According to the Tarata School & District Centennial (1889 - 1989) publication this small Presbyterian church in Tarata was erected in 1904 on land donated two years earlier by Miss Hine. It goes on to add that the first service was held on 7 May 1904. Later that year on 30 August 1904 the first wedding was celebrated, the marriage of Frank Townsend to Miss Mowbray.
However, a more likely date is 1905. The Hawera & Normanby Star reporting on the quarterly meeting of the Taranaki Presbytery on 22 October 1904 (p.2) stated that "A church is about to be erected in Tarata". A search of marriage records reveals that Frank and Elizabeth Mowbray were actually married on 30 August 1905.
The stained glass window was installed by the Paterson family after WWI in memory of David Paterson, killed in action in 1918.
The church was sold to the local community for one dollar in 2001. With the assistance of T.E.T and the Tarata Purangi Trust the building was painted and reclad at a cost of $8,300.
The church featured in Kelvin Day's 'Of passing interest' series in the Taranaki Daily News on 10 March 2013.
Related document:
Tarata Residents Carrying Cross to honour religious mark (Daily News 24 November 2001)
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