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St Joseph's Catholic churches; 1864-1961 and 1965-onward.
History
History The original wooden church was built in 1864 on land owned by an early explorer of Upper Hutt, James Brown, whose wife Mary (a Roman Catholic) was largely responsible for the site.
That building was close to the Pine Avenue boundary, and over the years parishioners were buried in the surrounding churchyard; graves can be seen in Tanner Bros. postcard number 915, which dates from 1909-1925.
The parish hall also functioned as the Upper Hutt Primary School hall, and was frequently used for dances, 21st-birthday celebrations and so on. The bell had first been rung in 1870 by Mary Brown; it last rung in 1957 as by then the supporting structure of the church was considered to be unsafe.
By 1961 the church was falling into disrepair, with gaps in its weatherboarding, and was deemed too small for its congregation (a new parish, St Catherine's, had been established on the Main Road opposite Bristol Street in 1958; the last service there was held in 2002 and the site offered for sale by tender in October of that year; the church was demolished and the site is now occupied by a house).
The old St Joseph's was demolished on April 15, 1961 by parishioners under the leadership of Mr T. Hartley; one photograph shows corrugated iron being removed from the nave, with the tarred-paper moisture barrier and horizontal wooden sarking planks exposed. Another, printed in the Leader in 2000 with an article on the new foyer, shows the steeple being pulled down.
The new church was built nearer the western boundary; its architects were McKeefry and Benson. The church was opened and blessed by His Grace Archbishop McKeefry on August 29, 1965.
At the same time, an new presbytery was built; the Upper Hutt Club had purchased the previous brick building in Lyster Lane in 1960.
By 1973, final clearance involving an Act of Parliament had cleared the way for graves to be consolidated, and a lawn cemetery and memorial plaque listing people buried in the church grounds was blessed by Bishop Snedden on September 16.
After three years' planning, persistence and prayer, a new two-manual extension pipe organ was blessed by the parish priest, father N Donoghue, in November 1976. ('Leader', March 8, 1977)
In 1998, parishioner Maureen Clegg spent hours painstakingly cleaning and repainting the unusual etched windows (different from stained glass windows), which depict the Joyful and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, and tell of the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.
Lendrum and Associates designed a new foyer, and a free-standing belltower incorporating the statue of St Joseph which had been under the eaves at the church's southern gable; funds came from the estates of Mary Thomson and Dudley Tranter. A plan was printed in the Leader of January 19. 2000 and is also on Recollect. The Leader of May 24, 2000 printed a two-page feature on the completed project. The principal builder was B. J. Marriner and construction was run by Lendrum's Jason Wanden, a Heretaunga College old boy, who used local sub-contractors on a labour-only basis; the project came in under budget, and on time (before Easter).
The new features were opened and blessed by the head of the Catholic Church in New Zealand, Cardinal Thomas Williams, on April 16, 2000.
That building was close to the Pine Avenue boundary, and over the years parishioners were buried in the surrounding churchyard; graves can be seen in Tanner Bros. postcard number 915, which dates from 1909-1925.
The parish hall also functioned as the Upper Hutt Primary School hall, and was frequently used for dances, 21st-birthday celebrations and so on. The bell had first been rung in 1870 by Mary Brown; it last rung in 1957 as by then the supporting structure of the church was considered to be unsafe.
By 1961 the church was falling into disrepair, with gaps in its weatherboarding, and was deemed too small for its congregation (a new parish, St Catherine's, had been established on the Main Road opposite Bristol Street in 1958; the last service there was held in 2002 and the site offered for sale by tender in October of that year; the church was demolished and the site is now occupied by a house).
The old St Joseph's was demolished on April 15, 1961 by parishioners under the leadership of Mr T. Hartley; one photograph shows corrugated iron being removed from the nave, with the tarred-paper moisture barrier and horizontal wooden sarking planks exposed. Another, printed in the Leader in 2000 with an article on the new foyer, shows the steeple being pulled down.
The new church was built nearer the western boundary; its architects were McKeefry and Benson. The church was opened and blessed by His Grace Archbishop McKeefry on August 29, 1965.
At the same time, an new presbytery was built; the Upper Hutt Club had purchased the previous brick building in Lyster Lane in 1960.
By 1973, final clearance involving an Act of Parliament had cleared the way for graves to be consolidated, and a lawn cemetery and memorial plaque listing people buried in the church grounds was blessed by Bishop Snedden on September 16.
After three years' planning, persistence and prayer, a new two-manual extension pipe organ was blessed by the parish priest, father N Donoghue, in November 1976. ('Leader', March 8, 1977)
In 1998, parishioner Maureen Clegg spent hours painstakingly cleaning and repainting the unusual etched windows (different from stained glass windows), which depict the Joyful and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, and tell of the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.
Lendrum and Associates designed a new foyer, and a free-standing belltower incorporating the statue of St Joseph which had been under the eaves at the church's southern gable; funds came from the estates of Mary Thomson and Dudley Tranter. A plan was printed in the Leader of January 19. 2000 and is also on Recollect. The Leader of May 24, 2000 printed a two-page feature on the completed project. The principal builder was B. J. Marriner and construction was run by Lendrum's Jason Wanden, a Heretaunga College old boy, who used local sub-contractors on a labour-only basis; the project came in under budget, and on time (before Easter).
The new features were opened and blessed by the head of the Catholic Church in New Zealand, Cardinal Thomas Williams, on April 16, 2000.
Photos
Location
Coordinates[1] The current church, from Pine Avenue.[2] St Joseph's Hall.[3] The former presbytery.[4] The current presbytery.[5] St Joseph's School.
[2] St Joseph's Hall.[3] The former presbytery.[4] The current presbytery.[5] St Joseph's School.Details
Established1864
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St Joseph's Catholic churches; 1864-1961 and 1965-onward. . Upper Hutt Libraries, accessed 15/06/2026, https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/21846