Christ Church Cathedral, Nelson
Encyclopedia
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
. The cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
is located at upper Trafalgar Street.
History
In 1851 the first church was erected at a different site. In 1866 the church was named as Christ Church Cathedral. In 1887 a second church was constructedConstruction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
at the current site using much of the same materials of the previous cathedral. In 1925 the current church construction began. Construction was finished in 1965. The majority of marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
was sourced from the Pakikiruna Range, near Takaka. When construction started the marble was to be used in blocks. However after the Murchison
Murchison, New Zealand
Murchison is a town in the Tasman Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is near the western end of the "Four Rivers Plain", at the confluence of the Buller River and the Matakitaki River...
earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
this was deemed too risky and far too expensive. The marble was then ground down and mixed with plaster to give the unusual appearance and colour.
Steps
The stepsStairway
Stairway, staircase, stairwell, flight of stairs, or simply stairs are names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps...
are constructed from granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. This granite was sourced from Tonga Beach, which is now part of Abel Tasman National Park
Abel Tasman National Park
Abel Tasman National Park is a national park located at the north end of the South Island of New Zealand. The park was founded in 1942, largely through the efforts of ornithologist and author Perrine Moncrieff to have land reserved for the purpose. With a coverage of only 225.3 square kilometres,...
. There is now a monument that overlooks Trafalgar Street and celebrates 100 years of settlement in Nelson.
Organ
The first pipe organPipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
was constructed by T.C. Lewis in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and shipped to Nelson in 1871 . The organ was then rebuilt in 1932. After 30 years of use the organ was overhauled and now consists of over 2000 pipes. The organ is spread over 3 manuals and pedals, and has a detached electric-action console situated on a gallery opposite the pipes in the Chancel. .