Our history

The suburb of Roseneath has a rich history which dates back to 1888 when the Roseneath Country Section was subdivided. Much of our suburbs history centres around happenings at Roseneath School and St Barnabas Church and the effect that World War I and II had on the local community.

On this page, we've endeavoured to document as much historical information as possible about the area and also included photographs of significant happenings from years gone by. To keep things as clear as possible to follow and understand, we've included a time line of important events, a range of pages which include additional information about certain events, and a library of documents that you can download.

If you'd like to contribute any photographs or historical information to this page, please get in touch, we'd love to hear your stories.

Roseneath historical timeline

1888 - The suburb of Roseneath was established and subdivided into 70 residential plots. You can view the original Promotor’s Plan of of 70 Residential Allotments in the image gallery, and read more about the sale of the land in the History of the Roseneath & Evans Bay Country Section 1 here
1898 - First Roseneath School established
1899 - St Barnabas Church dedicated on 19th November 1899
1914 - World War I - New Zealand receives the news on 5th August 1914 and members of the Roseneath community head off to war. Many men from Roseneath and the neighbouring suburb of Oriental Bay gave their lives for their country during World War I. You can download a full list of the those who lost their lives in World War I here
1917 - On the 10th November a memorial inscribed with the names of Roseneath School old boys who died during World War I was unveiled on Maida Vale Road. You can read more about the Roseneath Memorial unveiling in this Evening Post Article, and a selection of photographs of the memorial and the article are included in the image gallery below
1918 - 11th November marks Armistice Day
1924 - St Barnabas Church was damaged by fire on 19th January 1924. You can read more about the restoration of the church here
1926 - The first Roseneath School was destroyed by fire on 29th May
1929 - Economic Depression
1939 - World War II declared on 3rd September 1939 and members of the Roseneath community head off to war. You can download a full list of the those who lost their lives in World War II here
1945 - Victory in Europe (VE) Day 8th May
2004 - Friends of St Barnabas Church Roseneath Charitable Trust formed on 19th November to raise funds for the restoration of the church. You can find out more about how you can support the charity here
2007 - Rededication of restored St Barnabas Church on 10th November 2007
2014 - Wellington City Council remembers those who lost their lives in battle during WWI through their “Lest We Forget” WWI Wall Stories. Hugh (Decimus) Bridge, the former Roseneath School pupil who lost his life in battle in 1917 is remembered on bus stops in Roseneath and Oriental Bay. You can view images of the bus stops below, and read more about Hugh here
2015 - Wellington celebrates 150 years as a City
2017 - 100 Anniversary of the Roseneath Memorial

Historical photos

Click on an image below to view it in full size, and find out more about it. If you would like to submit a photo to our gallery please contact us. You can view more historical photographs of Roseneath on the National Library of New Zealand website and the NZ History website.