New Zealand’s first bishop for the United Church of England and Ireland was consecrated in 1866, three years after the original St. Paul church was built in Dunedin. Construction of a replacement began in 1915 based on the Gothic Revival design of English architect Edmund Harold Sedding. Although the new St. Paul’s Cathedral opened in 1919, it remained unfinished until 1971. This prominent feature within The Octagon is the seat of the bishop for the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin.
