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The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption was built near to the mission established in the Hokianga by the Mill Hill missionaries who were responsible for the revival of Catholic missions in the Auckland Diocese in the late 19th century. These missioner priests identified completely with their Maori congregations and made themselves masters of the Maori language. The patriarchal role of the resident priest became one of the realities of daily life, and a new wave of building provided churches and other buildings, including schools and convents. Most of the churches built at the turn of the century were modest structures, but the church at Motukaraka was larger and more costly than the normal Mill Hill buildings. The church was sited deliberately to give Catholic witness to the surrounding district. The church which was opened in 1910 by Dean Lightfoot, is also associated with Father John Baptist Becker, one of the Mill Hill missionaries who is buried alongside the church. Father Becker translated the New Testament into the Maori language. Today the church is part of the adjacent marae.

Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (Catholic) | Stuart Park | Heritage New Zealand

Location

List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 1

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

Date Entered

2nd February 1990

Date of Effect

2nd February 1990

City/District Council

Far North District

Region

Northland Region

Legal description

Wharau A (RT 432235), North Auckland Land District

Overview

Status
Listed

List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1

Access
Private/No Public Access

List Number
72

Date Entered
2nd February 1990

Date of Effect
2nd February 1990

City/District Council
Far North District

Region
Northland Region

Legal description

Wharau A (RT 432235), North Auckland Land District

Detailed List Entry

Significance

Historic Significance

Historical Significance or Value The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, together with St Peter's at Panguru, is one of the spiritual centres of the North Hokianga Catholic community. The church is intimately associated with the work of the Mill Hill missionaries, who in the latter part of the 19th century were responsible for the rejuvenation of the Catholic faith among the Maori people of the north.

Physical Significance

ARCHITECTURAL QUALITY: The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption is a fine essay in siting and an excellent example of the timber tradition of building essentially simple country churches in the neo-Gothic manner. TOWNSCAPE/LANDMARK VALUE The church is magnificently sited on elevated land above the Hokianga Harbour. With its dominant spire it is a splendid landmark.

Construction Professional

Biography

Thomas Mahoney (1854/5?-1923) was the eldest son of Edward Mahoney, a leading Auckland architect. Thomas joined his father's firm, Edward Mahoney and Sons, in 1878 and was followed soon after by his younger brother Robert. The firm was responsible for a wide range of designs including domestic buildings, commercial and public buildings, churches and hotels. They won a competition for the design of the Auckland Customhouse in 1888, and were also responsible for the design of The Pah (now Monte Cecilia Convent), Hillsborough (1887), the Elliot Street facade of Smith and Caughey's Building (1910) and Wrights Building, Auckland (1911). Thomas was secretary of the Auckland Institute of Architects in 1885, president in 1883, and treasurer in 1902. In 1907 he was president of the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects.

Name

Mahoney, Thomas

Type

Architect

Construction Details

Start Year

1910

Type

Original Construction

Construction Materials

Timber piles; truss system for the main roof; building is of kauri timber.

Notable Features

The spectacular siting.

Physical Description

ARCHITECT/ENGINEER OR DESIGNER: Not certain; may have been: Thomas MAHONEY (1855-1923) ARCHITECT & BUILDER: The builder of the church was H.A. Williams of Kohukohu and the plans are said to have been "drawn up in Auckland". The design is such that a trained architect was clearly responsible. This could have well been Thomas Mahoney, who was the architect for many Catholic buildings in the Auckland Diocese, although there is no documentation to prove this. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Neo-Gothic in style, the church consists of a nave with gabled roof and a sacristy, also gabled, behind the altar wall. This unfenestrated wall is decorated with a large painting - a copy of Murillo's "The Immaculate Conception" which hangs in the Louvre, Paris. Lancet windows, widely spaced, have plain glass. The interior with its simple scissor trusses and unpainted kauri matchlining is unpretentious but dignified. A rear gallery which is possibly an addition abuts against windows at the sides. The entrance is through a tower surmounted by a tall broach spire. Above door level are paired lancet windows with coloured glass, with circular windows above. The next level has lancet windows which are louvered. Doors likewise have pointed arch forms. MODIFICATIONS: A gallery at the rear is possibly an addition. The church is being renovated at present, wooden piles are being replaced by concrete piles.

Reference

Information Sources

New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT)

New Zealand Historic Places Trust

Salmond, 1986

Jeremy Salmond, Old New Zealand Houses 1800-1940, Auckland, 1986, Reed Methuen

Porter, 1983 (2)

Frances Porter (ed.), Historic Buildings of New Zealand: North Island (2nd edn.), Auckland, 1983

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

Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (Catholic)

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