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Alexandra-Clyde Presbyterian Parish, Central Otago
The first service at Alexandra was held about 1862.
It was in May 1865 that the Rev. James Copland ... was ordained as the first Goldfields minister, with a parish that extended from Waitahuna to Cromwell, and Presbyterian services were held in Alexandra and Clyde with some semblance of regularity. A wooden church was built at Clyde.
The first minister for Alexandra and Clyde, Rev. Munro, was appointed in 1867. He did not fit in with the goldfields community and the Church Extension Committee withdrew him at the request of the parish and his replacement, Rev. C.S. Ross was ordained in April 1868, ministering to an area from St. Bathans to Fruitlands, Blackstone Hill and Naseby. Early visits were always met by many parents wanting their children baptised.
When it came to building a manse, a decision could not be made because of the parochialism between the two district communities of Clyde and Alexandra. Presbytery decided to build it as a compromise in Mutton Town Gully, halfway between Alexandra and Clyde, at a cost of £496.
Rev. A.G. Boyd served from September 1874 to April 1878.
The midway manse was shifted for him to Alexandra for £161 and re-erected in Alexandra after 1871. The Church committee formed 1867. St. Enoch's, Alexandra, opened in the same year.
St. Enoch's church was opened in 1877 seating 140.
In 1879 a Kirk Session was formed ... the following year saw the purchase of a church site in Clyde and of a block of land in Alexandra for a glebe [in October 1881, fronting Bringans St, Shannon St and Ventry St, one block away from the church and manse.] A buggy was purchased for the minister (the Rev. J. Lothian) ...," the longest serving minister, from March 1879 to June 1899. He took an interest in the affairs of the district, serving on the Hospital Board and school committee. By this time Lauder had its own minister.
Services at Clyde started in a room at the Clyde School in the 1860s and welcomed Presbyterian, Anglican and Catholic worshippers. The Clyde church was built in 1894 after a series of fundraising concerts.
Church life continued quietly for years, until at the end of the 19th century when the population of Alexandra soared when dredges began to operate on the Clutha River. The church reported increased attendances and finance. Youth work and Sunday Schools flourished. St. Enoch's added a transept and a vestry in 1901. St. Enoch's church hall, costing £424, was opened in 1929 to accommodate the large number of Sunday School pupils. The church sold two sections of the glebe for £642 from which the Synod claimed back £225. In June 1931 the Earnscleugh church opened and services were held at Galloway and Fruitlands.
The Rev. Dallard, 1945-1951 was an accomplished musician, and encouraged the dedication of the memorial pipe organ in 1952. The interior of the church was renovated in 1955 at the time of the 90th celebrations during the ministry of Rev. Keith Cree.
Rev. Tom Hay was inducted in 1958. He belonged to Presbytery, Synod, Dunstan High School Committee, Columba Board of Governors, a player and umpire of cricket, the New Zealand Cricket Council, the Returned Service Association, and President of the local St. John Ambulance and Birthright. He died aged 53 in 1966.
The choir loft was built in 1965-1966. The porch was completed in 1965, built of concrete blocks faced with stone from the Alexandra jail.
Rev. David Carmichael was ordained in 1967 and Rev Alan Dunn soon joined in a dual ministry. St. Enoch's Sunday School was catering for 238 members, St. Mungo's 46, St. Columba 95, and the Bible Class was flourishing.
Parish Council, 1969. In 1970 the Alexandra-Clyde Union Parish was inaugurated. Included were about 40 Methodist homes.
It was in May 1865 that the Rev. James Copland ... was ordained as the first Goldfields minister, with a parish that extended from Waitahuna to Cromwell, and Presbyterian services were held in Alexandra and Clyde with some semblance of regularity. A wooden church was built at Clyde.
The first minister for Alexandra and Clyde, Rev. Munro, was appointed in 1867. He did not fit in with the goldfields community and the Church Extension Committee withdrew him at the request of the parish and his replacement, Rev. C.S. Ross was ordained in April 1868, ministering to an area from St. Bathans to Fruitlands, Blackstone Hill and Naseby. Early visits were always met by many parents wanting their children baptised.
When it came to building a manse, a decision could not be made because of the parochialism between the two district communities of Clyde and Alexandra. Presbytery decided to build it as a compromise in Mutton Town Gully, halfway between Alexandra and Clyde, at a cost of £496.
Rev. A.G. Boyd served from September 1874 to April 1878.
The midway manse was shifted for him to Alexandra for £161 and re-erected in Alexandra after 1871. The Church committee formed 1867. St. Enoch's, Alexandra, opened in the same year.
St. Enoch's church was opened in 1877 seating 140.
In 1879 a Kirk Session was formed ... the following year saw the purchase of a church site in Clyde and of a block of land in Alexandra for a glebe [in October 1881, fronting Bringans St, Shannon St and Ventry St, one block away from the church and manse.] A buggy was purchased for the minister (the Rev. J. Lothian) ...," the longest serving minister, from March 1879 to June 1899. He took an interest in the affairs of the district, serving on the Hospital Board and school committee. By this time Lauder had its own minister.
Services at Clyde started in a room at the Clyde School in the 1860s and welcomed Presbyterian, Anglican and Catholic worshippers. The Clyde church was built in 1894 after a series of fundraising concerts.
Church life continued quietly for years, until at the end of the 19th century when the population of Alexandra soared when dredges began to operate on the Clutha River. The church reported increased attendances and finance. Youth work and Sunday Schools flourished. St. Enoch's added a transept and a vestry in 1901. St. Enoch's church hall, costing £424, was opened in 1929 to accommodate the large number of Sunday School pupils. The church sold two sections of the glebe for £642 from which the Synod claimed back £225. In June 1931 the Earnscleugh church opened and services were held at Galloway and Fruitlands.
The Rev. Dallard, 1945-1951 was an accomplished musician, and encouraged the dedication of the memorial pipe organ in 1952. The interior of the church was renovated in 1955 at the time of the 90th celebrations during the ministry of Rev. Keith Cree.
Rev. Tom Hay was inducted in 1958. He belonged to Presbytery, Synod, Dunstan High School Committee, Columba Board of Governors, a player and umpire of cricket, the New Zealand Cricket Council, the Returned Service Association, and President of the local St. John Ambulance and Birthright. He died aged 53 in 1966.
The choir loft was built in 1965-1966. The porch was completed in 1965, built of concrete blocks faced with stone from the Alexandra jail.
Rev. David Carmichael was ordained in 1967 and Rev Alan Dunn soon joined in a dual ministry. St. Enoch's Sunday School was catering for 238 members, St. Mungo's 46, St. Columba 95, and the Bible Class was flourishing.
Parish Council, 1969. In 1970 the Alexandra-Clyde Union Parish was inaugurated. Included were about 40 Methodist homes.
Alexandra-Clyde Presbyterian Parish, Central Otago. Presbyterian Research Centre, accessed 05/04/2026, https://pcanzarchives.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/8254
