Friendship House

ROCKHAPPENZ Public Data

Friendship House  —  Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch

The following details are from an article by Jo Smith, Archivist, Methodist Church of New Zealand

Friendship House was one of the buildings owned by the Christchurch Central Methodist Mission in the 1960s.  But it was much more than that - in 1956 the Mission purchased a two-storey house adjacent to the Cambridge Terrace Methodist Church and moved their headquarters there from a building in Cathedral Square.  In 1958 the Mission amalgamated with the Cambridge Terrace Circuit and in 1961 purchased the house and cottage between the church building and their headquarters.  This house was named Friendship House.  Internal walls were removed and it was connected to the Mission headquarters by a roofed hallway.  The person providing the inspiration and drive for the Christchurch Central Methodist Mission was Rev Wilf E Falkingham, who maintained that the essential plank in the work of the mission was congregational support for social work.  He said that just as preaching and teaching are essential functions of the church, so are fellowship and service.  Friendship House was officially opened by the chair of the District Rev H G Brown on 22 July 1962.

In 1963 the Mission reported that up to 200 young people were crowding into Friendship House on Sunday nights for the Teenage Coffee Club.  Rev Roy Bowden, associate minister at the Mission, was in charge of Friendship House activities.  He attended the Sunday Night Coffee Club and answered questions on Christian faith.  Music was part of the Coffee Club experience, particularly folk music, and tables were decorated with lit candles in bottles to provide the coffee lounge atmosphere.  During the week the building was used for the Darby and Joan Club for senior citizens – this club ran until 1980.  In 1968 an open house programme began.  It was designed to provide a place where people could linger and relax between 10 am and 10 pm.  Hobbies groups were also started and a shopper’s service took place on Friday nights.  More room was needed for the work of the Mission so extensions were made to Friendship House and the Mission offices by building a frontage designed by W T Royal.  It included offices, waiting room, board room and new lower and upper lounge for Friendship House and was opened in 1969.  A snack bar in Friendship House was set up as an outreach.  It was used by office workers too, not just those visiting the Mission.  A Square dancing group met on Friday evenings.  Weybridge was the name of the arts and crafts programme that operated from Friendship House, taking over the Coffee Club slot on Sunday nights from 1973.  It included basket making, candle making, painting, pottery and photography.  There was also a poets and musicians' corner, a television and a chat circle.  It cost 50 cents to attend.  Change was on the way again as the Mission merged with the Durham Street Methodist Church in 1974.  Congregational support was seen as essential for the social service work performed by the Mission.

In 1982 arson badly damaged the Cambridge Terrace Church building and it was pulled down.  Adjacent properties owned by the church were also demolished and the land developed by the Methodist Trust Association who built Arthur Young House in 1984.  The Friendship House building survived the arson and social services were run from there, but the Durham Street site became the focus of social service activities.  The Central Mission offices were relocated to the re-developed Aldersgate complex in 1987 and eventually the old office and Friendship House were sold.

An earlier view of the original site

New re-built Friendship House at 207 Cambridge Terrace

Friendship House  —  1970s expanded chronology:  Friendship House was established by partnership of six church denominations in response to health and community development issues identified in the early 1970's.  It was a gift to the community from the six founding churches:  Anglican Church, Roman Catholic Church, Baptist Church, Presbyterian Church, The Salvation Army, The Methodist Church.  A temporary Friendship House, with volunteers and part-time staff, was opened in two re-locatable Lockwood houses, near where the permanent building was later erected.  On December 13th, 1977 an agreement was signed by the Anglican General Trust Board which committed the Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches to purchase Lot 43, and to build a Centre on the site.  In April of 1978, the land was blessed by mana whenua of Pukaki Marae, and on May 31st of that year, legal possession was taken of Lot 43.  On November 30th, 1978 a plaque was laid to mark the commencement of work on the new building and representatives of the seven Churches involved in the planning to date were present.  One June 17th, 1979 the official opening of the permanent Friendship House took place.  The Friendship House Operating Agreement was signed by the heads of six Churches:  Anglican Church, Roman Catholic Church, Baptist Church, Presbyterian Church, The Salvation Army, The Methodist Church. on June 7th, 1984.  A major refit of the building took place in 1997, and 2010 saw the refurbishment of foyers and utility areas.  A brand refresh and website relaunch took place in 2019.