09-06-2025
Catholic Church closes Hard to Find
Iconic Auckland secondhand bookstore Hard To Find is being evicted by the Catholic Church – eight years after the church performed a 'miracle' by saving the bookshop.
'I am devastated, heartbroken, stressed, pissed-off, and disappointed,' said Warwick Jordan, one of the great heroes of the New Zealand book trade. He has managed Hard To Find for 45 years and is the custodian of over half a million books. He employs five full-time staff and two part-time. They will be out of a job, and Jordan will lose his business, when the lease expires in February 2026.
After 37 years operating the store in Onehunga, Jordan moved it to a former convent in St Benedicts St in downtown Auckland in 2017. It was opened with a formal blessing from St Benedict's parish priest, Monsignor Paul Farme. High rents had forced Jordan out of Onehunga; he wrote to Bishop Patrick Dunn, the Bishop of Auckland, with the message: 'I'm looking for a miracle – I've heard you guys do them.' As Jordan told the media at Xmas 2017, in a widely covered good-news story that made the church look benevolent, 'And he provided!'
The miracle has had a short life. James van Schie, general manager at the Catholic Diocese of Auckland, evicted Jordan in a terse 83-word letter on May 22. The church wants to put the building on the market.
ReadingRoom approached the church for comment. The Diocese would not permit an interview, and ignored email questions in preference of a statement from van Schie, who wrote, 'The Diocese regularly reviews its property holdings. We make decisions based on how we believe the Catholic Church's mission across the region can best be carried out.
'We can confirm that the lease for the Hard to Find Bookshop will expire at the end of the year. It will not be renewed, but the Diocese did provide a two-month extension until February 2026 to support the business owners, with whom we have had a positive relationship.
'We hope that the business can continue trading at another location. This story may help bring this opportunity to the attention of interested landlords.'
Jordan doubts it. He said, 'I don't own a home or any real assets except lots of books, so I and my family will be homeless with no prospects or direction.' He moved into upstairs rooms above the shop after six months of renovating the whole building when he thought it had been leased to him in good faith.
The shop faced imminent closure in 2017 until the church stepped in. 'We spent a year looking in 2017 and couldn't find anything – it took a last-moment miracle from Bishop Patrick Dunn to save us. It gave me a misplaced faith.'
Jordan made a counter-offer to the Diocese.
'I tried to put a deal together that would have us taking full responsibility for all outgoings of the building. We already pay for all internal maintenance and we've spent north of $100,000 in money and time on the building beyond the rent. I paid for a partial re-carpeting only a few months ago. But the Church decided that isn't enough. They want the big lump sum that this wonderful lemon probably won't deliver.' Jordan means it's a Heritage 1 protected building, which will resist development, and is located in a dodgy part of town.
An irony is that Jordan is Catholic. He sent his sons to St Peters, and has bought and sold books to many priests in his long tenure with Hard to Find. He is right now praying to Saint Mary McKillop. Australasia's only saint was the instigator, founder and owner of the property at 2 St Benedicts Street. The original title to the property was in her name.
'I have a huge amount of respect for St Mary McKillop and this building she funded and created and its importance to the community. I think it is a travesty that it is being disposed of by the Church. How will she feel if it becomes the St Mary McKillop Bar and Grill?'
He continued, 'I believe St Mary McKillop approves of us – we fit right in with her views and sense of community – so she must be pretty brassed off at what is happening to her legacy. What might an angry Saint do? We shall see.'
In the temporal world, Jordan has to focus on moving out. 'Business as usual will continue from the public perspective until late February next year. For me full panic mode kicks in around late July or early August.' It will take six months to wind down.
Auckland secondhand bookstores have been hit hard these past few years. Jason's in High St shut down in 2024, and Dominion Books in Herne Bay closed its doors in 2023. Rent increases killed off both stores.
Jordan said, 'Both owners chose retirement rather than face trying to rebuild elsewhere. There are several small bookshops in the suburbs, all supported by friendly landlords and cheap rental deals, but the true book dealers, people who have been career booksellers for life with real in-depth experience and who buy and knowledgeably collate collections, are nearly gone. The only one I can think of is already semi-retired.
'Long term this is a disaster for all the community. We are losing the people who can help save and curate worthy books for future generations. Opshops mean well but don't have a clue, and many great books will end up in landfill. You won't be able to sell a book collection because there won't be anyone to buy it.'
Another irony: just as he faces having to lose his business, Jordan has been internationally recognised for his expertise. He travels to London this month where he will be awarded the 2025 International Antiquarian Bookdealers' IOBA Study Scholarship to the University of London.
'I have a mountain of books but no money to retire on, so I have to figure something out. I just don't know what. I naively thought our miracle made us safe here.'
