St Peter’s Church (Catholic) opened in 1882 and is described as ‘one of the oldest buildings in Wairoa’. The timber building has some architectural importance as a representative example of New Zealand Gothic Revival church architecture and was designed and built by Ralph Gardiner Jr of Wairoa. Serving the town and wider rural area, the church has social and spiritual value because it has been the focus of its community’s religious activities and Catholic rites of passage since the late nineteenth century. The ancestral waka Tākitimu stopped at Wairoa and Māori have a long association with the river, the town’s site, and the wider area. The government purchased the site in 1864 and the town was originally called Clyde. In the early period Catholic services were held in various places around the town, including the County Hall. As with other churches throughout New Zealand, it was the local community who provided the bulk of the church’s building, and on-going maintenance, funds. Fundraising for St Peter’s Church began by 1880 and involved community events, such as bazaars and concerts, which were well-supported. The community’s fundraising efforts and the help of other denominations was praised. By late 1881 the Queen Street property had been acquired and designs for the church were being prepared by Gardiner. Construction appears to have begun a few months later. The church was completed by July 1882 and opened and consecrated in October that year. At the time St Peter’s Church was described as ‘well executed and faithfully carried out’, with its features including: a vestry, a steeply pitched nave gable supported by roof trusses terminating in laminated timber arch bracings, and native timber match-lining and mouldings. Visible from the exterior were a belfry, large triple lancet window over the entrance and a chancel rose window, as well as simple buttresses along the nave’s sides.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
1069
Date Entered
4th April 1983
Date of Effect
4th April 1983
City/District Council
Wairoa District
Region
Hawke's Bay Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes the land described as Secs 263-264 SO Plan 9438 (RT HBJ4/304), Hawkes Bay Land District and the building known as St Peter's Church (Catholic) thereon. The extent excludes St Peter’s Community Hall, an associated double garage (east and southeast of the Church respectively) and a further building south of the Church.
Legal description
Secs 263-264 SO Plan 9438 (RT HBJ4/304), Hawkes Bay Land District