History of St Josephs Queenstown
St Josephs Catholic Church, 49 Melbourne Street Queenstown
St Joseph’s Church Queenstown (Catholic) (1898) is part of a cluster of buildings associated with the Catholic Church situated at the western end of Melbourne Street, Queenstown. Occupying a prominent elevated position above the centre of Queenstown and the Wakatipu lakefront, the church and its distinctive statue of St Joseph has landmark presence in the town.
A Catholic church was first built in Queenstown in 1863 on Church Street. The division of the Queenstown Parish from Invercargill in 1873 required a dedicated presbytery for the church and this was built in 1877. The presbytery was converted to a convent in 1882 to accommodate Dominican nuns brought to Queenstown to teach at the newly opened St Joseph’s School. In 1883 the land on Church Street was sold and Catholic church activities centred on the convent and school.
It was not until 1898 that a new permanent Catholic church was erected in Queenstown. St Joseph’s Church was built from local Arthurs Point schist and rimu sourced and transported largely by members of the congregation. Parishioners also donated many chattels and features of the church. The generosity of the Queenstown Catholic community in the donation of materials and labour for the construction of the church ensured that it was built quickly and opened free of debt.
St Josephs Mass Times
| Saturday Vigil 6:30 PM |
| Sunday 9:00 AM |
| Monday, Wednesday & Friday 9:30 AM |
| Filipino Mass in Tagalog – every 3rd Sunday of the month 7:00 PM |
| Brazil/Portugal Mass in Portuguese – every 4th Sunday of the month 7::00 PM |
