Saint Gabriels

Unknown

Saint Gabriel’s Catholic Church is located on the south side of the Whangape Harbour in Northland. It is thought that local catechist Kaperiere (Gabriel) te Huhu would have been instrumental in its construction on Makora pa.

It was built by Robert Shannon to an unknown architect’s design. Father John Baptist Becker blessed the church in late 1899. Saint Gabriel’s consists of a nave, with a square tower at the front over the entrance. The tower has an octagonal louvred belfry above and is topped with a cross. The steep main roof is clad with corrugated iron and supported by four stepped buttresses on each side. The interior walls are lined with horizontal kauri boarding above a panelled dado of 250 mm diagonal kauri boards. The kauri roof structure consists of scissor trusses, with a strut from their intersection up to the roof apex. In 1982, after a period of disrepair, the church was restored with the enthusiasm of the local people and led by the Pawarenga Community Trust. A ceremony was held in 1985 to mark its restoration.

Location:

Pawarenga, Northland, New Zealand

Reference:

Thornton G. 2003. Worship in the Wilderness: Early Country Churches of New Zealand. Auckland: Reed Books, a division of Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd.