Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

IN GRATITUDE

Today we give thanks for the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth has inspired so many throughout her 70 year reign.

Born in 1926 not long after the end of World War I, the young Princess was one year old when the foundation stone of St David's was laid. Today, 95 years later, the final coat of deep, Scottish green paint was applied to the great doors of St David's.

When the doors re-open, Kāhui St David's will serve the people of this country, and we will do so inspired by our Queen who existed only to serve and to uplift. A constant light, illuminating the lives of so many.

We will remember a life of absolute dedication, humility, humanity, humour and grace.

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AUGUST UPDATE | MILESTONE ANNOUNCEMENT

MILESTONE ANNOUNCEMENT

After eight years of working to save St David’s, on Friday 29 July 2022 the Trust purchased St David’s Memorial Church to secure its future for the community.

This has been made possible thanks to our benefactors, patrons and friends, including the hundreds of New Zealanders who supported the BUY ST DAVID’S campaign nationwide. And the hundreds more who have supported this kaupapa since 2014.

Big thanks to Chapman Tripp for their expert legal advice and work, across a broad spectrum of law, for the past eight years.

Special thanks also to our Founding Patron Ted Manson NZMS who secured the future of this place, and to Max Gimblett ONZM whose gift of art illuminated St David’s worldwide.

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GIFTING OF A NAME

The Trust began with a couple of friends who invited a few more friends to join them to save this place. Now, as kaitiaki of St David’s Memorial Church, Friends of St David’s Trust is an entity with responsibility to all Aotearoa New Zealand.

Kāhui Rangi Pūpū now joins Friends of St David’s Trust.

We acknowledge Kaumatua Tautoko Witika for the precious gift of this name.

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THE ART OF REMEMBRANCE 2022

ANZAC Week commemorations at St David’s Memorial Church in 2022 were memorable, being the first ANZAC Eve event held within St David’s. We acknowledge the Waitematā Local Board as major sponsors, the musicians, our volunteers and those who attended.

Take a few minutes to remember them.

ANZAC PREPARATIONS

HIVE OF ACTIVITY

The past several weeks have been a hive of activity at St David’s. A big team of electricians installing emergency lighting systems and partial re-wiring of the 1920s setup and another big team of specialists repairing concrete lintels and corbels. Plumbers, carpenters, painters, and volunteers across the spectrum including gardeners for a hugely successful community working bee.

John Morrow, Treasurer with Barbara Baragwanath and Angus Ogilvie, Trustee at the community working bee

Mark Eller of Mark Eller Gardens transplanting the prolific lime tree into the repaired raised bed

Graham Judge, Advisory Board Member, strengthening a raised garden

Volunteers Yvette, Ramon and Leighton

Lintel repairs underway

Yvette Jay polishing the St David’s Roll of Honour

Brick repairs

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THIS SUNDAY - ANZAC EVE

Thanks to the new Traffic Light Orange settings, some spaces remain for the Art of Remembrance musical service this Sunday at 5pm.

It will be an inspiring night to remember, the first Art of Remembrance event inside the Soldiers’ Church that inspired thousands across Aotearoa New Zealand and the world!

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ANZAC Week

For a preview of the experiences on offer in the grounds of St David’s, check out the “map” of the Art of Remembrance 2022 – ANZAC Week – created by Douglas Hawkins of Hawkins & Co.

6pm – 9.30pm nightly
from ANZAC Day – 1 May

The “map” of the Art of Remembrance 2022, beautifully framed and gifted by Homestead Picture Framers, Auckland. Photo of Richard (Homestead) and Paul (Friends of St David’s).

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AWESOME SUPPORT

We are hugely grateful for our generous event partners: Major Funding Partner Waitematā Local Board, together with Angus Muir Design, Jessica Chloe Photography, LUMO, The Opera Factory, Mark Eller Gardening and our incredible volunteers.

This weekend, we could do with some more hands on deck tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday, readying St David’s and the grounds for ANZAC Eve and the week ahead. If you have a spare hour or two, please email contact@SaintDavidsFriends.org.nz or text Paul on 021 521 574.

If you have any unused spare fridge, lawnmower, dishwasher, gardening gear of any type, or kitchen equipment, please bear us in mind! Unwanted antique or old school furniture may also find a home at St David’s.

THANK YOU

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you very soon.

APRIL UPDATE | ANZAC COMMEMORATIONS AT ST DAVID'S

Welcoming you into St David's - Anzac Eve service invitation

On Sunday 24 April at 5pm we will host The Art of Remembrance in St David’s.

It was on ANZAC Day 1927 that the foundation stone was laid. When the doors opened later that year, St David’s was dedicated as the Soldiers’ Memorial Church. It commemorates the RNZE and Sappers, the nurses, World War II 29th and 30th Infantry Battalions, and all who have served Aotearoa New Zealand since World War I.
95 years later, we will welcome you inside this rare, living memorial, for a musical service of remembrance that will include the Scottish bagpipes, big band, taonga puoro, waiata and the 1910 Croft organ.

The Last Post will sound, and we will Remember Them.

Hot drinks and ANZAC biscuits (individually packaged) will be served afterwards.

We thank the Waitematā Local Board for their generous funding support, as Principal Event Partner.

Please note: due to COVID, numbers are strictly limited to 200 for this indoor event. Dress warmly as the windows will be open. The audience capacity of St David's is 420, so there is room for social distancing.

We encourage you to RSVP early.

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ANZAC Week St David's - Nightly Outdoor Illuminations

Nightly from Monday 25 April – Sunday 1 May there will be illuminations, projections and sound installations on the grounds of St David’s.

The great leadlight windows will be illuminated, and waiata, taonga puoro, voices and imagery of remembrance will emanate from the Soldiers’ Memorial Church.

We invite New Zealanders to share images of family members who served Aotearoa New Zealand during, and since, World War I, including current members of the New Zealand Defence Force. These images will be projected nightly onto the walls of St David’s Memorial Church for ANZAC week. Please email photographs to contact@RememberThem.nz

Suitable for all ages. Plenty of parking available.

This free, community remembrance event is made possible thanks to the generous funding support of our Principal Event Partner, the Waitematā Local Board.

Lest we forget.

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CONGRATULATIONS Simon!

Simon O'Neill ONZM - Image courtesy Jessica Chloe Photography

Simon O’Neill ONZM has won a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance as part of a rendition of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Simon is a Founding Patron for St David’s centre for music and we very much look forward to welcoming him home later in the year.

Click here to read the story: Kiwi opera singer Simon O'Neill lands Grammy award

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Progress on the Centre for music

Thanks to the generosity of so many New Zealanders and worldwide friends who supported the nationwide BUY ST DAVID’S campaign, ownership will transfer into Friends of St David’s Charitable Trust in the coming weeks. As you know, the church was purchased by Ted Manson ONZM, Founding Patron, Friends of St David’s Trust, in December 2021 to secure its future. St David’s Memorial Church has been saved – and together, we will see it serve vital roles for the city, the region, and for all Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Friends of St David’s Trust Board has been busy making applications to organisations such as the Lotteries Significant Project Fund in order to complete the remediation required for opening as a centre for music. We look forward to sharing the outcome of this application with you in June.

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Gardens working bee for ANZAC

Camelia hearts by Petra Bagust and family

On Saturday 9 April, a working bee was held to prepare the grounds of St David’s for ANZAC week. We intend for the green space around St David’s to serve as a pocket-park for the local community and visitors to Uptown.

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Heritage Hero

Hamish Keith CNZM OBE, Barbara Baragwanath, Paul Baragwanath, Audrey van Ryn, Allan Matson

Civic Trust Auckland has made a presentation to Paul Baragwanath, Chair of Friends of St David’s Trust, to recognise his work in saving St David’s Church. President Allan Matson and Patron Hamish Keith CNZM OBE presented Baragwanath with a certificate at St David’s: “Civic Trust Auckland in recognition of his tireless work to save St David’s Church hereby confers the status of Heritage Hero upon Paul Baragwanath.” Friends of St David’s, under Baragwanath’s leadership, has been raising funds since 2014 to save the building and see it recognised as a Category A Historic Heritage place.

“Paul has managed to inspire thousands of people to support the vision of this historic building continuing to serve a range of communities in a new and different way. Civic Trust Auckland thought it was fitting to name him as one of Auckland’s heritage heroes,” says Allan Matson.

Friends of St David’s Trust would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and to thank Civic Trust Auckland for their tireless work in the preservation of the region’s heritage, including for identifying St David’s eligibility for scheduling in its Unitary Plan submission in February 2014, and the many years of support since. You too are heritage heroes!

2021 IN REVIEW

Buying St David’s

Part way through 2021 we were advised that St David's would be put out to commercial tender. We had only a matter of weeks to find the funds to save it. This, after years of work, $1 million raised for the most part in $80 increments, and achieving Category A historic heritage protection. All thanks to the thousands of people who have supported us.

Why did we need to buy St David's?

We needed to buy St David's because though the Auckland Council heritage listing provides the highest level of heritage protection available, an "adaptive re-use" clause - which on the surface of it sounds fair and reasonable - means that even the most highly protected buildings can now be partially demolished. If we failed in our bid to purchase, the Soldiers' Memorial Church - built as a permanent memorial to the lives taken by World War One - would highly likely be desecrated, and forever lost.

The opportunity to serve the New Zealand public

Simon O'Neill ONZM.Image courtesy Jessica Chloe Photography

To save St David's, we needed to share, nationwide, its potential to serve the public good. The inherent qualities of the building would determine its future usage. The acoustics of St David's are superb, and in fact, the main body of the church (the great hall) is effectively a musical instrument.

Our research had revealed the lack of a centre for acoustic music in the Auckland region. 70+ choirs, and a great diversity of acoustic musicians of every flavour, need what St David's has to offer. For rehearsing, teaching and sharing music.

As Trustees, we wanted the New Zealand public to experience St David's unique qualities - including its ambience and acoustics - for themselves. The question was, how?

Horomona Horo - Image courtesy Jessica Chloe Photography

BUY ST DAVID'S and TO THE STARS

The answer of how to share the wonder of St David's widely soon became clear: we needed to create a virtual concert. So, just one week later, 'TO THE STARS' was filmed, in a single 20 hour day. This feat was made possible thanks to the extraordinary support of Simon O'Neill ONZM and Carmel Walsh-O'Neill, Founding Patrons of the Centre, together with each of the incredible artists and creative individuals who gave their all. It is also thanks to all who have supported our fundraising activities over the years.

At the same time as creating the concert-movie, we launched BUY ST DAVID's, a nationwide Give-a-Little campaign. Special thanks to Graham Gibson, Auckland RSAs President for his pivotal role, and also to Aziz Al-Sa'afin and the AM Show for their brilliant coverage of the project. We also acknowledge Radio New Zealand and other news media for their valuable support.

The path to ownership - with thanks

We acknowledge the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa which placed a protective covenant on St David's prior to the close of the tender process. This covenant stipulates that St David's cannot be used for commercial, or residential, purposes.

We acknowledged Ted Manson ONZM, Founding Patron, Friends of St David's Trust, who entered the tender process and purchased the three church properties (St David's, 68 Khyber Pass Road, and Madeira Lane carpark). The Trust did not have the funds to purchase all three properties, and without this intervention we would certainly have lost St David's.

We acknowledge each of you who has given toward the purchase, both through the BUY ST DAVID'S Give-a-Little campaign and directly. Your generosity is enabling Friends of St David's Trust to secure the ownership of St David's. The Trust will purchase St David's Memorial Church (70 Khyber Pass Road) from Ted Manson Foundation St David's Ltd as soon as the boundary adjustment with 68 Khyber Pass Road is complete.

68 Khyber Pass Road and Madeira Lane carpark are to be developed for residential units. Friends of St David's Trust's ownership, and work, are confined purely to St David's (70 Khyber Pass Road).

There are many more entities and individuals to thank. We look forward to doing so in the New Year.

Trustees and Advisory Board - thank you

Special thanks to my fellow Trustees: John Morrow (Trust Secretary), Dawn Judge (Treasurer), Lisa Bates MNZM, Angus Ogilvie and Craig Stevenson; and equally Graham Judge, Advisory Board Member. Hearty thanks to each of you for your selfless and inspiring service.

2022

We are thankful for the gifts of 2021, not the least for the secured future of St David's.

We have many mountains to climb in 2022, including to take ownership and full responsibility for a great, historic, civic-scale church building with decades of maintenance and upgrades to attend to, and to continue our work to see St David's continue as a place of remembrance, and to serve acoustic music.

To honour the lives taken by World War One and subsequent wars, we will work to ensure that peacetime life reaches its fullest potential at St David's. We will re-open the doors for all to experience the wonder of sunlight streaming through the great eastern, and western, leadlight windows - and to experience music-making - in celebration of the wondrous potential of human creativity. The art of remembrance.

We end 2021 with a karakia. Please click on this link http://www.saintdavidsfriends.org.nz/heritage then scroll down to the bottom of the page, to hear An Irish Blessing, composed by David Hamilton while choir master of St David's.

NEW ZEALAND’S LIVING MEMORIAL LIVES ON

It has been some time since we last communicated, and we have plenty of great news to share. We may be in lockdown, but St David’s is on the up!

THANK YOU

First, we acknowledge Ted Manson ONZM, Founding Patron of Friends of St David’s Trust. Ted purchased the three church properties by tender to ensure that St David’s would be secured by Friends of St David’s Trust. Years of work would not go to waste, and St David’s would live on.

Ted’s dedication to the cause is marked at Te Pourewa Whakamaratanga, The Tower of Remembrance, at the south entrance of the Auckland War Memorial Museum. From there, the Tower of the Soldiers’ Memorial Church is seen across the Domain.

Te Pourewa Whakamaharatanga The Tower of Remembrance, Auckland War Memorial Museum

We acknowledge all our Founding Benefactors, Patrons and Friends and the generosity of your pledges, which continue to come in.

We could not be doing this without the support of thousands of individuals from across Aotearoa New Zealand and the globe, who are enabling the Trust to take on the ownership of St David’s and ensure that it continues to play a vital role into the future.

We thank you so much.

Hearts by Petra Bagust and family at St David’s July 2016. The day we raised $1,000,000. Image courtesy Jessica Chloe Photography

A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB

This a massive undertaking: to take on a unique heritage building that means so much to Auckland and New Zealand, and that has 30 years of deferred maintenance and seismic upgrade requirements. It is one thing to undertake such a mission with a commercial outcome. It is quite another for a charitable Trust to do this to serve the community. Together, we will do this.

GETTING ON WITH IT

Ted has asked us to get on with engaging the engineers, investigation and design work required to prepare for the transfer of ownership to Ted, and then to the Trust, in December 2021.

We have wasted no time and detailed expert assessments are under way: structural engineers, heritage architects, quantity surveyors, planners, fire systems engineers, acoustic specialists, steel window experts, asbestos removal people, electricians, and many others.

At the same time, we are further refining how St David’s, this remarkable historic building, can continue to inspire and best serve the city of Auckland, the region and all New Zealanders, for many years to come.

MEANINGFUL NEWS: PRESERVING ST DAVID’S HERITAGE

Further great news is that the Presbyterian Church has confirmed that all the major historic heritage items associated with St David’s will remain. The pews, the altar, the Robertson font, the intricately carved ceremonial chairs with cushions embroidered long ago, the velvet banners red, green, purple and white. These items and many others will ensure that this rich history is retained. The golden key that first unlocked the doors of St David’s soon after World War One will remain.

Image courtesy Jessica Chloe Photography

MARK THE DATE

Image courtesy Jonathan Suckling

In a tradition that dates back to 1927, the Sappers’ Memorial Parade and service will be held on Sunday 17 October 2021 at approximately 10am (precise time TBC). The Sappers / Royal New Zealand Engineers (RNZE) are the section of the Army that takes care of the roads, bridges, machinery, and communication lines: this is their church, and on this day we remember them. Because the ownership of St David’s is now confirmed, we can ensure that St David’s will continue to be their home.

Whatever your faith and background, we invite you to come to support the Sappers in their memorial service. Sappers come from diverse cultural backgrounds, and so do the Friends of St David’s. The main service will take place in the Old Hall adjacent to St David’s, and the wreath will be laid in the Sappers’ Memorial Chapel. We will share an invitation with you closer to the date.

BE IN TOUCH

If you would like to take a more active role in supporting this remarkable project in any way, please be in touch.

NGĀ MIHI NUI KIND REGARDS

TO THE STARS - INAUGURAL CONCERT TICKETS ON SALE

Tickets TO THE STARS are now on sale in a parallel fundraising effort supported by the acoustic music community. The public are encouraged to purchase tickets to become a 2021 founding supporter fo The St David’s Centre for Music.

To The Stars features Simon O’Neill ONZM, NZTrio, traditional Maori composer and musician, Horomona Horo playing the taonga puoro, along with Rita May, a 21 year old singer/songwriter on acoustic guitar, Zosia Herilhy-O’Brien, a 19 year old prodigy playing the church’s 1910 Croft Organ, The Graduate Choir of New Zealand, and piper DJ Harvey with some of his young piping associates.

The online concert will stream from Saturday 29 May onwards, and tickets are AUD $25 (via an Australian platform) on sale here.

HERITAGE NZ ACKNOWLEDGES PLACE OF EXCEPTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE

Heritage New Zealand has written the below letter outlining the cultural importance of St David’s Church. Any potential new owners would need to be alerted to their obligations to this important heritage place to ensure that the integrity, meaning any significant heritage values associated with it can be maintained in the future.

“Heritage New Zealand includes St David's Presbyterian Church and the St David's Hall within its Upper Symonds Street Historic Area, which acknowledges not only their yalue as places of notable heritage significance, but also the wider collective significance they have as part of the historic context in which they are situated and relationship to other places of historic value in the area.”

THE ST DAVID'S CENTRE FOR MUSIC IS THE FUTURE

The Friends of St David’s Trust have developed a robust plan that would see St David’s become an enduring place of remembrance as The St Davids’s Centre - Te Whare Tapere o Hato Rāwiri, a vital and vibrant centre for music, welcoming all New Zealanders.

No building has a secure future unless it is in daily use by the community. Our work over three years of extensive planning and liaising with stakeholders has proven St David’s potential as a sustainable and much needed addition to the venue landscape. The acoustics have been professionally tested and verified by Marshall Day Acoustics.

Acoustic music includes choirs, chamber music, soloists and orchestras, any form of music that is expressed without the need for electronic or sound amplification.

With its glorious Great Hall, exquisite stained glass windows, superb acoustics and raked floor, St David’s is a perfect performance venue for audiences up to 450 in this genre. The downstairs of the building can provide much needed practice and rehearsal spaces for hire, plus mixed-use community facilities. Our not-for-profit model would keep the building viable as a truly accessible public space that remains a living memorial to the soldiers of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Image credit: Jessica Chloe Photography

BUY ST DAVID'S NEW ZEALAND - GIVEALITTLE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED

The Friends of St David’s Charitable Trust are calling on New Zealanders to support the purchase of St David’s to protect it in perpetuity as a living memorial for all New Zealanders. Friends of St David’s need everyone to chip in!

Or, if you or someone you know, may like to consider becoming a major patron, now is the time to become a forever guardian angel.

To make a donation, please visit our DONATE page.