has vanished. My hunt for its story has become a side quest into its memory. Who were the people who built it, what faith did they carry with them from Scotland, and what choices led to its demolition?
A William Ferrier photographic album entitled "Ferrier's views of Timaru & District", with images form the late nineteenth century. Pen note on the inside flyleaf reads "To [Cris?] & [???] with love from Mater & Pater Wellington NZ 1903". The prints within the album include scenes around Timaru including Stafford Street, the Harbour, Caroline Bay, local businesses, churches, and buildings.
Presbyterianism arrived in New Zealand with Scottish settlers. Many were shaped by the Free Church of Scotland, which had broken away from the established Church in the 1840s over independence and governance. In a new colony, people wanted more than land and shelter. They longed for familiar anchors of identity, and church life became one of those anchors. In South Canterbury, that anchor became Trinity.
It started with a pioneering minister who covered a parish from the Rangitata to Mount Cook
In March 1865, the Presbytery of Christchurch sent Rev George Barclay to Timaru. Born in Ireland and trained in London, he was ordained and given responsibility for an enormous parish stretching from the Rangitata to the Waitaki, and from the coast right up to Mount Cook. On 19 March that year he preached the very first Presbyterian service in Timaru at the Mechanics Institute on North Street.
Within two years, his congregation had built their first permanent church on land gifted by the Rhodes Brothers. A modest bluestone chapel opened in July 1867, seating fewer than 200 people. But the town was growing quickly and the congregation soon needed more space.
Close up on a street scape - could this be Trinity? - Section from Timaru, from Roman Catholic Tower], Dunedin, by Muir & Moodie. Te Papa (C.012821)
A second Trinity, built in 1876 inspired by architects of the ancient Roman temples
In 1876 a much larger Trinity Church was completed next door. Seating 600, it cost £5000, which I imagine was a bold statement of ambition for a small colonial town. I think its design was striking. Where many New Zealand churches of the time were inspired by the Gothic Revival with pointed arches and spires, Trinity chose a neoclassical style with columns, a portico, and a pediment. It has the Roman Catholic Basilica vibe.
Why would Presbyterians build in this way? After a bit of reading, I think for them, classical architecture represented order, dignity, and civic respectability. Their built heritage connected their faith to the traditions of Western democracy and learning. Gothic style, with its ritual associations, was often favoured by Anglicans. So Trinity’s design declared Presbyterianism as rational, respectable, and enduring.
Reading through old newspapers it seems on the inside, the focus was not on decoration but on preaching. A wide nave with clear sight lines drew the eye to the pulpit, reflecting the Presbyterian conviction that the Word of God was central to worship.
The ministers and families who gave Trinity its life
The story of Trinity is as much about people as it is about stone and columns.
Rev George Barclay (1835-1908) was born in Ireland. On his arrival to Lyttelton in 1865, Barclay's first postiung was in Timaru where he served from 1865 to 1872 before moving to Geraldine. His parish stretched from Rangitata to Waitaki, inland to Aoraki. He was the husband of Susan Clifford Barclay (1833 - 1913). Their sons went on to become prominent citizens: Alfred Richard Barclay, a barrister and lecturer in Dunedin, Dr Henry Charles Barclay, Superintendent of Waimate Hospital, and George Baker Barclay, a businessman with Guinness and Le Cren. Barclay moved to Geraldine. A fire at the Geraldine Manse: 1889, destroyed parish records and Barclay’s valuable library.
In 1875 Rev William Gillies was persuaded to leave West Taieri and take the call to Timaru to succeeded Rev George Barclay at Trinity. Under his leadership, the second, much larger Trinity Church was planned and built on Barnard Street, opening in 1876. This striking neoclassical building seated 600 people, seems very ambitious for a town of only around 2,500. He led the building of the great Barnard Street church and manse, guided the congregation for 26 years, and even became Moderator of the General Assembly. Gillies died in 1901, the same year he led the mourning service for Queen Victoria. His passing marked the end of an era.
From 1902 until 1928 Rev Thomas Stinson led Trinity through both growth and division. Under his watch, Chalmers Church was established by members who left Trinity. He also oversaw the building of new halls and the installation of a fine pipe organ, while working hard to reduce debt.
Later leaders included Rev A J H Dow, Rev G F McKenzie, and Rev J M Highet, who ministered until Trinity closed in 1957. Alongside them were generations of elders, families, and children whose names once filled the registers. Sadly, many of those early records have been lost. Communion rolls from 1865 to 1875 and baptism registers from 1873 to 1881 are missing. Whole decades of names are gone, leaving frustrating gaps in the history of Timaru’s first Presbyterians.
Close up of a section of photo called: Breakwater, Timaru, 1885, Timaru, by Burton Brothers. Purchased 1991. Te Papa (O.004689)
A proud building that could not survive the century
By the 1950s the church was ageing badly. Heavy masonry had cracked, the roof leaked, and engineers raised safety concerns. In 1956, 90 years since the foundation stone was laid, the South Canterbury Centennial Association purchased the building with a dream of converting it into a concert chamber. For a while, it seemed that Trinity would be reborn as a civic space.
But costs mounted. A severe rainstorm in 1959 caused major interior damage, and reports concluded it was uneconomic to repair. On 15 December 1957 the congregation held its final service in Barnard Street before moving to a new church in College Road. In 1964 the once proud portico was demolished. The site was cleared and has remained a car park ever since.
Barnard Street still carries echoes of Scottish faith and heritage
Even after Trinity disappeared, Barnard Street carried the imprint of Scottish identity. In 1929, while Trinity still stood, the Scottish Hall was built just along the road. Designed by Walter Panton, it became the cultural centre for Timaru’s Scottish societies. Here people gathered for music, Highland dress, storytelling, and fellowship.
So for decades, one street carried two symbols side by side. Trinity was the temple of faith. The Scottish Hall was the hall of heritage. Together, they reflected how settlers were building a new life in South Canterbury while keeping traditions from their homeland alive.
Timaru, New Zealand, 1912, Timaru, by Muir & Moodie. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa (PS.001029)
From this I have learned that most buildings live only as long as people find them useful
I set out to write this story about the Trinity. But it has become more than a tale of the bricks and mortar, and more about how communities and their buildings rise, adapt, and sometimes fall. The Scottish Hall shows the same truth I think in many ways.
Karen Rolleston wrote a fabulous article about the hall for the Timaru Civic Trust, that explained in the 1930s and 40s the hall that was built on the churchs' site, was packed every Saturday night for dances. During the war years, even blackouts could not stop the foxtrot and waltz. By the 1970s, however, television, changing social habits, and extended drinking hours drew people elsewhere. Newspapers record how the regular dances ended, and how the hall found new uses and continues to serve the community today.
Maybe Trinity could not pivot quickly enough, or it was too expensive to rectify and repair? Maybe this is why it was demolished. The Scottish Hall adapted and survived. Together, they remind us that heritage is never static. Buildings live only as long as they remain useful. To keep them useful, we need imagination, investment, and the will to see them as part of our future and not only our past.
Trinity Church demolition - South Canterbury Museum 2011035908-1
What lessons does Trinity leave us as we look at Timaru’s churches today?
It is tempting to mourn what was lost. Trinity looks like it was one of Timaru’s ambitious and beautiful buildings, linking a small colonial town to the history and amibitions of ancient Greece and Rome. Its demolition feels, in hindsight, like a short-term solution that erased a landmark.
So I wondered, in clearing the site, space was made for new beginnings. The congregation carried its name and spirit to College Road and in 2009, eventually joined with St Paul’s, St Stephen’s, and Chalmers to form the Timaru Presbyterian Parish.
So what will become of the churches in Timaru that have now closed to their congregations? What can we learn from Trinity about vision, about adaptation, and about the courage to imagine new futures for the places we inherit?
The church is gone, but its legacy endures — in the united parish, in the Scottish Hall down the street, and in the lessons it leaves us about the beauty and fragility of our built heritage.
Sources and Further Reading
Timaru Herald articles: “Centennial Project for South Canterbury Still Undecided After Seven Years” (1961); “Seventieth Year of Service: Early Day History” (1935); “First Presbyterian Service Held in North Street More Than 100 Years Ago” (1967); “The Beauty of a Church” (1980); “Many Regrets at Closing of Dance” (1974).
Timaru District Council, Historic Heritage Item Record Form, Chalmers Presbyterian Church (2018).
Timaru Presbytery Records, notes on missing registers and communion rolls.
Civic Trust, Karen Rolleston. The Scottish Hall, Timaru (2018).
Timaru Scottish Society. Timaru Scottish Society 1910–2010, available from the Timaru Library.
https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/4083
https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/4073
https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/2468
https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/3993
https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22464965
Timeline of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Barnard Street, Timaru
1865 Rev George Barclay preaches the first Presbyterian service in Timaru at the Mechanics’ Institute, North Street. His parish covers South Canterbury from the Rangitata to the Waitaki and inland to Mount Cook.
1867 The first bluestone church opens on Barnard Street, built on land gifted by the Rhodes Brothers. The foundation stone was laid by the Rhodes family, linking the church directly to Timaru’s earliest settlers.
1876 A much larger second Trinity Church is completed on Barnard Street. Seating 600 people, it is built in a neoclassical style with columns and pediment. At the time, Timaru’s population was only around 2,500, so the building was designed to impress as much as to serve.
1901 The interior of Trinity is draped in mourning for the death of Queen Victoria. Rev H M Gillies leads the service, showing the church’s role as both civic and spiritual centre.
1902 A major split in the congregation leads to the founding of Chalmers Church. Around 400 people leave Trinity, first meeting in the Theatre Royal before building their own church on Bank Street.
1956 The South Canterbury Centennial Association purchases the ageing church, intending to convert it into a concert chamber.
1957 On 15 December the final service is held at Trinity Barnard Street. The congregation moves to a new church on College Road.
1959 A severe rainstorm damages the already weakened interior, pushing the final decision that the building is too costly to repair.
1964 The Barnard Street Trinity Church is demolished. Its site is cleared and becomes a car park.
2009 Trinity merges with St Paul’s, St Stephen’s, and Chalmers to form the Timaru Presbyterian Parish.
Trinity Prebyterian Church, Timaru, circa 1910, Timaru, by William Ferrier. Te Papa (O.051445)
Trinity Church (Presbyterian), Timaru, circa 1904, Dunedin, by Muir & Moodie. Te Papa (C.014404)
Comparing maps over the years, looks like Trinity Church was over two sections. On the south section the Scottish Hall was built, and on the north, it is now a commercial property selling used furniture. At least the hall still carries a connection to the classical church that once domanated the site.
Google Maps 2025
Section of the map: Borough of Timaru, South Canterbury. NZ Heritage Maps Platform, accessed 20/09/2025, https://maps.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/336
1875
Timaru town. NZ Heritage Maps Platform, accessed 19/09/2025, https://maps.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/1138
Section of a map by John Code in Timaru 1875 - Shows Timaru's Foreshore. NZ Heritage Maps Platform, accessed 20/09/2025, https://maps.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/404
Side Quest — The people behind the stones and columns
I am starting to see now, how every building can be more than its timber, brick or stone. Behind the facade are the people who built it, led it, and filled it with life, it is the people that give the building meaning.
The Rhodes Brothers — It was Robert Heaton Rhodes and his family who gifted the land on Barnard Street in the 1860s, making the first bluestone church possible. The Rhodes brothers were among South Canterbury’s earliest and most powerful runholders, with sheep stations stretching from the Rangitata to the Opihi. Their wealth and land shaped the beginnings of Timaru. By giving land for a church, they tied their colonial legacy not only to farming and commerce but also to faith, weaving themselves directly into the spiritual fabric of early Timaru.
Rev George Barclay — The first minister, arriving in 1865, was a man of wide horizons. His parish stretched from coast to Alps, and he travelled constantly, often on horseback. His sons carried the family name into law, medicine, and business, proving how closely church leadership was woven into the making of South Canterbury’s civic life.
Rev William Gillies — Gillies guided the congregation through the building of the great second Trinity in 1876. He was deeply respected, serving for over two decades, and later rose to become Moderator of the General Assembly. His long ministry left an imprint not just on Trinity but on the wider Presbyterian church in New Zealand.
Rev Thomas Stinson — When Gillies died, Stinson picked up the mantle. He was steady and practical, overseeing new halls, an organ, and carefully paying down debts. He also witnessed division, with members breaking away to form Chalmers Church in 1902. His era showed both the growth and the tensions of Presbyterian life.
The architects and builders — Local stonemasons, carpenters, and builders gave form to Trinity’s bold neoclassical design. They were part of a generation of tradespeople who turned a frontier town into a place of civic ambition. Later, Walter Panton, architect of the Scottish Hall just down the street, carried on that tradition of shaping Barnard Street into a place of culture and gathering.
Ordinary families — Not all names survive. Many are hidden in communion rolls and baptism registers, some of which are now lost. But it was these families who filled the pews, who built Sunday schools, who sang psalms, and who gathered for weddings and funerals. Without them, the grand portico would have stood empty.
Side Quest — Why did a large part of Trinity break away to form Chalmers Church
Seems my heritage hunts lead me to many side quests, and in the story of Trinity that moment comes in 1902. For decades Trinity had been the only Presbyterian church in Timaru. It was the “mother church” where all gathered, where baptisms, weddings, and funerals connected the growing community. But unity did not last forever.
In 1902 the minister of Trinity resigned. The congregation then faced a decision: who should lead them next. What might seem straightforward today was not so simple then. Presbyterians place strong emphasis on congregational decision-making and on the role of the Presbytery, so when opinions clashed it could divide a community.
A difference of opinion grew into a rift. About 170 members walked out, and within months their numbers swelled to around 400. These dissenters believed it was time to start fresh, with their own minister and their own church. They began meeting in the Theatre Royal, waiting for the Presbytery to formally approve the creation of a second parish. Approval came quickly.
By 1903 a site had been secured on the corner of Elizabeth and Bank Streets. Local architect James S Turnbull was engaged, and by 1904 the new Chalmers Church opened its doors.
So why the breakaway. It was not prohibition or alcohol debates, though Presbyterians of the time were known for strong temperance views. It was about governance, authority, and the right to call a minister who suited the people’s vision. Out of disagreement came a new church, one that would itself serve for more than a century.
In hindsight, this split shows how dynamic faith communities were in a young colony. Churches were not static institutions. They were living bodies of people who could, and did, make bold moves when they felt the Spirit leading them differently.
Side Quest — What happened to the first little bluestone church
Before the grand neoclassical temple rose in 1876, the congregation met in a modest bluestone chapel on Barnard Street. Opened in 1867 on land gifted by the Rhodes Brothers, it was soon outgrown. And what became of it? Johannes Andersen noted in his Jubilee History of South Canterbury that the old building slipped into “secular uses,” including being a soft drink factory, furniture workshop, and even stables. It reminds us that consecration did not always guarantee permanence.
Side Quest — The missing records of Trinity
When I looked into Presbytery records, I found whole chapters of Trinity’s life are lost. From what I could see in the summary records of the Presbytery records, there appears to be no communion rolls survive from 1865 to 1875. Baptism registers between 1873 and 1881 are missing. Early marriage registers from 1865 to 1875 have also disappeared. Whether lost to fire, careless storage, or “spring cleanings,” these gaps mean we cannot trace the names of many of Timaru’s first Presbyterians. It is a sobering reminder that heritage is not only about saving buildings but also about protecting fragile paper records for archives. There is a book about the religion in South Canterbury, so next plan is to borrow it from the library and see what I can find.
Side Quest — The Queen Victoria mourning service
There's a newspaper article and a photo of the Trinity's interior that was take showing the pulpit draped in mourning cloth in 1901, when Queen Victoria died. It seems by this, that Trinity was a stage for civic mourning. The interior was draped in black, the pulpit covered in funeral cloths, and Rev H M Gillies led the service. The moment showed that Trinity was more than a parish church. It was also a civic landmark where the people of Timaru came together at times of national significance.
Side Quest — The dream of a concert hall
A Timaru Herald (1980) newspaper article about the preparation for the centennial revealed some info about the Trinity. When the Centennial Association bought Trinity in 1956, the plan was bold: to turn the church into Timaru’s concert chamber. For a while, this looked possible. But after storms caused damage in 1959 and engineers warned of costs, the plan collapsed. Trinity could not make the leap from sacred space to civic hall. It is a story that highlights how heritage buildings often need imagination and investment to adapt, and how easily they can be lost when those do not align. The building was eventually demolished in 1964.
Side Quest — Scottish Hall and the Saturday night dances
On the same road, and on part of the land where Trinity Church once stood, sits the Scottish Hall. It tells a parallel story of community, culture, and adaptation.
Built in 1929, the hall was designed by local architect Walter Panton & Son and built by Andrew Kennedy at a cost of about £4000. Solidly made of red brick and concrete with white cement facings, it carried Scottish pride in its very fabric — the flag of St Andrew is still set above its windows.
For decades the hall was alive with music. Through the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, it was packed every Saturday night with dancers. During the Second World War, even blackout restrictions could not stop the foxtrot and the waltz.
But fashions changed. By the 1970s, the rise of television and extended hotel hours meant fewer young people came to Saturday dances. In 1974, the last regular dance was held, marking the end of an era.
Unlike Trinity, however, the Scottish Hall adapted. It shifted from social dances to housie, competitions, and as a practice space for the Timaru Pipe Band. It is still in use today, a building that could pivot to stay relevant.
Side Quest — Rev George Barclay, the pioneer minister of South Canterbury
Every building has a first shepherd, the one who gathers the flock before the stones are even laid. For Trinity, that man was Rev George Barclay.
Barclay arrived in Lyttelton in 1865 from Ireland, having trained in London and at other Home institutions. His theological grounding came through the Presbyterian Church of England, and he was licensed by the Presbytery of London before making the long voyage to New Zealand. When he landed in Canterbury he was sent south, to a place that barely had roads let alone churches.
His new parish was immense. It stretched from the Rangitata to the Waitaki, and inland to Aoraki Mount Cook. This was not a comfortable city pastorate but a vast mission field, and Barclay travelled constantly, often on horseback, to reach his scattered flock of settlers and station workers. It is almost impossible to imagine today the distances he covered, or the rough conditions he endured, simply to bring people together around Word and Sacrament.
By 1867, with Barclay’s leadership and the land gift from the Rhodes Brothers, the first little bluestone church was opened on Barnard Street. He had laid the spiritual foundation for what would grow into Trinity.
Barclay was not only a preacher but also a family man. His children carried his values into South Canterbury life:
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Alexander Robert Barclay became a barrister and solicitor in Dunedin.
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Dr H. C. Barclay served as Surgeon-Superintendent at Waimate Hospital.
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George Baker Barclay built connections with the business world, including through Guinness & Le Cren, the mercantile house so important in Timaru’s early growth.
Through them, Barclay’s influence rippled beyond the pulpit into law, medicine, and commerce. His story shows how deeply church leadership was woven into the making of South Canterbury’s civic and professional life.
In 1872 Barclay moved on to Geraldine, where tragedy struck when the manse was destroyed by fire in 1889, taking with it his valuable library, most of his possessions, and many parish records. Barclay himself passed away in 1908, remembered as a pioneer of the faith in this region.
To think of him riding alone across the plains, Bible in his saddlebag, is to glimpse the grit and vision it took to plant the first Presbyterian roots in South Canterbury.
A view from the lighthouse on The Terrace, Timaru, looking west toward Chalmers Church, circa 1920. Several buildings and businesses can be seen along Stafford and the surrounding Streets, including the Carlton Bros, coal merchants. The title and photographer's name appear in the lower centre of the image. Chalmers Church - South Canterbury Museum 2466b