St John’s Church (Presbyterian) - Arrowtown, South Island, New Zealand
Posted by: 
BruceS
S 44° 56.434 E 168° 49.723
59G E 328692 N 5021358
Plaque commemorating the opening and dedication of historic Presbyterian Church in Arrowtown, New Zealand.
Waymark Code: WMHK25
Location: South Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 07/17/2013
Views: 17
Popularly known as the ‘Citadel at the Gate’, St John’s Church (Presbyterian) has been located at the "entrance" to Arrowtown since 1873. The stone church was was designed by Invercargill architect Frederick William Burwell in a Gothic Revival style. The church was the second church building constructed in Arrowtown and the first stone church built in the region. The church features a unique feature of a bedroom annex to the vestry reflecting it early history of having traveling pastors who needed a place to stay prior to conducting their serve.
The church was opened and dedicated by Reverend Andrew Stoba who was the Moderator of the Southland Presbytery. Reverend A.H. Stoba was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church in 1860 and was located in Invercargill, New Zealand, he was a pioneering missionary in the church. He spent much of his time visiting the many remote outposts and mining camps in the region. According to book "The Story of the Otego Church and Settlement" he is referred to as the "father of Presbyterianism in the South". For the opening of this church he would have traveled by horseback from Invercargill, a considerable distance.
The dedication plaque reads:
To The Glory Of God
This Presbyterian Church
Of St John's Arrowtown
Was Opened And Dedicated
By Rev Andrew Stobo
Moderator Of
Southland Presbytery
On 6th July 1873