St Mary's Anglican Church in Upokongaro is being deconsecrated after nearly 150 years of service. At the church are (from left) Rev Lee Tucker-Ramage, Friends of St Mary's chairman John Dalziel and Susanna Norris. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
St Mary's Anglican Church in Upokongaro is being deconsecrated after nearly 150 years of service. At the church are (from left) Rev Lee Tucker-Ramage, Friends of St Mary's chairman John Dalziel and Susanna Norris. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
Whanganui’s longest-operating church on its original site, St Mary’s Anglican Church in Upokongaro, is being deconsecrated after nearly 150 years of service.
The church opened in 1877, but the consecration was delayed until 1879 because the land, costing the equivalent of $40, had not yet been paid for.
St Peter’sAnglican Church in Gonville opened more than a decade before St Mary’s; however, St Peter’s was dismantled and moved to its current site in 1922 – making St Mary’s the oldest church on its original site in Whanganui.
Friends of St Mary’s chairman John Dalziel said the church was being deconsecrated because of the lack of attendance in recent years.
Dalziel said the average attendance of 20-30 people five years ago had reduced to as few as 12 people in 2025, and the average age of the congregation was increasing.
Deconsecration is the act of officially ending the religious use of a sacred place – removing the sacred character and blessing that had once been bestowed upon it.
A final Sunday service will be held on August 10 to officially deconsecrate the church, with about 80 people expected to attend.
The church is legally owned by the Anglican Diocese of Wellington and managed by the Whanganui Anglicans Parish.
Whanganui Anglicans manager Katie Thomas said the next steps for the church were unclear because several members of the parish’s governance team had been unavailable.
St Mary's Anglican Church in Upokongaro near Whanganui is being deconsecrated after nearly 150 years of service. At the church are (from left) the Reverend Lee Tucker-Ramage, Friends of St Mary's chairman John Dalziel and Susanna Norris. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
The parish had agreed to either sell or gift the church to another party.
“The hope is to sell it to someone who loves the space and wants to treasure it – it’s a beautiful church,” Thomas said.
Dalziel hoped it could still be used for community purposes.
“We hope the church will carry on being used as a church,” Dalziel said.
“I think it’s worth keeping, so hopefully it will stay in the community and stay as a community church for all folks to use it for whatever they want.”
Ideally, the church would still be used for weddings, funerals and christenings and continue to be a strong connection for Upokongaro School, he said.
Dalziel, who has been involved in the church for 10 years, said there were some fond memories he would cherish.
He said the Armistice Day service in 2018 was special because of the number of people who got involved, and the countless Harvest Festival services in which the school was involved were highlights.
Several years ago, Donald Trott of the NZ Opera School brought 11 singers to a service, which Dalziel described as a “wonderful, memorable moment” for the church.
