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. OSWALD'S, WHARANUI
I met a man from Shrewsbury in St Oswald's on the Kaikoura to Blenheim road, who was cycling his way around the world. To him the church, an outstanding feature of this sparsely populated coast, was a brief sanctuary from boisterous head winds.
It was built in 1927 by the parents of Charles Hector Heaton Murray who had died in Geneva, three years earlier, aged 20.
It was designed by W. Haulkner of Nelson and constructed of local stone by W. R. Vass.
Inside there's a tiny gallery at the west end from where one can look down on an intimate nave whose stained-glass windows commemorate local families: Parsons, Murray, Westenra and Thomas.
Outside, the wind carried the bleats of sheep in nearby yards waiting for spring shearing. A few gravestones surround the church. Beyond, clouds of yellow lupins billowed down to an empty sea.
© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
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