New Zealand Odyssey: St. Mary's, Hokitika

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings. This is the penultimate post.

I have always had great difficulty reconciling the humble manger beginnings of Christianity with the sumptuous prodigality of church architecture. I think Christ would be appalled at St.Peter's in Rome and would be no less amazed at St. Mary's in Hokitika which seems to me to be not so much a tribute to Christ as a monument to Man's self-regard.

It took from 1914 to 1928 to finish, interrupted by the Great War. It reflects the auriferous wealth of Westland, a province that was dug up for gold from Karamea to Fiordland. Today exactly as it was in 1989, when I did this sketch, St.Mary's, in small town Hokitika, stands out like a clumsy tall man among pygmies.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.

Country Churches of NZ 19. Church of St Peter and St Paul, Puhoi

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.

CHURCH OF ST PETER and ST PAUL, PUHOI

The Roman Catholic church of St Peter and St Paul was built for £267 in 1881. The architect was James Wrigley. His design ended where today's altar begins and there was no bell-tower until 1899.

Larger than your usual village church, it has an imposing west entrance with a porch surrounded by five simple, 'early English' windows, lots of brass doorknobs and fingerplates, and abundant stained glass in Art Nouveau style.

Many of the windows are dedicated and most of the names on them are redolent of the Bohemian settlement: Schischka, Straka, Remiger, Ranner, Becher, Schollum, Wenzlick, Bayer, Tunnwald. The organ, as typical of older country churches, was made by the Carpenter Company of Brattleboro, Vermont, USA.

© DON DONOVAN


donovan@ihug.co.n.