Our History

In 1854 the first services were held under the ministry of Irish Presbyterian the Rev John Macky (based in Papatoetoe) in a house property in Drake Street, Howick.

In 1872 two acres of land were purchased and in 1873 St Andrew’s Church was built.

In 1903 it was extended to cope with prospective growth and the church served as a worship centre for nearly 110 years.

In 1907 a second church had been built in Uxbridge Road in the village and Presbyterians met for worship in both places, until 1979 steps were begun to centralise and unify the Presbyterian community in Howick.

The present St Andrew’s Church Centre was opened with great joy in 1981 and has served as a wonderful focus for worship, learning, counselling and community service ever since. In May 2000 extensions and refurbishments to the Centre were dedicated and in 2001 a project to conserve the original St Andrew's  (now known as the chapel)  was launched. These projects are part of a wider vision called Building  a  New Tomorrow. The refurbished chapel will be officially dedicated in March 2004, at the church's 150th Jubilee celebrations.

During its long history, Howick Presbyterian Church has resourced the establishment of Christian congregations at Bucklands Beach, Beachlands and Botany - this last an Ecumenical Project which has now been discontinued. Our sister congregation St Columba is now based in that area. Howick Presbyterian has also been closely involved with the establishment of  the Auckland Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which has grown from a small study group to a fully fledged Congregation in that time.

This historic chapel was rededicated as part of 150th jubilee on March 27th 2004.