Country Churches Of NZ 2. The North Island & St.Pauls,Whangaroa

I wrote and illustrated Country Churches of New Zealand. It was published in 2002 by New Holland, Publishers and is still on sale in bookshops.

The publishers have kindly agreed to me re-publishing some of the book’s images and descriptions in this blog.

 
Lych Gate, All Saints' Church, Kawhia

THE NORTH ISLAND COLLECTION

Where does one start on an odyssey such as this? Roughly from north to south, but, like life's journey, indirectly. I started in Northland and went through Auckland to the Waikato, then to the Coromandel Peninsula and the Bay of Plenty before running all down the east coast to southern Wairarapa. From there I
made a huge leap to Lake Taupo so that I could explore down the west side of the island, eventually to reach Wellington.

ST PAUL'S, WHANGAROA

In Northland, where European proselytisers first came ashore, lie scores of little churches - some thriving, some not. Built in 1883, St Paul's Anglican Church, Whangaroa, teeters impossibly on the side of a steep hill overlooking the harbour. Inside, a timbered silence breathes an old peace but, like its diminishing congregation, it shows its age. Its cemetery, although not yet full, was closed in 1966 'because of the unstable nature of the country'. I liked the detail of its apsidal sanctuary.

© DON DONOVAN

donovan@ihug.co.nz

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