Paul says he couldn’t let that happen to another significant historical building. “I lived through the 1980s and saw the demolition of His Majesty’s Theatre and so much of the fabric of our city that made it a very beautiful place. There is relatively little left.”



He thought he could tell some people and someone would pick up the project, because who would want to see it demolished? “But eight years later, I am still here. I guess I felt if I didn’t take responsibility for it, who would?”



Finding the money to buy the church was just the first step; the magnitude of the restoration is presenting a huge challenge. “We have had some fantastic support for what we have been doing, but we need a lot more. The philosophy is to do an absolute minimum to retain the history, integrity and beauty of the place. But also, it’s just a financial necessity. We don’t have the money.”



After researching the condition of the building, the project started with replacing or repairing lintels, leadlight windows, Ōamaru stone window surrounds, painting and carpets. But there is an endless list of things to do.



The good news is most of the brickwork is in great condition. But that’s where it ends. Paul describes the Ōamaru stone window surrounds as “melting like ice cream”. The restoration of the stone includes flying the best Ōamaru stone mason up from Christchurch to undertake a delicate operation that keeps the leadlight windows intact: “You need the best experts and the best craftspeople who know what they are doing.” 

During Auckland’s wettest winter, it took 10 buckets and a children’s paddling pool to capture the leaks from the north slate roof. After three goes at trying to fix it, the Friends of St David’s Trust became resigned to fully replacing the roof. Paul describes it as “enormously challenging”.