The Chapel of Faith is the eighth heritage site published on Tohu Heritage, and the second at Waikumete Cemetery alongside the Corban Mausoleum.
Built in 1886 as a mortuary chapel, it is the oldest building in the cemetery, and served burial services for more than sixty years until the present chapel complex opened in 1952. It is a single-storey building of double brick and plaster, laid out in the shape of a Greek Cross and aligned north to south and east to west, with a vaulted timber ceiling under a Welsh slate roof.
Restoration was completed in 1986, when it was renamed the Chapel of Faith in the Oaks. A later programme by Architecture & Conservation Limited brought it to seismic standards and repaired damage from ground movement and water penetration. It is used today for weddings, blessings and funeral services, and as a film location. You can explore the Chapel of Faith now.
Heritage New Zealand lists it as a Category 2 historic place, List No. 2605, registered in 1983. That listing predates current information requirements and records no build date, architect or significance statement. The 1886 date and the building’s description come from other sources, which is its own small argument for documenting a place properly while it still stands.
The capture, processing and publication were all carried out voluntarily, at no cost to the cemetery or its custodians.
A note from the founder
Faith is a strong word. I moved from Brazil to New Zealand ten years ago, and the journey since has taken me to places I never expected to stand in front of. A chapel like this one, built in 1886 and still here, is what reminds me how grateful I am to have ended up in this country.
