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Timeline History of St Joseph's.
1876
Land was purchased from Thomas Hollis Stace by 4 local men for £20.
Roderick Mulhern, Henry Abbott, Charles Stuart and Patrick Murphy
each paid £5.
1878
The church was designed by
Thomas Turnbull
It was built by Blackie and Foster for £200 from mainly rimu and matai timber milled locally by Woodman and Jones.
Construction was completed in 1878 and the church was consecrated by Bishop Francis Redwood on Sunday 28 April 1878 as the
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
1890's
The firm of Messrs Palmer and Edwards added the porch and confessional at the west end of the church. The interior walls were also lined with tongue and groove boards.
A Mr. Carter of Martin & Co, Manners Street installed plain glass windows with paper transfer prints. These windows featured the names of families who contributed to the cost of their purchase and installation.
NB: Over the many years, the original windows became very worn and faded so have now been replaced with replicated vinyl images.
1895
On Sunday, April 21st, the church was formally reopened by Archbishop Redwood.
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