1840's

In 1847, Onehunga was designated by Anglican Bishop Selwyn as a ‘parish district’. That same year a Crown grant of one acre in Onehunga was made to the bishop “as a site for the erection of a church”. The first church was built, in timber, on this site in 1848 (one of the earliest church buildings in Auckland). The first service was held on Saint Peter’s Day, 29 June 1848. This site has remained a centre of worship and parish life ever since.

As the parish grew, under the guidance of its amazing founder-vicar, Arthur Guyon Purchas, so the original wooden church was extended into a much larger building. Porches were added, the nave and the sanctuary were extended, and alterations were made to the heights of the roof and windows. By 1875 the church had reached semi-permanence. It remained almost unchanged for the next 55 years, and was known and loved as a fine example of the ‘Selwyn’ style of church building. The bell, from England, was installed in the tower in 1877; it replaced a much smaller bell.

In the 1920’s a decision was made to rebuild the church in permanent materials. 1930 saw the wooden chancel, sanctuary and tower demolished. The transepts were shifted thirty feet, and a new chancel, sanctuary and tower were built of reinforced concrete with a light sandstone finish. The 1877 bell was hung in the new tower, and is still rung before Sunday services.

1970-1980’s

By the 1970’s it was apparent that the old timber nave, which had been attached roughly to the 1930 tower block as a ‘temporary nave’, was needing major repairs and extension if it was to meet the needs of the parish. The congregation discussed all the possibilities of retaining the old building, but finally in 1974 they made the decision to build a new church in permanent materials wrapped around the 1930 tower block.

In 1980, after the congregation had moved their worship space to the parish hall (Grey Street), construction of the new church began. The Auckland School of Architecture bought the old wooden building and reconstructed it on a piece of disused railway land near the vicarage (Grey Street) and it is still in use as the Onehunga Scout Den. The architectural students were able to discover the secrets of building a ‘Selwyn Church’ through their experience of rebuilding the old wooden St Peter's structure. The new church was designed by a local architect called Graeme Pearce. The congregation shifted back to the new church in time for Christmas 1980, even though work was not finished. The new building was completed and paid for in time for its consecration on Saint Peter’s Day, 28 June 1981, the 133rd birthday of the parish.

Today

The church complex now combines the function of church and community centre. In the main church area all the furniture can be moved easily to suit the needs of services, meetings, and other activities. The 1930 section of the building can be closed off from the main area by folding doors, thus creating a chapel space for smaller services and private prayer.

Suspended high between the main church area and chapel is a cross made from timber from the original church. In the chapel can be seen two ‘Saint Peter’ (‘feed my sheep’ and ‘let down your nets’) stained-glass windows erected in the early 1950’s, plus the original permanent baptismal font that dates back to the early 1850’s. The organ, built in 1952, and extensively rebuilt and extended in 1981, is recognised as a fine instrument, ideally suited to the size of the building. At the other end of the main church area is a contemporary stained-glass window (designed by Bill MacCormick and crafted by Mary Taka) that depicts Onehunga, past-and-present. This window was dedicated on 8 July 2001.

At the Onehunga Mall end of the building is a parish lounge/small hall named ‘The Bridge’. It acts as the church’s ‘shop-front’ linking church, main street shops, local businesses, commercial enterprises and the wider Onehunga community.