Celebration organiser Alasdair Morrison, a long-standing member of the church community, said 90 people had come together for a celebration dinner on Saturday night, and church service on Sunday. Among them was the Baptist Union of New Zealand national leader Charles Hewlett.
A celebration cake was cut by stalwart church members Eleanor Moyle and Warren "Poppa" Ockwell, whose families’ involvement with South Dunedin Baptist Church stretched back many years.
Mrs Moyle’s grandfather was one of the team which built the current church building, in King Edward St, in 1923-24.
"We had a fantastic weekend of celebrations, and were fortunate to have been able to borrow historic materials from the Hocken Collections covering the church’s history.
"Particularly photographs of many of the original people involved and the original building," Mr Morrison said.
The Sunday services became very popular and it became evident that a larger building would be needed, and so a church was built in Oxford St and opened in 1883.
After 40 years, it was decided a bigger church was needed, and that it should be on the main street. The foundation stones were laid in September, 1923, and the new church in King Edward St opened six months later.
Years later, a new Sunday school-church hall was built at the back of the building, and in the 1990s Rainbow Preschool started up in the hall.
When the hall fell into disrepair and was demolished, a new building was built to house the hall and Rainbow Preschool on the site next to the church. The preschool is governed by a trust board and caters for up to 75 children, from babies to school age.
