Prayers, an explosion, and coffee at the butcher’s – stories behind three buildings on NPDC’s protected list

Taranaki’s only Pacific community-owned building, the Samoan Methodist Church in New Plymouth, is one of three historic buildings joining NPDC’s list of protected heritage structures in the latest version of the District Plan.​

The Samoan Methodist Church is a landmark with its large Gothic-arch stained-glass window right on Devon Street in Fitzroy and its high-pitched red roof.​

The building started as the Primitive Methodist Church in 1907 on a site that was formerly occupied by the Aotearoa’s first Primitive Methodist Church since 1844 and was formally signed over to the Samoan Methodist congregation in 2005.​

Treasurer and Property Manager for the Samoan Methodist Church in Fitzroy Joshua Robertson (pictured) said the 60-strong congregation completely refurbished the building in 2020 with a grant from the government’s Covid 19 Response and Recovery Funding and the Pacific community uses it almost daily for a range of activities including Sunday services, language classes and a school homework program.​

“The chapel area of the church is now protected, and we love it how it is. We’ve always maintained it. All the work we’ve done, we’ve always been sure it retains the character of the building,” said Mr Robertson.​

The other two structures added to the Schedule of Heritage Buildings and Items in the Part Operative District Plan 2025 are:​

• The Waipuku Stream Rail Bridge, dating from 1878 and thought to be the oldest working rail bridge in the country. It has survived bush fires in 1886, severe flooding in 1935 and an attempt to blow it up in February 1966, when two young men from Stratford used gelignite to blast out a 60cm section of track. A 65-tonne railcar leaped over the gap without derailing. Luckily nobody was hurt, and the culprits were quickly caught and jailed.​
• The Deem and Shearer building (now the Windsor Caffe) dating from 1875 is possibly the oldest surviving commercial building in Inglewood. On the corner of Kelly and Matai streets, it was a butcher’s shop and home, before becoming the offices of a law firm in 1911 and eventually being converted into a café in 1994.​

NPDC District Planning Supervisor Lauren O’Byrne said the Schedule of Heritage Buildings and Items protects the district’s built heritage as part of the Part Operative District Plan, which also lists other protected features including archaeological sites and sites and areas of significance to Māori, significant natural areas, notable trees and viewshafts.​

“Our history is essential to sustaining our district’s prosperity. Looking after our history ensures it remains a place where people want to live, work and invest and whānau want to raise their tamariki,” said Ms O’Byrne.​

FAST FACTS​

• Every district council has a district plan that sets out what activities and development are allowed on each property, and what areas and structures are protected.​
• The NPDC district plan’s Schedule of Heritage Buildings and Items lists 146 protected structures, including churches and war memorials, Poet’s Bridge and the Tea House in Pukekura Park, Richmond Cottage, Inglewood Town Hall, and the White Hart Hotel.​
•  NPDC’s current district plan dates from 1998 and is in the process of being replaced with the Part Operative District Plan 2025.​
• Here’s the process of creating the new district plan by the numbers:​

• • Four documents: a high-level spatial plan called the Blueprint, followed by the Draft District Plan 2016, the Draft Digital District Plan 2018 and the Proposed District Plan (PDP) in 2019.​
  • We received a total of 790 public submissions on the PDP, covering almost 14,500 points.​
  • Almost 30 hearings were held and NPDC planning staff have resolved almost all of the 23 appeals lodged with the Environment Court.

Caption: Samoan Methodist Church treasurer Joshua Robertson in front of the church’s Gothic-arch stained-glass window.​