Ripeka Tapu Church (Anglican)

405 Rangi Point Road, WAIPARERA

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Ripeka Tapu Church (Anglican) at Waiparera was the first Anglican church to be built in the Hokianga, and its construction dates to the 1870s. Maori religious observance in the Hokianga in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries followed the pattern established by the first Christian mission stations, with the northern Hokianga becoming predominantly Catholic, based on the mission at Purakau, while the southern side had many Methodist settlements emanating from Mangungu. While the Anglican Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries were content to leave the Hokianga to be proselytised by their Wesleyan colleagues, Anglican missions were spreading elsewhere in Northland. Panakareao, an influential Te Rarawa leader from the Kaitaia area became a convert to Christianity, and travelled from village to village in the north converting many northern groups to Anglican Christianity. Thus while many Te Rarawa of Hokianga became Catholic through the influence of the Marist and subsequently Mill Hill priests based at Purakau, some Te Rarawa in the northern Hokianga became Anglican through the influence of Panakareao. The Waiparera Block was granted in Crown Grant in June 1868, the land having been set aside for a church by Te Rarawa leaders Herewini Te Toko and Wiremu Tana Papahia in 1867. They vested the land for the church in Piripi Patiki, who was stationed at Hokianga Heads from 1871 until Ripeka Tapu Church and the vicarage were completed. The present church is believed to be the third church in the Rangi Point area, though the first two were at Rangi Point itself. Construction of the current church was probably begun as early as 1873, and completed in 1878. On Saturday 24 January 1880, the new church was opened by Archdeacon E B Clarke. Over the period since then Ripeka Tapu Church has been used for regular worship, served initially by its resident priests and subsequently both by visiting priests and by lay members of the local community. The church is surrounded by a cemetery for community use. Ripeka Tapu Church has served as a strong focal point in the life of its local community, and for the Anglican church in the wider area. Its centenary and its 125th anniversary were celebrated as significant community events. Ripeka Tapu Church (Anglican) has aesthetic, cultural, historical, social and spiritual significance. The church has cultural significance to the people of Te Rarawa in the Hokianga and more widely. Ripeka Tapu Church has historical significance as it has played a significant role in the history of the Hokianga and in the spread of Christianity and especially Anglicanism in the Hokianga. The place has social value for the significant role it has played in the Waiparera community throughout its history. As the principal Anglican church in this district, and the first Anglican church in the Hokianga, the church has spiritual significance to Anglicans and to those of other denominations who worship there.

Ripeka Tapu Church (Anglican) | Stuart Park | 19/07/2010 | Heritage New Zealand
Ripeka Tapu Church (Anglican). July 2011 | Stuart Park | Heritage New Zealand
Ripeka Tapu Church (Anglican). Interior October 2009 | Stuart Park | Heritage New Zealand

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 2

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

445

Date Entered

3rd March 2012

Date of Effect

3rd March 2012

City/District Council

Far North District

Region

Northland Region

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes the land described as Pt Waiparera (RT 515278), (Maori Reserve NZ Gazette 1984 p 3623), North Auckland Land District and the building known as Rīpeka Tapu Church (Anglican) thereon, its fittings and fixtures, the surrounding cemetery and the following chattels: communion chairs, altar furnishings, organ.

Legal description

Pt Waiparera (RT 515278), (Maori Reserve NZ Gazette 1984 p 3623), North Auckland Land District

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