Designed by pre-eminent Dunedin Robert Lawson it was constructed in 1870 to serve a rapidly developing area of the city which became notorious for its slum housing, poverty and crime which led to it being referred to as the "Devil's Half-Acre" from 1873 onwards.

Many of these newcomers set up a tent town on vacant land of the slopes of the foothills near the harbour close to Stafford and Walker (now Carroll) Streets.

[1] Bounded by Maitland, Maclaggan and Princes Streets, the tents began to be replaced by cheaply constructed wooden shacks, which were overlooked by the houses of Dunedin's elite on the upper slopes.

Cook soon came to the view that it was necessary to provide some temporary church accommodation to service the growing community, and made an offer, free of rent, of a quarter of an acre for the purpose.

Arrangements were made with Cook and Rachel Reynolds, that the former in his sub-lease from Napier should give up the ½ acre section on the corner of Walker (now Carroll) and Melville Streets.

By 1868, the parish was able to freehold the site, and in September of that year, the Deacon's Court had approved the plans proposed by prominent local architect Robert Lawson.

To assist in this mission to what was by now the city's de facto red-light district the church implemented a "Collection for the Poor" in February 1873 to provide funds for social services.

It grew into a sprawling multi-ethnic mix of cheap housing, poverty, bars, prostitution, gambling, opium dens and factories.

There are claims that Gow had disgraced himself with drink which resolved the congregation to seek an exemplary candidate, which they felt could only be obtained by recruiting a minister from Scotland.

"I well remember the meeting on the footpath outside the Church door in Melville Street where excited groups of earnest men and women discussed the sermon, and it was then and there decided he would do for St Andrew's, and nobody else need apply.

[11] At this time St Andrew's parish stretched from the lower reaches of prosperous Mornington, home to the middle-class as well as rich merchants and notable residents such as William Reynolds, seed merchants Robert Nimmo and John Blair, importer Alexander S. Paterson and drapery owner Thomas Brown – all the way down to the overcrowded slums and sleaze of the Devil's Half-Acre.

[7] Waddell threw himself immediately into the life of his challenging parish, reinvigorating St Andrews after its hiatus without a permanent minister with the impassioned directness of his sermons soon won the confidence of the congregation.

[7] By 1883, the church itself had been plastered, possibly in an attempt to manage dampness issues, and the basement floor was lined to provide space for the Sunday School which could accommodate 350 children.

Waddell believed that the Christian gospel should be actively interpreted through social justice so he responded with a number of practical church-based initiatives – the moribund Ladies Association was restructured within three years of his arrival and charged with distributing food, clothing, coal and blankets to the poor of the parish.

In November he took the matter to the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Otago and Southland and a motion was passed deploring the existence of sweating in New Zealand.

The sermon which is now regarded as a pivotal moment in New Zealand's labour history inspired George Fenwick, editor of the Otago Daily Times, to investigate.

[1] The resulting articles in the newspaper on the working conditions in clothing manufacturing and shoe making industries galvanised church, labour leaders and the public, leading to the establishment of a Royal Commission, on which Waddell reserved.

While its majority report denied that "sweating" existed in New Zealand, it did recommend that a comprehensive new Factory Act and other sweeping reforms be implemented.

In an effort to help the disadvantaged children in the parish Waddell in conjunction with Rachel Reynolds, journalist Mark Cohen and Lavinia Kelsey was instrumental in establishing the Dunedin Free Kindergarten Association.

Donald Stuart refused to allow facilities at Knox Church to be made available for a kindergarten claiming that he would "far sooner see the children playing in the gutters than be brought under this new-fangled Yankee notion"..[14] At Waddell's request, St Andrew's agreed to make available, rent free, the church's recently opened Walker Street Mission Hall.

Realizing the limitations of voluntary efforts by the well-meaning middle-class women of the Friendly Aid Society, Waddell in 1901 suggested that a Deaconess be employed by the parish.

He overcame the wariness of the Deacons Court by agreeing to personally fund from the proceeds of a lecture series her £90 salary for a one-year trial.

The Presbyterian Deaconess movement quickly spread throughout New Zealand providing dedicated women who were effectively fulltime parish social workers.

Duncan continued to act as the equivalent of a full time social worker for the next 22 years, and was actively involved in the expansion of the Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union.

Waddell was deeply committed to overseas missions which resulted in the congregation raising £136 in 1905 to send Margaret Anderson (1877–1960) as a missionary to Canton now Guangzhou in China.

[17] In 1911 the church opened a dedicated Sunday school building on Carroll street which was designed on scientific lines to meet the requirements of modern education.

[10] Recorded worshipers at St. Andrew's rose from 450 in 1910 to peak at 520 in 1916 and 1917 before declining as central city congregations lost worshippers due to population moving to the newly developing suburbs.

[18] From 1916 individual Presbyterian churches in Dunedin marked Anzac Day with united services where people from other Protestant denominations present.

On St Andrew's Day, 27 November 1977 an anniversary service, commemorating Waddell's "Sin of Cheapness" sermon was held, with lessons read by the managing director of Hallenstein Bros. Ltd and the Secretary of the Clothing Trades Union.

At each corner of the church is a battlemented 15 feet (4.6 m) square tower, finished with stone corbels and embrasured coping, at the base of which is an entrance porch, stairwell and vestry rooms.