Nelson's landmark cathedral stands proudly on Church Hill. The first church was a tent erected when Bishop Selwyn visited in 1842. It was replaced with a simple converted wooden building bought from the New Zealand Company.
The Anglican Church bought an acre of land at the summit of the hill in 1848, and in June 1850 the foundation stone of a purpose-built church was laid. The new Christ Church was dedicated on 14 December, 1851, and its rapidly expanding congregation saw it enlarged in 1859 and again in 1866.
