S A I N T D A V I D ' S H E R I T A G E A S S E S S M E N T
The St David’s Church building was constructed in 1927 as a soldier’s memorial church after World War 1. It was constructed to honour those who had served in the Great War and was designed to accommodate the disabled as all access ways are ramped and ‘listening posts’ were incorporated into the building to allow for the hearing impaired. The Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers, the Sappers, have a particularly close association with St David’s. From 1928 through until last year the Sappers have paraded at St David’s on ANZAC Day. The most honoured member of the Corps, Cyril Bassett, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on Chunuk Bair during the Gallipoli campaign, was a parishioner. He was married at the old St David’s just after the war. Within the church there are a number of memorials in honour of those who served in both world wars. The Nursing Corps also have strong association with St David’s and a memorial within the church. St Davids is one of the few memorial churches constructed in New Zealand after the first world war and was among the first of the memorials built after the war throughout the country, predating the cenotaph at the Auckland Museum by two years, indeed predating the museum itself. (1929)