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 THE GOOD SHEPHERD, LAKE TEKAPO
I sat in my car for a long time contemplating the Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo. It came to me that if separated from its usual visual cliché (the one on the lake promontory with a foreground of purple, mauve and magenta lupins) it took on a rare Celtic simplicity. The rain helped, of course.
Its foundation stone was laid by the Duke of Gloucester in 1935 and it was finished later that year as a memorial to the settlers and shepherds whose sheep ranged across wild Mackenzie Country.
Under the direction of the builder Mr Rodman (whose wedding to Miss Trott, a local woman, was the first in the new church), Mr Miller, the stonemason, used undressed lakeside boulders to give form to the plans of architect, Richard Harman. The roof was originally of totara shingles but when the time came to re-roof an improvement was made by cladding with slate - totally appropriate in this setting.
© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
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