First move to establish the Presbyterian Church in Central Otago. The session of Tokomairiro did what it could to provide visiting preachers.

At the request of local congregations, the Presbytery of Dunedin sent a minister to make a tour of the interior, including the Cromwell area. This was the Rev. Chas Connar of the St Pauls Church in Oamaru. Due to the shortage of ministers a permanent minister could not be appointed.

Two ministers were sent out from England with a view to establishing a permanent church in Central Otago. The Rev. W Munro was followed by Rev. S R Ross. The Rev. S R Ross lived at Midway Manse in Muttontown. He held a number of services in Cromwell.

A committee from the Bannockburn - Kawarau Gorge area was formed with Joseph Berry as secretary. To work with the Cromwell congregation to get a resident minister, they met in the Sluicers Arms Hotel and carried on for two years, during which time the Rev. Benjamin Drake came (in July 1868). He was a congregational minister. Efforts were made to have him ordained as a regular minister of the church.

A deputation from the Synod consisting of the Rev. A B Todd and John Riley was sent to the goldfields. Their recommendation was favourable and the Rev. Drake was ordained in 1875. Rev Drake became a much loved and familiar figure on his white horse. His parish covered an area of 3,200 square miles. He was based in a house on the Belmore Street Reserve in Cromwell. Services were held on Sunday afternoons in rotation at Kawarau Gorge, Mt Pisa Station, Logantown, and Bannockburn (at the school). On Sunday nights services were held in Cromwell. Every six weeks he spent a Sunday in the Nevis District, and visited monthly on weekdays McLeans "Morvern Hills Station" and Campbells "Wanaka Station" calling in at places en-route - on some occasions going as far as Makarora.

On Dec 4 1873 a meeting was held at the school to discuss the erection of a Presbyterian Church in Bannockburn. However, the idea made no progress.

The Bannockburn Church Committee was formed on July 21 1878. It consisted of the Rev. B Drake, Mess'rs Bennett, G Anderson, William Burrows, A McGregor, A Anderson, Elliott, D VMcGregor, Avgar, Davis, C Ray and Scott. It was many years before they managed to get a church erected.

The Sunday School was started in the school building in Schoolhouse Road (location #215). Superintendents : - William Burrows - Arch. McGregor - John Short - Harry Murray. Teachers : - Miss A Angel (Mrs Aitken) - Miss E Ferguson Church services were also held at the school. Miss Graham (Mrs R Robertson) played the organ. Mr D V McGregor conducted the choir. The church and Sunday school were well attended with up to fifty people taking part.

The Ladies guild formed a sewing circle to raise money for a church and the Sunday school.

Jan 8 (notes from the Cromwell Argus) "Sale of Work at Bannockburn" A sale of work in connection with the Presbyterian Church ladies guild was held at the Bannockburn Hall on Friday 28th. The work stall containing plain and fancy work was presided over by Mesdames Horn and Fleming, Mesdames Horn and McGregor assisted by several young ladies were kept busy at the refreshments stall where "the cup that cheers" was to be obtained at a very modest sum. The fish pond was in the charge of Mr J Lawrence, who proved himself second to none as a vendor of fish licences. Throughout the evening, a programme comprising selections on the harmonium, piano, and vocal solos, was given and the performers, one and all, acquitted themselves very creditably. The attendance was fairly good, and the articles were nearly all disposed of. As the most of the proceeds is to be donated to the Sunday School, the institution will be benefited to the amount of about £20 (twenty pounds).

1906 – Shortly after the arrival of the Rev. J.Gordon Mc Leod, the Bannockburn Ladies Guild renewed their proposal that a Presbyterian church should be built at Bannockburn. To this end they decided to canvas the district for funds. The local church committee, which had been in recess since the formation of the Deacons Court in 1897 was revived and Henry Murray was elected as secretary. On October 2 a meeting was held and the committee agreed to the Ladies Guild proposals. This was followed by another meeting on November 13 when the subscription lists were viewed and considered satisfactory, it was then resolved to proceed with the preliminaries for the construction of the building. Mr Alexander Sinclair Gillanders, who was the mine manager for the Cromwell and Bannockburn Colliery Company, offered his services as architect free of charge. (see image # 2603) He then prepared working drawings with specifications and an estimate of £400 (four hundred pounds) for a stone church to accommodate 120 people. 1907 – At the January meeting of the committee, it was decided to apply to the Synod for half the cost. In February, the Rev. Mc Leod started negotiations with the Minister of Lands to purchase Sections 8 and 9 of Block V, in King Street, being part of the Town of Bannockburn.( see Image # ) (The church was to be erected on Section 10 with the main entrance facing west.) Tenders were called in July and it was found that Mr. John Betts & Son of the Cromwell Timber & Iron Yards had submitted the lowest tender: Church without Vestry - £326/6/6 (three hundred and twenty six pound, six shillings and six pence) Church with Vestry - £399/11/- (Three Hundred and ninety nine pound, and eleven shillings) Consideration of the tenders was allowed to stand over until a congregational meeting was called. Unfortunately only four people turned up to the meeting so no further action was taken. At this time, a large number of people were leaving the district because the gold dredging claims were being worked out and the demand for coal was falling off. The future of the new church did not look good. However, the Ladies Guild which at this time consisted of Mesdames Graham, Horn (Senior), Ray, Gillanders, Mc Intosh, Aitken, Clark, Joseph Mc Cabe and Misses Mc Whirter, Graham, and Smith did not lose heart.

In February 1908, the Guild held their annual social and again raised the question of proceeding with the erection of the proposed church. It was decided that all monies and papers held by the church committee be handed back to the Guild. The Guild would then form a church building committee themselves. They enlisted the services of the Rev. McLeod and Messrs A. S. Gillanders, Anthony Ferguson, John Short, James Horn, William Lynn, and appointed H. D. Bannerman as secretary. On February 27, the Building Committee held their first meeting and got to work. In July Mr Betts was asked to undertake the building in accordance with the previous arrangements. However he explained that in the past year the price of timber from the mill had increased and this had added an extra £18 (eighteen pound) to his estimate. The committee then decided to go ahead with an amended building plan. This consisted of the church without a vestry and without the stonework being pointed. The committee was to supply and deliver the stone to the site, arrange to have the pointing undertaken as well as erecting a fence. As a result an amended tender price of £339/6/- (three hundred and thirty nine pound, six shillings) was accepted from Mr Betts and work got underway. ( see images # 2613 & 2614 ) Unfortunately the downturn in the local economy severely handicapped the Building Committee. The Guild lost Mesdames McCabe, Gillanders, Clark, and McIntosh and the Building Committee the Rev. McLeod and Messrs Gillanders, and Bannerman. The death of Mr Ferguson further reduced the committee to only Messrs Short, Lynn and Horn. The stone was quarried by Henry Murray, Anthony Ferguson and Ellis Williams from a site close to Shepherd’s Creek, at the base of the Renshaw Range (ID.#282). (see images # 2606 & 2607 ) It was delivered to site by Robert Toms with his wagon and team of five horses along with Robert Jackson (Kawarau Station), and George Manson with their teams. (see images # 2604 , 2605 & 2608 )The pointing of the stonework and the construction of the stone fence, with iron gate was carried out by William Gair of Cromwell.(see images # 2611 & 2612) The remaining fencing was carried out by John Short.(see image # 2615) A number of locals gave the project generous donations as well as their time. Already noted was Mr Gillanders (architect) along with William Parcell (inspector) and Robert Jackson (Kawarau Station – cartage). James Horn paid for the bell and subsidised all contributions from outside Bannockburn by ten shillings in the pound while Mrs Horn (Senior) donated the pulpit chair and cushion. (Acknowledgment of information: Knox College – Dunedin, The Centennial of the Parish of St. John)

On February 22, the Cromwell Argus reported : "Arrangements are now complete for the opening of the new Presbyterian Church in Bannockburn. The building which has been erected in stone is well finished and seats 120 persons. The interior of the building is also nicely finished and comfortable. We expect a large number of visitors to be present from Cromwell, Lowborn and surrounding districts, and with the Bannockburn congregation on Sunday, March 7 1909, when the opening service is to take place at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The Rev. Dutton of Dunedin will officiate on the occasion (he was assisted by Mr Cuttle as there was no resident minister in the area at the time) and a special service will follow at 7 o'clock in the evening. A social for which great preparations are being made will be held on the following day (Monday), March 8 at 8 o'clock in the evening, when the chair will be taken by the Rev. Dutton." A choir had been formed to sing at the opening ceremony. They had practiced for the event every Tuesday night and were well supported. The choir proved to be very popular and continued to sing until the Rev. W Rowlands left in 1913.

The church was renovated with the addition of new furniture. This included the pulpit, lectern, font, hymn board and blue felt carpet. The new furniture was dedicated at a service held in March. A number of people at this function had attended the opening of the church back in 1909.

In June 1991, regular services in the church were discontinued, however it was still used on occasions for weddings and funerals.

The Cromwell Presbyterian Church Management Committee decided a larger, more modern church was required in the town. This new church was to serve the needs of the surrounding area. To this end, the Cromwell, Lowburn and Bannockburn churches were to be sold off to fund the new centre in Cromwell. The Lowborn and Cromwell churches were sold to private owners. The Bannockburn church was then put on the market, however the people of the area did not want to see their church become a holiday home or a craft shop.

Public meetings were held and in February a Bannockburn Community Centre Management Committee was formed. This committee incorporated the management of the Coronation Hall and tool over from the old Hall Committee. The new committee approached the Cromwell Presbyterian Organisation to register it's interest in purchasing the church. After much discussion the Cromwell Presbyterian Management agreed to sell the Bannockburn Church to the Bannockburn Community Centre Management Committee Incorporated for the sum of $250,000. The committee got underway a fund raising campaign amongst the Bannockburn community and local trusts. The major contributions came from: - The Central Otago District Council $100,000 - The Central Lakes Trust $75,000 - The Community Trust of Otago $40,000 The remaining money was generated by the locals through 'Foundation Member' donations and fund raising events.

Structural repairs were carried out on a number of extensive cracks in the stone work by injection of epoxy grout. Rainwater downpipes were repaired and extended to prevent water entering under he foundations.

1865 - Rev Chas Connor 1867 - Rev S R Ross 1868 - 1898 Rev Benjamin Drake (died 1890 at the age of 80 years) Rev Blake 1885 - Rev J Rivers 1886 - Rev J L Blackie 1887 - Rev Neave 1887 - Rev Huntley 1880 - 1890 - Rev G P Hunter 1880 - Rev J Ferguson 1890 - 1902 - Rev J White 1892 - Rev James Cumming 1899 - 1904 - Rev Thomas Tait 1906 - 1908 - Rev J D McLeod No regular minister until Rev Rowlands. Mr Blue filled in for a time then moved to Alexandra. Mr Baylee, a student, also filled in the a time. 1911 - 1913 - Rev W Rowlands 1913 - 1926 - Rev W P Rankin 1916 - 1932 - Rev A R Chisholm 1932 - 1936 - Rev D D Heggie 1936 - 1944 - Rev George Renwick 1944 - 1951 - Rev J C Doig Rev Gibson Rev McMillan Rev Calvert Rev Vinton Rev Lambie