In 1859 Rev John James of Reading, England, granted ten acres of land adjacent to Papanui Road to the Church Property Trustees for Ecclesiastical purposes in the Province of Canterbury. He had purchased 100 acres in the Province of Canterbury, but it seems that he never actually made it to New Zealand. He did however leave a legacy.

The gifted land was west of Papanui Road, between what is today Bellvue Avenue and Harewood Road, extending to the west of St James Avenue. The land on which the church had been built in 1852 was not included in that grant. Rather, Rev John James gave land immediately south of the church, allowing the graveyard to be enlarged and providing grazing area and income for the church.

In 1872 land was sold for the construction of the railway and the proceeds invested in a new vicarage. The then Vicar, Rev Lorenzo Moore, road on the first official train from Christchurch and took part in the general excitement. The railway was a welcome link to Christchurch then, because Papanui Road could get quite muddy and was tolled to finance the upkeep. The wide open grounds around the Church were mainly used for horse grazing, but also became the playing area for the children of Papanui for many years. In 1890 a Sunday School Hall was built at the intersection of Papanui and Harewood Roads. At some time between 1919 and 1925 this was shifted to what is today the Papanui RSA car park and the land along Papanui Road sold to the Post Office and other businesses. Subsequently the land with the Sunday School Hall was sold to the Post & Telegraph Department in 1952. Only later was the Post Office land purchased by the RSA. More property deals were concluded in the early 20^th century.

The area of St James Park was originally rented out for grazing, with the rent being paid to the Vicar. Much of the land west of the railway line was sold to the NZ Cool Stores Company. I could not find details how St James Park ended up in council control, but I have heard that it was donated by the Parish for the use as a park.

In 1904 Rev John Awdry Julius was appointed Vicar of Papanui. He was the son of Churchill Julius, then the Bishop of Christchurch. From all accounts Rev Julius was a very energetic person. He immediately established a church tennis club. It seems that initially the tennis courts where slightly further west from their current location. Tennis was played between the vicarage and the Church for over 100 years.

A new vicarage was built and completed in 1922. This vicarage was finally sold in 1980, as it was a large, cold house, and a lot of money was required for its upkeep. Instead, the current vicarage was bought, which had been built in 1960 on land previously owned by the Church. The church also bought and sold other land around Papanui, for example the curate’s house at 80 Harewood Road, where now the Alba Rosa Rest Home is located.

In comparison, recent years have seen relatively few sales and acquisition of property. We are now advertising some more land for sale. This land has been part of St Paul’s heritage, but it also is part of the long history of adjusting land boundaries in Papanui.