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Christ Church, Raukokore is strongly linked to the Whanau-a-Apanui people. Duncan Stirling built many churches in the East Coast and was subsequently married, in 1896, in this church. He married Mihi Kotukutuku, daughter of Maaka Te Ehutu and Ruiha Rahuta, Kaumatua of Whanau-a-Apanui. Stirling knew little Maori but reinforced the links between the Anglican Church and local Maori through his marriage and his skill as an architect/builder.

Christ Church, Raukokore. Image courtesy of www.flickr.com | Shellie Evans – flyingkiwigirl | 31/03/2018 | Shellie Evans

Christ Church, Raukokore. Image courtesy of www.flickr.com | Allison Bennet | 23/03/2008 | Allison Bennet

Christ Church, Raukokore. Interior. Image courtesy of www.flickr.com | Shellie Evans – flyingkiwigirl | 31/03/2018 | Shellie Evans

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 1

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

3471

Date Entered

11th November 1989

Date of Effect

11th November 1989

City/District Council

Ōpōtiki District

Region

Bay of Plenty Region

Legal description

Church site Adj Pohaturoa 4 Blk IV Whangaparaoa SD

Overview

Status
Listed

List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1

Access
Private/No Public Access

List Number
3471

Date Entered
11th November 1989

Date of Effect
11th November 1989

City/District Council
Ōpōtiki District

Region
Bay of Plenty Region

Legal description

Church site Adj Pohaturoa 4 Blk IV Whangaparaoa SD

Detailed List Entry

Significance

Historic Significance

Historical Significance or Value This church makes a valuable contribution to the legacy of Maori Christian churches in New Zealand. Duncan Stirling and the church he designed are appropriate symbols of the strong relationship between the Maori and Christian religion.

Physical Significance

ARCHITECTURAL QUALITY: This church is of particular interest because its designer had no training as an architect but he produced a finely proportioned building with simple yet attractive detailing in the Gothic tradition. The centrally placed tower over the entrance with its broach spire is particularly striking and coupled with its superb siting make this a significant rural ecclesiastical design. TOWNSCAPE/LANDMARK VALUE: Superbly sited on a small prominentary, Christ Church can be seen from some distance as a lone building close to two Norfolk Island pines and surrounded by a picket fence. It is a landmark that is both striking and picturesque.

Construction Professional

Biography

Having received his education in Riverton, Stirling went to Dunedin to work for the Williams Construction Company learning building and carpentry. He was then employed on the East Coast by Sydney Williams. He built the woolsheds at Kuhirerere Station and Pakihiroa Station for Williams, and soon established a good reputation as a carpenter. He went on to build many residences around Tolaga Bay. He also built a church in Tolaga Bay which led to similar contracts in Tokomaru Bay, Tuatui, Mangahanea, Te Horo, Torere, Tikitiki and Te Araroa. One of his most attractive church buildings is Christ Church, Raukokore (1894-95). Stirling also built the old Kemp homestead at Ruatoria and the Ngai Tai meeting house "Te Roroku" which stood at Torere.

Name

Stirling, Duncan

Type

Architect

Construction Details

Description

Floor added

Start Year

1916

Type

Addition

Description

Buttresses and steel rod collar tie added

Start Year

1968

Type

Modification

Start Year

1895

Type

Original Construction

Construction Materials

Continuous concrete foundations. Wooden piles of puriri or totara. Timber framing with rough-sawn rusticated weatherboards. Trussed roof clad with diagonal asbestos slates. Raking buttresses.

Notable Features

The broach spire The cloth banners The communion rail

Physical Description

ARCHITECT/ENGINEER OR DESIGNER: Duncan STIRLING ( Architect) Hiram and Valentine SAVAGE (Builders) ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION This is a simple Gothic church. The entrance porch is in the base of the central square tower. The tower ends above the ridge line and is capped with a broach spire. Single, frosted, lancet windows are arranged on each side of the church and in the tower. In the chancel behind the altar is a lancet window with brightly stained glass and above it an unusual semi-circular window with clear glass. The exposed site has necessitated raking buttresses. The interior has attractive timber trusses with curved knee braces to the bottom cord. There are steel tie rods below the cord. The interior lining is horizontal boarding. The communion rail has an unusual balustrade while the entrance to the chancel has sloping banners with Maori text. MODIFICATIONS: c1916 Floor added 1968 Buttresses and steel rod collar tie added

Reference

Information Sources

Stirling, 1980

E Stirling and A Salmond, Eruera : the teachings of a Maori elder, Wellington, 1980

Wilson, 1984

J Wilson (compiler), AA Book of New Zealand Historic Places, Lansdowner Press, Auckland 1984

Report Written By

This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.

Further Information

Current Usages

Uses: Religion

Specific Usage: Church

Former Usages

General Usage:: Religion

Specific Usage: Church

Themes

Of Significance to Maori

Christ Church

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