Erected in 1899, St Gabriel's Church is a visually striking expression of Catholic Maori identity overlooking Whangape Harbour from an elevated position beside Makora pa. Makora was the birthplace of Te Aupouri iwi, but lay within the territory of Te Uri o Tai hapu of Te Rarawa by the early nineteenth century. Catholicism took root there under the influence of Tamaho Te Huhu (?1799-1869), ariki of Pawarenga. Tamaho Te Huhu was one of the first Maori converts in New Zealand to be baptised in the Catholic faith and was a signatory to the 1835 Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand. Catholicism was actively promoted in the region by Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier (1801-1871), who established New Zealand's earliest Catholic missions in the Hokianga from 1838, before moving to Kororareka in 1839. An early church may have been built at Pawarenga in the 1880s, when support for Maori catechists in the Hokianga region, such as Te Huhu's younger brother Kaperiere (Gabriel) (?1822-1921), was provided by an itinerant Pakeha priest James McDonald (1824-1890). Ordained in Dublin, McDonald was closely associated with Bishop Pompallier and subsequently became vicar-general for Maori in the Auckland diocese, a responsibility later adjusted to encompass a reduced area north of Auckland. More substantial ties between outlying areas such as Pawarenga and the main body of the Catholic Church were established in the 1890s with the arrival of the St Joseph's Missionary Society. Also known as the Mill Hill Fathers, the Society was part of a British-based movement to spread Catholicism among indigenous peoples and the underprivileged, with missions in America (1871), India (1875), Pakistan (1876) and elsewhere. The first two Fathers in New Zealand, one of whom was John Baptist Becker (1856-1941), arrived in the country in 1886. Becker was active north of Auckland from 1890-1891. By 1900, several new churches in the Hokianga had been built as symbols of renewed faith, of which one of the largest and most expensive was St Gabriel's. Surrounded by a small churchyard containing the burial place of Tamaho Te Huhu and others, the timber church was erected by Robert Shannon, a flax miller from Kaitaia. Paid for by its Maori congregation, its kauri components are also said to have been sawn by the local community, who raised the finance by gum-digging at Waiharera. The building was evidently intended to be a prominent landmark within the landscape, looking out across the Whangape harbour towards Mehopa (also known as Mesopotamia) where several Anglican churches were erected. Incorporating a tall tower and bell turret at its north-western end and a canted apse at the southeast, it was strongly influenced by Gothic Revival design and bore close similarities to other churches influenced or built by the Mill Hill Fathers at the turn of the century. Its graceful interior included diagonally-boarded wainscoting, a boxed pew in the south-western corner of the nave and slender scissor trusses supporting a steeply-gabled roof. A balustraded rail separated the nave from the sanctuary and its associated altar and sacristy. The church may have been opened by Father Becker in the last week of October 1899, having been described the previous month as near completion. St Gabriel's became a parish church in 1915, when Becker settled in Pawarenga. A timber presbytery was built on land adjoining the church in the same year. This was occupied until 1956 and subsequently removed or demolished. Father Becker himself remained the parish priest until 1921. Ongoing burials in the churchyard included that of Kaperiere Te Huhu, who may have been a driving force behind construction of the church and who died in the same year as Father Becker's departure. During the 1920s, Catholic activity in the parish appears to have expanded. In a schedule completed by Father Becker, possibly in the early part of the decade, the parish is described as having 411 Maori and 78 European inhabitants of which half were considered to be Catholic. Noted for his interest in promoting Catholicism in rural districts, Bishop Henry Cleary (1859-1929) visited the church in 1920, when he confirmed 54 children. In 1923, leading members of Ngati Haua hapu of Whangape were received into the Catholic Church at Pawarenga after a disagreement with their Anglican leader. New places for worship were built elsewhere in the parish including at St Peter's Church, Whangape (1925) and Our Lady of the Lourdes at Rotokahi (1927). A school and convent at Pawarenga were also erected in 1927. In the 1950s, paintings depicting the Stations of the Cross were hung in the interior, and are believed to have been created by an early twentieth-century Dutch artist. Some reblocking of the subfloor may also have occurred. The church was repaired with community support in 1982-1983, when electricity was also installed. The reopening mass held at the church on 3 January 1984 was attended by about 500 people. In recent years, St Gabriel's Church has been the subject of much admiration from the wider New Zealand community for its aesthetic appeal, based on its dramatic siting and the simplicity of its design. Artists attracted to the church have included the celebrated photographer, Robin Morrison (1944-1993). In 1991, St Gabriel's was described in a seminal work The church and its churchyard remain in regular use by its congregation and the local community. The church building is one of the earliest Maori Catholic churches in the northern Hokianga still on its original site, and is one of the best-preserved early Maori Catholic churches in the Hokianga region.

St Gabriel's Church, is one of five churches visible in the Whangape Harbour and Pawarenga valley landscape, in the northern Hokianga. It is prominently located on a ridge on Taiao Hill, overlooking a marae and the Whangape Harbour. The building, adjoining the site of Makora pa, is set in a relatively open landscape against a backdrop of hills, estuary, cabbage trees and Macrocarpas . An obelisk on the pa marks the birthplace of Te Aupouri iwi. The church building is surrounded by a rectangular churchyard, which contains numerous grave markers. Most of these are of stone, although some are of timber. They include markers to Tamaho Te Huhu, Kaperiere Te Huhu and other significant individuals. Many of the inscriptions are in te reo Maori. The rectangular building, constructed of local kauri, is comprised of three sections. A canted apse, attached to one end of the building, accommodates a small sacristy. At the other end of the church is an elegant octagonal turret and bell tower, at the base of which is the main door to the building and a small entrance vestibule. . Timber buttresses divide the main body of the 12.2m x 6.7m (40' x 22') building into five bays, which encompass the nave. Gothic Revival influences are evident in the church's pointed-arch windows and main entrance doorway. The sacristy and belfry, the latter until recently topped by a large cross, mark the church out as a distinctively Catholic structure. The church sits on a three-layered concrete block base on a reinforced concrete footing. It is has vertical board and batten cladding and a corrugated iron roof. The belfry is sheathed in copper. Internally, the church is lined with wide tongue and groove kauri boards. The nave incorporates a wainscote of diagonally arranged timbers and a boxed pew of similar design in its south-western corner. The church doors, set within pointed-arch frames, are also panelled with diagonal boards. Slender scissor trusses support the roof. The triangular archway to the apse incorporates trefoil timber tracery. A turned balustrade delineates the sanctuary area and has a rectangular timber post on either side of its central opening. On the lower step of the high altar is a simpler altar that was added in 1983, and which is in use today. Large paintings of the Stations of the Cross hang on the side walls. The simple timber pews are of open design with an angled rail for a back-rest. Apart from the central aisle and the area around the altar, which are carpeted, the timber floors consist of exposed kauri boards.