St Mary's Cathedral Church, Gothic Revival cathedral in Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand

St Mary's Cathedral Church is a wooden Gothic structure in Parnell featuring pointed arches, gabled rooflines, and tall lancet windows throughout its walls. The building displays intricate wooden carpentry and spans a substantial length, creating an interior composed of supporting columns and decorated spaces.

The foundation stone was laid in 1886 to replace an earlier church building from 1860, with construction finishing in 1898. After serving as the main Anglican cathedral for decades, the building was relocated across Parnell Road in 1982 to make room for a newer cathedral beside it.

The church is still an active Anglican place of worship within the Holy Trinity Cathedral precinct. Its name recalls the 1860 Old St Mary's it replaced, and the building was consecrated in stages, in 1888 and 1898. Visitors can look for the three tall lancet windows rising into the gables of the altar tribune.

St Mary's stands on the Holy Trinity Cathedral precinct on Parnell Road, reached by turning the church 90 degrees when it was moved across the road in 1982. Enter from the cathedral grounds; the long single-storey nave runs the length of the building, with the principal entrance at the tall gabled end. Allow time to walk around the exterior, where the gables and lancet windows are best seen.

The 1982 relocation was a feat in itself: the whole church was rolled across Parnell Road and turned 90 degrees onto its new site beside Holy Trinity Cathedral. Its façade gable slopes at two angles, raising the central ceiling like a true Gothic aisle — a shape that reads oddly like a roof built for heavy snow, in a city where snow does not fall.