Country Churches of NZ 46. St. Mary's, Meeanee, Hawkes Bay

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.

ST MARY'S, MEEANEE

Two churches in Meeanee (an Indian name bestowed by settlers who had served in the military at the time of the Indian Mutiny) asked to be illustrated; St Thomas's (see separate blog) and St. Mary's.

St Mary's ('old St Mary's') was, in fact, deconsecrated in 1972, its Roman Catholic parishioners having built a new St Mary's in Greenmeadows.

The first part of old St Mary's was built in 1863 with additions in 1874, '75 and '92.
In February 1871, Mother Aubert (of Jerusalem fame) came here and set up a dispensary from which records show that she treated 1353 patients in 1873.

As I sat in the shade of an avenue of mature trees and sketched its symmetrical shape, I thought how satisfactory it was that in 1981 the deconsecrated church should have been taken over, rescued and subsequently cared for by the Taradale Pottery Group.

© DON DONOVAN

donovan@ihug.co.nz
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