First Church of Otago: Beautiful Looking Gothic Style Church in Dunedin
I went to visit the First Church of Otago in Dunedin. There was a big sign at the front which said, “Welcome to First Church. From dawn to dusk the grounds are open to the public. For your health and safety no dogs are allowed and a 24 hour liquor ban is in force.”
The sky was really blue and it looked really beautiful in the background. The first church had a tall tower at the front that rose up against the sky.
The church looked so lovely! The architecture was really unique. It was a Gothic style church.
The church was made of a really light stone. There were lots of narrow and tall windows on all sides of the church. The doorway was huge and there were arches at the main door. I stood right at the base of the tower and looked up, admiring the view.
The tower had four sides. There were windows, pillars and steeples on all four sides. The roofs were very steep and were topped by crosses.
The main body of the church had a sloping roof. The windows had carvings around the edges. There weren’t any stained glass in the windows but the First Church still looked really nice. There were green lawns all around the church. The grass had been cut neatly and the lawns looked very well kept.
One of the towers that rose up from behind the church had a unique mint green roof. This was different from the rest of the church, which was brown and cream.
There was a sign in front showing the way to the First Church Office, Burns Hall, the Heritage Center and Presbyterian Support (this church isn’t Anglican like the St. Paul’s Cathedral). The Sunday services took place at 10am, 12pm and 2pm. They were all in different languages. There were flower beds everywhere.
The approach to the First Church of Otago was lovely. The church looked really striking as visitors walked up the road towards the building.
The sun was shining on the tower. But I could see that the other parts of the church lay in shadow. There were some trees where all the leaves had fallen. I was sure the garden would look extremely beautiful in summer and spring.
But some of the flowers were still blooming. White and purple flowers were growing in the beds and they added some brightness to the area. I could see Burns Hall in the background.
There were some benches on the lawns. They looked a little worn and faded. Lamps had also been placed around the lawns to provide light in the evenings. The trees looked really old and they provided some shade from the warm afternoon sunshine.
The church had three separate gates right next to each other. The gates were all open and welcomed people inside. The pair of gates at the center was for cars to enter. On either side, there were two smaller gates where people could walk in.
The metal sculpture of a tree had been placed at the center of the lawn.
There was also a plaque telling visitors about the First Church of Otago. I knew that the church had first been built in the 1800s. But the plaque said that it had been restored in 1992-93 and it gave the names of the people who had given grants for the church to be restored.
In another section of the gardens, there was a metal bell.
The bell was even older than the church. It had first been built on a hill. The hill had then been levelled so that the church could be built. Once upon a time, the bell called people for the Sunday worship and also marked the hours of the day.
I could see that cameras had been installed on the roof of the church.
I walked around the building and took photos from all sides.
There was a wooden side door which also led inside the church.
There was a plaque for the tree of life in the garden.
It was right next to the church building.
I went outside the gates to take pictures.
It was a final look back at the First Church of Otago.
There was a plaque outside commemorating the people who had set up the church.
