Constructed in 1847 to a designed from Frederick Thatcher and located on a site picked by Bishop George Augustus Selwyn, it is one of the oldest churches in Auckland and is registered as a category 1 historic building by Heritage New Zealand.

In preparation for the settlement the government gave a grant of an acre to the Anglican Church.

Bishop Selwyn picked the site himself and had Frederick Thatcher design it.

The church was a prefabricated construction, with this taking place at the nearby St John's College before being moved via boat and later by hand to the site to be put together.

[1] Originally built to a cruciform plan with equal span transepts, chancel and nave, with a tower.