Relocated to Stirling in 1904 and to Waianiwa in 2011, St Mary’s Anglican Church (Former) was built for the Anglican congregation of Inch Clutha in 1869, and is an early and representative remaining example of a timber Gothic church in the region.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, Otago and Southland were unique from the rest of New Zealand as the only regions where the Church of England was not the major denomination. The Clutha delta area of South Otago was one of the first areas to which European settlers ventured outside Dunedin. In the late 1840s settlers in this area began to occupy the island known as Tauhinu or Inch Clutha (Gaelic meaning the Island in the Clyde), which is located between the Mata-au and the Koau (the southern branch of the river). Inch Clutha’s small population of Anglican settlers began holding religious services in the area early as the 1850s. In 1868, Francis Scott Pillans, one of the first Anglicans in the area, offered a site for a church to be constructed. His neighbour, William Ferguson, offered to prepare plans and specifications and a committee was appointed to oversee construction of the church. St Mary’s Anglican Church was completed in 1869, the same year as the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin was formed, and was consecrated the following year. It was one of the earliest Anglican churches in the area outside of Dunedin or Invercargill.
People began moving away from Inch Clutha to the nearby settlement of Stirling, which flourished when the railway opened between Dunedin and Stirling in the mid-1870s. The numbers attending church services at St Mary’s Anglican Church declined steadily and, for a time in the mid-1890s, ceased. By the turn of the century it became clear that the Church would need to be moved to Stirling, and it reopened on its new site in 1905. Worship continued in the St Mary’s Anglican Church at its new site until falling numbers led to its closure in 2005. In 2006 the Church was sold. In late 2011 the Church was cut into sections and relocated to the outskirts of the small rural settlement of Waianiwa in Southland. The building sits in a formal garden where it is to be used as a wedding chapel.
The Church is rectangular in plan with single gable corrugated roof and a small porch. There are four lancet windows spaced evenly down the length of the Church on both sides of the nave, with top lights opening on a pulley system. They match the window in the porch in detail. The interior of the nave has been lined with wallboard though the original lining remains beneath it. The ceiling is made of plain boards running the length of the nave, with exposed trusses providing modest decorative detail. The main decorative feature of the nave is the set of three lancet windows behind the altar which feature ornate stained glass images and are memorial windows to former parishioners of the church.
St Mary’s Anglican Church (Former) has aesthetic and architectural significance for its ornate stained glass memorial windows, its Gothic style, and for its timber construction, which reflects the early material of choice for smaller Otago and Southland churches. Dating from the 1860s, it is a relatively early survivor among Otago and Southland churches and is a representative remaining example of a small rural church in the region. Historically the Church represents the shifts in population as Otago’s infrastructure developed in the late nineteenth century, as well as the increasing secularisation of New Zealand society through the twentieth century. 142 years after its original construction, St Mary’s Anglican Church (Former) continues to provide a place for families and the community to celebrate weddings and other significant events, albeit 135 kilometres from its first home.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, Otago and Southland were unique from the rest of New Zealand as the only regions where the Church of England was not the major denomination. The Clutha delta area of South Otago was one of the first areas to which European settlers ventured outside Dunedin. In the late 1840s settlers in this area began to occupy the island known as Tauhinu or Inch Clutha (Gaelic meaning the Island in the Clyde), which is located between the Mata-au and the Koau (the southern branch of the river). Inch Clutha’s small population of Anglican settlers began holding religious services in the area early as the 1850s. In 1868, Francis Scott Pillans, one of the first Anglicans in the area, offered a site for a church to be constructed. His neighbour, William Ferguson, offered to prepare plans and specifications and a committee was appointed to oversee construction of the church. St Mary’s Anglican Church was completed in 1869, the same year as the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin was formed, and was consecrated the following year. It was one of the earliest Anglican churches in the area outside of Dunedin or Invercargill.
People began moving away from Inch Clutha to the nearby settlement of Stirling, which flourished when the railway opened between Dunedin and Stirling in the mid-1870s. The numbers attending church services at St Mary’s Anglican Church declined steadily and, for a time in the mid-1890s, ceased. By the turn of the century it became clear that the Church would need to be moved to Stirling, and it reopened on its new site in 1905. Worship continued in the St Mary’s Anglican Church at its new site until falling numbers led to its closure in 2005. In 2006 the Church was sold. In late 2011 the Church was cut into sections and relocated to the outskirts of the small rural settlement of Waianiwa in Southland. The building sits in a formal garden where it is to be used as a wedding chapel.
The Church is rectangular in plan with single gable corrugated roof and a small porch. There are four lancet windows spaced evenly down the length of the Church on both sides of the nave, with top lights opening on a pulley system. They match the window in the porch in detail. The interior of the nave has been lined with wallboard though the original lining remains beneath it. The ceiling is made of plain boards running the length of the nave, with exposed trusses providing modest decorative detail. The main decorative feature of the nave is the set of three lancet windows behind the altar which feature ornate stained glass images and are memorial windows to former parishioners of the church.
St Mary’s Anglican Church (Former) has aesthetic and architectural significance for its ornate stained glass memorial windows, its Gothic style, and for its timber construction, which reflects the early material of choice for smaller Otago and Southland churches. Dating from the 1860s, it is a relatively early survivor among Otago and Southland churches and is a representative remaining example of a small rural church in the region. Historically the Church represents the shifts in population as Otago’s infrastructure developed in the late nineteenth century, as well as the increasing secularisation of New Zealand society through the twentieth century. 142 years after its original construction, St Mary’s Anglican Church (Former) continues to provide a place for families and the community to celebrate weddings and other significant events, albeit 135 kilometres from its first home.
