St Mary's Church

One of Timaru's oldest stone buildings — a solid piece of Gothic revival colonial architecture

St Mary's Anglican Church is a dignified example of the Gothic revival style that dominated colonial church architecture throughout New Zealand. Built from local stone, it has the lancet windows, pointed arches, and solid proportions typical of the period — designed by architects working from English models, built by tradesmen who knew their craft.

It is one of the oldest surviving stone buildings in Timaru and worth a look as a piece of colonial heritage, particularly if you have already walked the town centre and are interested in how the early Canterbury settlement built for permanence. The churchyard contains some early graves that give a sense of the community's history. The church is generally accessible during the day when services are not in progress.

things to do sight
A story
St Mary's is one of the oldest stone buildings in Timaru, built in the Gothic revival style that Anglican congregations favoured in colonial New Zealand. It is modest by English cathedral standards but entirely respectable by the standards of a mid-nineteenth-century Canterbury settlement, and the stonework has aged well.