The first service at the Tarata Community Church was held on the 7th of May 1904. Thirty six men from the region served in World War One, six of whom died. After the war, the Paterson family installed a stained glass window in the church in remembrance of David Paterson.
On Anzac day 2015 a seedling grown from the Gallipoli oak in Christchurch was planted near the church in memory of the six men who had died. The seedling was accompanied by a memorial plaque which reads:
"We will remember/ Tarata Soldiers: James Burr 23/88 NZ Rifle Brigade 16/9/1916; Lionel Fougere 26/100 NZ Rifle Brigade L/Corporal 16/9/1915; Cecil Guilford 10/3576 Wellington Infantry 4/5/1918; David Paterson 11/596 Wellington Mounted Rifles 2/Lieutenant 1/4/1918; Andrew Taylor 23/295 NZ Rifle Brigade Sgt. 23/6/1917; George Taylor 24/301 Otago Infantry Regiment 16/10/1917. They paid the ultimate sacrifice/ World War 1 1914 - 1918.
Sources: Taranaki Daily News, Laird Haper April 29, 2015; Kete New Plymouth: Taranaki Churches, Tarata Community Church, by Mike Gooch, accessed 10 Nov. 2015; Kete New Plymouth: War Memorials WWI and WWII in Taranaki, Tarata Centennial Oak and Memorial Plaque, by Ron Lambert 16 Nov. 2015.
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