Hobsonville Church

The Hobsonville Church & Settlers' Cemetery is a historic church building and cemetery located in Hobsonville, Auckland, New Zealand, and listed as a Category II building by Heritage New Zealand. The church and cemetery were constructed by the original Hobsonville settlers in 1875. Many of the early settlers and their families are interred at the cemetery. The property features a cemetery with a small Gothic-influenced verncular wooden church. The church has a gable roof. The windows are double-hung sashes and the flooring has tongue and groove boards. Inside the nave are two plaques commemorating the settlers who built the church and the first five trustees, the former was installed for the diamond jubilee. The church initially featured a porch, but this was later turned into an entryway sometime between the early 1900s and 1963. Several of the graves incorporate ceramics and pottery into the design of tombs and headstones. Some plots feature ceramic markets instead of traditional stone or wood, some plots are constructed from ceramic bricks, and a cremation wall uses ceramic pipes. These practices are unique to the area. Many of those interred at the cemetery are the original settlers and their descents. Notably, Rice Owen Clark, Joshua Carder, and Joshua Ockleston are all buried there. Many children are buried in the cemetery, with some of their graves being unmarked, likely due to high infant mortality in the late 19th century in New Zealand. The entrance to the property is paved with ceramic bricks and features a wrought iron gate that was taken from the old Hobsonville School before its demolition. The growth of the settlement of Hobsonville created a need for a dedicated facility for burials, church services, and education. Previously education and church services were held in private homes. In 1875 Rice Owen Clark donated an acre of land to serve as a cemetery and a combined church and school. The building was completed in early 1876 by John Danby. Robert Sommerville hosted the Presbyterian services at the church before later becoming Moderator of the General Assembly. Following the passing of Education Act 1877, the land was transferred to a group of

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