St Gerard’s Church and Monastery

• 1908
• Building construction-Church (00053:143:7959)
• 1909
• Stained glass window installed
• 1910
• Pipe organ installed
• 1931 - 1932
• Building construction – Monastery (00056:121:B10979)
• 1953
• Addition-Steps and retaining wall (00056:457:B34738)
• 1961
• Church alterations (00058:178:C8216)
• 1969
• Addition-3 Garages (00058:629:C29243)
• 1970 - 1971
• New car parking platform built at entrance of monastery (00058:718:C32614)
• 1982 - 1983
• Waterproofing carried out on exterior of the Church and Monastery-financed partially through public appeal. Strengthening work carried out to roof diaphragms of the Church
• 1976
• Upgrade of fire escapes and addition of smoke partitions (00058:1064:C46215)
• 1983
• Alteration-structural roof bracing (00058:0:C61757)
• 1984 - 1985
• Strengthening work carried out on the floor diaphragm of the Church (00058:0:C67600)
• 1991
• Refurbishment of St Gerard’s Monastery (00059:518:E24411)
• 1997
• Seismic work for existing buildings (00078:663:26979)
• 2007
• Additions-installation of new bathroom and kitchen including new wall between existing tailors room on first floor (00078:2613:163765)

• 1908 - 1990
• Redemptorist Church
• 1990
• present International Catholic Programme of Evangelisation

Not assessed

St Gerard’s is made up of two main parts, the church built in 1908 and the monastery built in 1931-32. They have been structurally integrated to form one cohesive building although the materials used in each construction are different. The architectural style of the building was set by Swan’s use of Gothic forms in the construction of the church. The high west-facing gable of the Church was reproduced by Clere in the design of the Monastery giving a balanced composition. Gothic forms are evident in the design, with pointed arched openings, lancet windows, pinnacles, stepped buttresses, steep pitched roofs and bell turret. These features all contribute to a strong vertical composition.

The interior of the Monastery is simple, with plain profiles to finishing timbers, and decoration is limited to some leaded windows with coloured glass, and carved tops to the main staircase newel posts. All of the windows in the Church are stained glass made in Birmingham by John Hardman & Co. The were financed by Wellington and Hawkes Bay families and donated to the Redemptorists and installed in the Church in 1909.

Relatively few changes have been made to the fabric of the building, the most significant being the construction of an open car park deck in the front of the building. This resulted in the demolition of the original entrance and cloister, an intricate composition of brickwork forms that the building is poorer for losing. Inside several fire-stop doors have been added. Inside the church altar rails and other liturgical items have been removed but the form and fabric is unaltered.

Church

The church is a one storey, unreinforced brick masonry building in cavity construction. The roof structure comprises eight heavy king-post trusses spanning across the nave. The roof sarking is diagonal tongue and groove boarding and the sheathing is slates. The floor is timber.

Monastery

The monastery is cast in-situ reinforced concrete with a plaster finish. The floors are concrete with structural steel beams encased in concrete in a number of locations. The cladding is brick veneer to the external walls and Welsh Countess slates to the roof on heavy timber framing.

St Gerard’s acts as an important landmark and defines the Mt Victoria and Oriental Bay area. St Gerard’s is situated on a prominent cliff top and as such provides a visual land mark for the city. It contributes considerably to the character of Wellington when viewed from the city, and particularly when viewed as a part of a view shaft with the Victoria University Hunter building, sited on an opposite hill.

• Architectural

  Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?

  This building has value as a significant example of the Gothic revival style of architecture in New Zealand. Its style, scale, materials, quality, and craftsmanship all give St Gerard’s architectural value. As a whole it is also a representative example of two of Wellington and New Zealand’s most prominent architects, John Swan and Frederick de Jersey Clere.

• Group

  Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?

  St Gerard’s is made up of two buildings – the Church and the Monastery, which relate to each other as a set. They are coherent in history, use, scale, and materials.

• Townscape

  Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington?

  This building has substantial townscape value for the part it plays in defining the Mt Victoria and Oriental bay areas. It is situated on a prominent cliff top and as such provides a visual land mark for the city. It contributes considerably to the character of Wellington when viewed from the city, and particularly when viewed as a part of a view shaft with the Victoria University Hunter building, sited on an opposite hill. St Gerard’s is an unmistakeable element of the Wellington landscape.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

  This building has played a role in the lives of Wellingtonians for over a century and as such has significant historical value for the city. This building is primarily associated with the Redemptorist faith, while the Church is the first in the world to be dedicated to Italian saint Gerard Majella. It is also associated with prominent architects John Swan and Frederick de Jersey Clere.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?

  This building is associated with the development of religious life in Wellington city and has had the role of ambassador to the general populace due to its historical associations with national radio. As a centre of World War Two civil defence this building is also associated with the community and reactions to wartime on the home front.  

• Archaeological

  Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity?

  Central City NZAA R27/270 – The St Gerard’s site has been occupied since before the turn of the century, so it is likely that there will be archaeological deposits on the land.

• Educational

  Does the item have educational value for what it can demonstrate about aspects of the past?

  There is educational value in the design of St Gerard’s Church and Monastery for the insight that it can provide into the history if architecture in Wellington City, the design of Churches and Monasteries in New Zealand, and the history of the Redemptorists as an element of wider Catholicism.

• Technological

  Does the item have technological value for its innovative or important construction methods or use of materials?

  This building has technological value in the harmonious integration of two buildings that are separated by just over two decades. The St Gerard’s building as a whole can be used to demonstrate the way that buildings were constructed early in the 1900s and the new technologies that were developed in the time between, particularly in relation to earthquakes e.g. reinforced concrete.

• Identity Sense Of Place Continuity

  Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity?

  From its superb site overlooking Wellington Harbour St Gerard's Church, remains a highly visible symbol of commitment and devotion for members of the Catholic Church as well as the general public. The spectacular location of the church and its combination with the large and impressive monastery has made the building one of Wellington's most significant and well-known landmarks.

• Public Esteem

  Is the item held in high public esteem?

  This building is held in high public esteem as a fine example of John Swan and Frederick de Jersey Clere’s Gothic-revival architecture. Its position on the cliffs of Mt Victoria above Oriental Bay make this building easily identifiable from almost anywhere in the city and as such it has a high public value. Recent public reactions to the proposal of demolition show that this building is an important feature for both religious and secular Wellingtonians.

• Sentiment Connection

  Is the item a focus of community sentiment and connection?

  This building has been a landmark in Wellington for a century contributing greatly to a sense of community connection and sentiment. The high level of authenticity has lead to it being one of the most recognisable and significant landmark buildings in Wellington.

• Symbolic Commemorative Traditional Spiritual

  Does the item have symbolic, commemorative, traditional, spiritual or other cultural value for the community who has used and continues to use it?

  This building contributes to a sense of national and international spiritual identity through its connections with the Catholic Church. As the first purpose-built monastery established by the Redemptorists in New Zealand the building reflects the strengthening of their position in this country. It is also the first mission centre established by ICPE in New Zealand. Its continuing use as a centre for the work of the Catholic Church gives the building a strong spiritual significance

• Authentic

  Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?

  The level of authenticity of the building is very high, with all main spaces relatively unaltered and the finishes and joinery intact. Few modifications have negatively affected this building and it retains a great deal of original integrity.

• Rare

  Is the item rare, unique, unusual, seminal, influential, or outstanding?

  Overall this building is of outstanding cultural heritage significance. St Gerard’s is an important example of Gothic Revival architecture practiced in New Zealand by some of the most prominent architects in our history. Its landmark status, townscape value, and value as two buildings that have been successfully integrated have led to St Gerard’s as a whole becoming iconic.

• Local Regional National International

  Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?

  The St Gerard’s Church and Monastery is important at all levels, it is a highly significant heritage building not only for Wellington but for New Zealand. A case can also be made for international importance but this is secondary to its national relevance.

  Locally (1) for the role it plays in the Wellington townscape as an important and attractive landmark, (2) for its long association with Wellington and the part that it has played in the history of Wellington, particularly during times of crisis such as the Great Depression and World War Two; regionally as it is has been a Wellington provincial parish church; nationally due to (1) the popularity of the Church choir and the feature of the church devotions on national radio from the 1020s to the 1960s (2) as the first purpose-built monastery established by the Redemptorists in New Zealand (3) its role in World War efforts as a civil defense centre; and internationally as it was the first Church in the world dedicated to Italian saint Gerard Majella.

   

• Representative

  Is the item a good example of the class it represents?

  St Gerard’s Church and Monastery is a good example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture as it was practiced in New Zealand. It is representative of the changing needs of the church over time and the design is a good representative of the technologies and materials that were available at the time used to a very high standard.

Not assessed

• Cohran, Chris. St Gerard’s Monastery, Hawker Street Wellington. Unpublished Conservation Plan, prepared prepared for International Catholic Programme of Evangelisation, New Zealand Branch 73-75 Hawker Street Wellington. 1995.
• Historic Places Trust. “John Swan”. Professional Biographies. Accessed October 17 2012.
• Historic Places Trust. “Frederick de Jersey Clere”. Professional Biographies. Accessed 17 October 2012.
• Wellington City Council. “75 Hawker Street."
• Inventory 2001: Non-Residential Buildings. Wellington City Council 2001. Hawk 1.
• Photographer unidentified. St Gerard's Church and Monastery, Hawker Street, Oriental Bay, Wellington, circa 1907-1909. Father Patrick Clunie stands alongside. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. Accessed 17 October 2012.
• Public appeal mooted for St Gerard’s’, accessed 12 June 2013,
• Pannett, Iona. Accessed 12 June 2013.
• ‘ St Gerard’s needs $10 Mill to survive’. Accessed 12 June 2013.
• St Gerard's Monastery, Mount Victoria, Wellington. Negatives of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1955/3002-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
• Wellington City Archives 00056-121-B10979-Plans
• Wellington City Archive 00053-143-7959-Plans

• Inventory Report
• 1908 drawings
• 1930 drawings

Not available