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.
CHRIST CHURCH, TAITA
Christ Church is now sadly marooned in a graffiti-scrawled factory suburb. It was, when it was built in 1853, a typical country church even though only a short trip from Wellington.In the late 1940s the new railway line laid along the eastern Hutt Valley divided Taita's Anglican community from its church and precipitated its decline through isolation.
Its design was probably the work of Octavius Bousefield, a draughtsman in the Government Surveyor's office. Careful restoration inside and out followed a serious fire in 1989.
In the churchyard I discovered the grave of Frederick de Jersey Clere, whose works feature so prominently in this book. His severe gravestone hardly celebrates his talent, but, of course, his many churches do. It seems ironic that he is not within the precinct of one of his own creations.
© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
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