St James Church building in Paekākāriki put on the market

The St James Church building in Paekākāriki is up for sale.

A slice of history is being sold, with the St James Church building in Paekākāriki being put on the market.

Originally built in 1918 for £320, the building has seen many changes to its congregation and was built at a time where streets such as Wellington Rd were not yet built.

Initially operating without a building, the Paekākāriki church formed as part of the Methodist Church circuit in 1913.

Holding an inaugural trust meeting in 1918 of what was to become St James Church, the meeting was held at Frank Bond's home, with his wife Mrs Bond donating 16 perches of land in Ocean Rd for the church building to be built on.

Three days after the inaugural meeting, construction of the building started.
By 1919 the building was completed at a cost of £320.

In 1926, the Sunday school and vestry were added to the church at a cost of £47 followed by renovations in 1931 by the bible class who also donated the hymn board.

By this stage the small church had grown to have 23 members, the Sunday School had 31 scholars and the bible class had 15 attendees.

Building around the village included the construction of Centennial Highway in 1939 and the Paraparaumu Airport which opened in 1940.

Meanwhile, in 1942 the US Marines arrived in Kāpiti.

During the Second World War, Paekākāriki served as a major base for American Marines fighting in the Pacific Campaign with the first Marines arriving at Aotea Quay in Wellington before heading to the camp at Mackays Crossing.

In 1955 a new church trust was formed and in 1958 the church celebrated its 40th anniversary with new furniture, carpet laid and the building was given a new paint job on both the outside and inside.

A parsonage was built on Miriana Grove in 1961 and the church was given the name St James Methodist Church, after previously being known as the Methodist Church at Paekākāriki.

In 1966 additions were made to the church and the church hall, with a front porch built in 1975.

1996 saw St James Church Paekākāriki join with the Kāpiti Uniting Parish.

In 2011 Reverend Cornelia Grant became the minister, with the church celebrating 100 years in 2018.

The church operated out of the building until August last year when the last service was held in Paekākāriki, led by Cornelia and Reverend Roger Wiig.

After this, members of the congregation joined with Kāpiti Uniting Church's two other congregations in Raumati and Waikanae Beach, with the future of the property in the hands of the Methodist Church, who have now decided the time is right to sell it.

The building has been well maintained over the years and still retains many of its original features including native timber flooring and joinery in good condition.

Located at 35 Ocean Rd, the building is up for tender, closing on November 24.