A memorial seat made from Hinuera stone – built in 1983 to commemorate a century of worship by the Presbyterian congregation -has been damaged by a vehicle.
Families walk towards the Presbyterian church on Victoria Street on their way to attend a service on 21 June 1970. Photo: Reg Buckingham Collection, Cambridge Museum.
Details of what happened to the seat outside the Good Union Restaurant on the corner of Whitaker and Victoria streets are sketchy but sources say the damage was done sometime last Thursday.
The foundation stone of the Trinity Presbyterian Church was laid on 2 March 1898 by Rev William Evans, and was opened three months later on 22 June at a cost of £813 6/11d.
Work began in 2018 to renovate the Pink Church into Good Union. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
A typical Gothic style in kauri and rimu, this building was built by J Lye & Sons from designs by architect Mr E Bartley, to comfortably seat 250 parishioners.
It was the first public building in the district to be illuminated by acetylene gas. F C Daniel was architect to changes to the church in 1926
The Presbyterian and Methodist churches united in 1975 after an arsonist razed the Methodist church. The Trinity St Paul’s Union church had been built in its place on the corner of Queen and Bryce Streets and the old Presbyterian church building was sold to Gordon and Barbara Campbell to become the Cambridge Country Store.They painted it pink and it became known locally as the Pink Church.
In 1992 it became the Cambridge Country Store and in 2016, it opened as the Good Union, home to Good George Brewing.
One end of the memorial seat made of Hinuera stone is broken but details are sketchy. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
