This Baptist Church Centre, designed for a growing congregation, was opened for worship on 2 April, 1977.
The architect was Oliver H. Donnell of Auckland, the building contractors Riddick Bros & Still Ltd, and the engineers H. Schmidli & R. Pfenniger of Christchurch.
The foundation stone for the first Baptist Church in New Plymouth was laid by the Rev. John Whiteley on 11 March, 1868. It was located on the corner of Gill and Liardet Streets. Its early use as a place of worship is somewhat sketchy, however 1893 is the date fixed as the formal constitution of the New Plymouth Baptist Church.
On 5 October 1913 a new Baptist Tabernacle was opened in Liardet Street. This ferro-concrete structure in the "Grecian style" was built by Robert Coleman. It was demolished in 1975/76 to make way for the present Baptist Church.
Further reading: New Plymouth Baptist Church Centenary. (TRCT 286.1 NEW).
Related documents:
Baptist Church Progress (Taranaki Herald 11 November 1976)
Points of Order (Daily News 24 November 1976)
Programme for opening of Baptist Church Centre (2 April 1977)
Baptist Church, Gill Street, New Plymouth [plan]
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