The lychgate, rock wall and a memorial garden containing the ashes of 30 parishioners are all that remain of the church that once played a prominent role in the weddings, funerals and worship of many Sumner residents but was demolished in 2015 after suffering damage in the February 22, 2011 earthquake.
As well as the church, the wall and lychgate were marked for destruction in red zone clearance plans. They were saved after a campaign by local residents with the help of then Port Hills MP, Ruth Dyson.
Since the earthquakes, the lychgate and memorial garden have been fenced off in the rockfall hazard zone under the Sumner cliffs. But time and neglect have taken their toll, with the lychgate in urgent need of restaining and broken slates on the roof requiring replacement. The memorial garden had also become overgrown.
A working bee last week of Sumner and Redcliffs residents and city council staff, co-ordinated by council community partnerships ranger Sarah Mankelow, restained the lychgate and weeded the rock wall and memorial garden.
Next year, staff from the council’s heritage department will repair the lychgate roof and restore a commemorative plaque to Mulholland.
“What we’ve done so far is wonderful. It has transformed the area and revived an important link with the past. It means a lot to us,” said Liz Conly, who helped organise the working bee and whose parents ashes are buried in the garden.
Mankelow said a city council proposal to enhance the area behind the lychgate with native plantings will go out for public feedback next year.
It has also planned to allow better access to the lychgate and memorial garden.
Relatives of those whose ashes are in the garden will be granted occasional access under council supervision to care for the site and remember their relatives, and it is hoped that the fence will eventually be moved behind the lychgate.
