Located in the inland Rangitikei rural settlement of Moawhango, local hapu Ngati Whiti built Whitikaupeka Church between 1903 and 1905, to fulfil the dying request of important rangatira Ihakara te Raro (1814-1902). The church also commemorates other tribal elders. Whitikaupeka Church is an excellent example of a characteristic New Zealand Gothic Revival style inspired timber country church. Attributed to prominent Wanganui architect Alfred A. Atkins (1850-1919), the church mirrors the design of his nearby Batley Memorial Chapel. Moawhango’s ecclesiastical buildings form an important part of its historical landscape. Whitikaupeka Church has historical value through its connection with the Anglican Church’s Maori Mission activities, and it reflects a wider regional church building trend at the time, resulting from population growth associated with the development of the North Island Main Trunk railway. Ngati Whiti’s ancestor, Whitikaupeka, came to the Moawhango region in the mid seventeenth century. Moawhango developed as a Maori settlement when Europeans began farming in the district in the late 1860s. In the 1890s it was a rural service centre and Whitikaupeka meeting house was constructed. At the time Ihakara te Raro died, Robert Thompson Batley’s (1849-1917) family, who had based their commercial and farming activities in Moawhango since the 1880s, were completing their private memorial chapel nearby. Whitikaupeka Church is a modest sized building, consisting of a nave with apsidal chancel to the east and a porch and vestry at the west end. Also, like the Batley chapel, there is a small bell tower at the nave’s west end. The church has a high level of integrity with much of the original native timber, and many features like its kerosene lamps, remaining. The original iron finials are the same as those on the Batley chapel, and aspects such as the carved altar reredos (wooden screen) and other altar furniture have also been adapted from that design. There was an Anglican affiliation when Whitikaupeka Church was constructed, but the building has also been used by other denominations, including Ratana. The church is still closely associated with the neighbouring marae and has been the setting for religious and community activities for generations. Whitikaupeka Church remains important to Ngati Whiti and as such a conservation project was undertaken between 1994 and 1995.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
948
Date Entered
2nd February 2014
Date of Effect
2nd February 2014
City/District Council
Rangitīkei District
Region
Horizons (Manawatū-Whanganui) Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Awarua 2C13J7 (RT 291092), Wellington Land District and the building known as Whitikaupeka Church thereon, and its fitting and fixtures including the kerosene lamps and altar furniture. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the registration report for further information).
Legal description
Awarua 2C13J7 (RT 291092), Wellington Land District
Location Description
Moawhango is approximately 20 kilometres northeast of Taihape at the junction of Moawhango Valley/Taihape-Napier and Wherewhere Roads. After turning east onto Wherewhere Road, the church can be seen on the south side as the road bends around to the east.
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
948
Date Entered
2nd February 2014
Date of Effect
2nd February 2014
City/District Council
Rangitīkei District
Region
Horizons (Manawatū-Whanganui) Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Awarua 2C13J7 (RT 291092), Wellington Land District and the building known as Whitikaupeka Church thereon, and its fitting and fixtures including the kerosene lamps and altar furniture. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the registration report for further information).
Legal description
Awarua 2C13J7 (RT 291092), Wellington Land District
Location Description
Moawhango is approximately 20 kilometres northeast of Taihape at the junction of Moawhango Valley/Taihape-Napier and Wherewhere Roads. After turning east onto Wherewhere Road, the church can be seen on the south side as the road bends around to the east.
Cultural Significance
Cultural Significance or Value Whitikaupeka Church has had a long association with the adjacent marae, which shares the name of the Ngati Whiti ancestor. The church has served as a place for worship and other events connected with the marae and local community. The church is also culturally important because its creation was the dying wish of Ihakara te Raro, a prominent local rangatira in the late nineteenth century, and it is also dedicated to several other elders. Social Significance or Value Whitikaupeka Church has played a prominent role in the social life of the Moawhango community throughout its history. It was the focus for important religious and social milestones for the community, such as baptisms, weddings and funerals. This place has been well maintained and conservation work in the mid-1990s is further evidence of community regard for it. Spiritual Significance or Value A religious and commemorative imperative led to the building of Whitikaupeka Church, which was welcomed by the Anglican Church’s Maori Mission. Since it was completed in 1905 it has been the venue of innumerable Anglican religious services and celebrations, as well as some from other denominations. Therefore the church has been directly associated with the spiritual life of the hapu and has had local spiritual importance for generations.
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value Whitikaupeka Church has local historical significance because it represents the relationship between Ngati Whiti and the Batley family in the early twentieth century. Moawhango coalesced into a Maori settlement and then became a service town as a result of European farming in the region from the late 1860s. The Batley family’s farming activities in Moawhango were established in the 1880s and Robert went on to assist Ngati Whiti during their Maori Land Court proceedings. Whitikaupeka Church can be seen as a physical representation of the relationship between local Maori and the Batleys because the design and many features mirror that of the Batley Memorial Chapel completed three years prior to Whitikaupeka Church. Furthermore, Whitikaupeka Church reflects the local church building trend in the in the closing years of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. It is one of a group of churches constructed in the Taihape region as a result of growth in the local population, and development of settlements, in connection with the construction of the North Island Main Trunk railway. In 1905 Whitikaupeka Church was opened by Reverend Alfred Owen Williams, the Superintendent of the Anglican Maori Mission’s Wanganui District. The building’s connection to the mission further adds to its historical significance and its construction was seen as a bright spot for the Church in a time when there was denominational competition locally, especially from Mormons who had a mission based in Moawhango.
Physical Significance
Aesthetic Significance or Value Whitikaupeka Church has the aesthetic values typically associated with New Zealand country churches, with its large section nestled against one of the high hills which enclose Moawhango. It is appealing because its size and construction materials mean its presence in the landscape is not overstated, but by the same token it provides a point of reference in the landscape. Whitikaupeka Church is a landmark within this tranquil and isolated small rural township. Architectural Significance or Value Whitikaupeka Church has architectural value as a characteristic early twentieth proponent of the Gothic Revival style of church architecture which was adapted to New Zealand requirements and the materials locally available, and in doing so became a vernacular style. Rural examples of these churches are characterised by their modest size, unassumingly simple but graceful designs, and timber construction, all of which describe Whitikaupeka Church. A number of early twentieth century Gothic Revival churches remain throughout rural New Zealand, but the integrity of the early twentieth century construction techniques, fabric and fittings, including original kerosene lamps, means that Whitikaupeka Church has architectural importance as a remarkably intact example. This place has further architectural significance in its pairing with the neighbouring Batley Memorial Chapel. Along with the chapel, Whitikaupeka Church can be considered part of the oeuvre of prominent Wanganui architect Alfred A. Atkins.
Detail Of Assessed Criteria
(a) The extent to which the place reflects important or representative aspects of New Zealand history Whitikaupeka Church is an important site because it represents the effectiveness of the Anglican Maori Mission’s campaign in spreading Christianity throughout New Zealand, with its efforts continuing into the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly in rural communities such as Moawhango. (d) The importance of the place to the tangata whenua Whitikaupeka Church has importance because it is named after the ancestor of Ngati Whiti and was built by the hapu in memory of esteemed tribal elders from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The church has an on-going close association with the adjacent Whitikaupeka marae, and the trustees of the church’s land are hapu members. (e) The community association with, or public esteem for the place This building has been well maintained by the local community, as is shown by the high level of original material and features present, which demonstrates the high regard the church’s community has for it. Built by Ngati Whiti for hapu religious purposes and to honour important leaders, Whitikaupeka Church has been visited by generations of local people since its construction and therefore many have a close personal and whanau connection with, and esteem for, the building. (k) The extent to which the place forms part of a wider historical and cultural complex or historical and cultural landscape Moawhango is a small rural settlement with the majority of its buildings dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and either being connected with Ngati Whiti settlement or the Batley family’s farming endeavours during this period. Being of similar design, Whitikaupeka Church is visually linked to the Batley Memorial Chapel, but also directly connected to Whitikaupeka marae on its opposite side. Therefore, Whitikaupeka Church is an important part of Moawhango’s historical and cultural landscape.
Construction Professional
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Name
Mair, James
Type
Builder
Biography
Carver
Name
Dewson, Mr.
Type
Carver
Biography
Atkins (1850-1919) was born in Birmingham, England, on 12 June 1850. He studied for seven years at the School of Science and Art in Birmingham under John Millward, a consulting engineer. In 1875 he immigrated to New Zealand, his first job being the Waitara to Wanganui railway line. This was followed in 1879 by his appointment as Engineer to what became the Waitotara County Council. In addition to being an Associate Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers to which he was elected in 1886, he was also a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects from 1888 and a member of the Royal Sanitary Institute from 1891. During the 1890s Atkins was in partnership for a time with Frederick de Jersey Clere at Wanganui and Wellington. Some of the more notable buildings completed in this period were the Wanganui Technical School in 1892, Wanganui College with Clere in 1894, Wanganui Museum in 1894 and the Wanganui Hospital in 1897. In 1903 he designed the Ward Observatory in Wanganui. Atkins moved to Wellington in 1908 and set up practice with Roger Bacon. Over the next decade the firm designed many banks and public buildings, their work including several buildings at Wanganui Collegiate School (1909-1910), Cook Hospital, Gisborne (1911), Wairoa Hospital (1912) and much domestic work in Wellington. Atkins died in 1919. The firm known as Atkins and Bacon continues today as Gooch Mitchell Macdiarmid.
Name
Atkins, Alfred A.
Type
Architect
Construction Details
Finish Year
1905
Start Year
1903
Type
Original Construction
Description
Conservation work
Finish Year
1995
Start Year
1994
Type
Restoration
Construction Materials
Concrete, corrugated iron, glass, timber
The Moawhango region has long Maori historical associations established when Tamatea-pokai-whenua (Tamatea land explorer), grandson of the Takitimu canoe’s commander, travelled into the district and claimed it. Within a few generations Tamatea’s descendants came to the region, displacing Ngati Hotu. Following this, Ngati Whiti migrated there from northern Hawke’s Bay and forced Ngati Hotu out in the mid seventeenth century, with the aid of Ngati Tama allies. The ancestor Whitikaupeka was born in this upper Rangitikei area, known as Inland Patea, and upon his return he married and settled there. It is recorded that Moawhango only coalesced into a Maori settlement from the late 1860s because of its proximity to the district’s large sheep runs, and in the 1870s a flour mill was built and run by local Maori. It was known as Te Riu o Puanga (valley of the star Puanga) prior to an 1883 Post Office directive to call the settlement Moawhango, after the river it is positioned next to. On separate occasions the missionaries Richard Taylor (1805-1873) and William Colenso (1811-1899) passed through the region in the 1840s, but it was not until 20 years later that Europeans began to settle in the vicinity when the brothers Captain Azim Salvator (1837-1923) and William John Birch (1842-1920) established their leased sheep run in the high country area further north. When their former employee, Robert Thompson Batley (1849-1917), opened a store at Moawhango in 1882 the settlement began to develop into a main service centre for the burgeoning farming district. By 1891 Moawhango buildings belonging to the Batleys included a cottage, outbuildings, woolshed, stables, and accommodation building, and there was also a general store and a saddler’s. To one Pakeha journalist this ‘English appearance…altogether cures one of the idea that ‘Moawhango,’ ‘The Pa,’ or ‘Patea’ as it is called variously, is only a Maori village.’ However, one building absent from Moawhango by the early twentieth century was a church. The first church constructed in the region was a Catholic church further south at Mangaweka, built in 1899. In early 1902 a red brick and concrete private memorial chapel was built in Moawhango by Robert and Emily (1860?-1927) Batley and dedicated to their eldest daughter, Nellie, who had drowned. Public services were held there, and the building was often used for family services and events. It was not until later in 1902 that Taihape’s first Anglican Church, St Margaret’s, was opened. The Anglican and Catholic Churches purchased land in Mataroa in 1902, and Catholic churches were built in Opaea in 1903 and Taihape the following year. This flourish of church building is symptomatic of the coming of age of towns along the North Island Main Trunk railway during its construction. However, until these purpose-built religious buildings were completed services were held in a variety of venues, including houses, and were often led by lay readers if no clergy from the wider district were available. For example, in Moawhango in the 1890s it seems that services were held in a whare runanga (assembly hall). Similarities with the Batley Memorial Chapel indicate the Batley family played a role in the creation of Whitikaupeka Church. This is not surprising because the family seem to have had a good relationship with neighbouring Maori. Robert is said to have spoken the language competently, and to have helped Ngati Whiti establish their claim to the area in the Maori Land Court. While in European circles he became known as the ‘King of Moawhango,’ local Maori called Robert ‘Papa Patere’. It seems likely that the Batley family pointed those involved in building Whitikaupeka Church in the direction of the manufacturers and craftsmen for the fittings and features which it and the Batley Memorial Chapel have in common. The strong similarities between the two buildings suggest that the Alfred A. Atkins’ (1850-1919) plans for the brick Batley Memorial Chapel were adapted for a timber church by the architect or by Whitikaupeka Church’s builder. Both John Mair and John Swallow, a Marton builder, are thought to have been involved in the church’s construction. Atkins was a prominent Wanganui architect by the early twentieth century having designed many important buildings in the city including Wanganui Museum (1894) and the Wanganui Hospital (1897). Contemporary with the Batley’s chapel and Whitikaupeka Church is Atkins’ Ward Observatory (1903) and later his partnership also designed the original Wanganui Collegiate School’s Liverpool Street campus buildings. He was well-known for his school and hospital work, but also designed many commercial and residential buildings, including Rangitawa near Halcombe. Compared with this, ecclesiastical buildings were only a small part of Atkins’ portfolio. He gained early experience in church design while in partnership in the 1880s and 90s with Frederick de Jersey Clere, who was the Anglican Diocesan architect. Whitikaupeka Church was constructed between 1903 and 1905, and is closely associated with the Whitikaupeka marae immediately to its northwest, whose meeting house was built a decade beforehand. The church was opened on 5 February 1905 and is sited on Maori-owned land. Maori ‘from all parts’ began to arrive for the ceremony several days beforehand. The catalyst for its construction was the death of Ngati Whiti rangatira, Ihakara te Raro (1814-1902), but other members of the council of elders are also commemorated in the building. Ihakara was described as ‘a great Maori chief’ whose funeral was anticipated as being ‘the largest Maori funeral that has taken place in the district for years.’ It was his daughter Te Rina Pine who drove the building project which had been the dying wish of her father. Others commemorated in the church include: Retimana te Rango (d.1894), Horima Paerau (d.1897), Rota Tiatia (d.1900), Ihaka te Kongo (d.1903), and Karaitiana te Rango (d.1904). Some of the names of those commemorated at Whitikaupeka Church are testimony to the influence of Christianity (Karaitiana) prior to its construction. Examples of biblical names include: Ihakara (Issachar), Ihaka (Isaac), and Rota (Lot). The completion of the church was heartening for the Anglican Church at the time. Anglican missionary activity in New Zealand continued into the twentieth century through its Maori Mission. By the late nineteenth century this consisted of Maori clergy travelling around villages and ministering once they had been licensed to do so by Pakeha priests. However, less formal instruction in the Christian faith seems to have been provided locally by Emily Batley, who is known to have taught Te Rina. Moawhango was within the Maori Mission’s Wanganui District, with Reverend Alfred Owen Williams (1856-1923) the Superintendent for a substantial period, between 1885 and 1921. As such it was fitting that Williams presided at the opening of Whitikaupeka Church, especially since he had also conducted Ihakara’s burial service a few years earlier. Alfred was the grandson of the famous missionary Henry Williams (1792-1867) who arrived in New Zealand in 1823. His father had been a Maori Land Court judge in Auckland. With this heritage it is perhaps unsurprising that Alfred became involved in Maori affairs and was ‘a great Maori linguist.’ He was based at the Putiki mission station from 1885 and soon become a pillar of Wanganui’s community. Upon his death in 1923 it was thought that North Island Maori would feel his loss deeply because they ‘looked to him with the utmost confidence for help and guidance.’ At the time of Alfred’s death his son, Reverend Wilfred (Wilpia) Gaster Williams (1882-1961), had taken over as the local Maori Mission Superintendent. It seems that there was spiritual competition in the area. In particular, Mormons were due to hold a large gathering in Moawhango at Easter 1905. This event was held over several days and was apparently well attended by local Maori. Indeed, Moawhango was said to be the Mormon’s missionary headquarters. In 1907 a similar gathering attracted approximately 500 Maori from as far afield as the King Country and Hastings. Within a few years it seems its Anglican counterpart was faltering. There were not enough Maori clergy to adequately cover each pastorate and their European colleagues were encouraged to help out because there was a concern that ‘people could be led astray by false doctrine.’ Therefore, having a physical presence catering to the Maori community in Moawhango would have been reassuring for the Anglican Church. Like other rural churches, Whitikaupeka Church would have been a significant financial undertaking for the local community, and therefore a clear demonstration that there was a local group of committed Anglicans. Whitikaupeka Church was not listed as a local Anglican parish church because it was included in a separate Maori Pastorate. Because Whitikaupeka Church was a community initiative, rather than an Anglican Church one, the connection between the two does not seem to have been formal, and they may have drifted further apart as a result of the difficult time the Maori Mission faced from the 1920s onwards, and when the Williams’ were no longer involved. However, Maori pastors continued to conduct services there in the mid to late twentieth century. Anglican services are still occasionally held at the church and the building is often used by families associated with the marae for functions and events. Whitikaupeka Church has also been used for the services of different denominations, including Ratana. This esteemed local facility was deteriorating in some areas by the early 1990s. Therefore, in 1994 the Whitikaupeka Marae Trust commissioned conservation architect Chris Cochran to prepare a conservation plan for the building. Repairs were recommended to water and borer damaged areas. These works took a year to complete and the church was rededicated on 15 July 1995. Whitikaupeka Church has been noted as one of a group of culturally significant Whanganui region Maori churches. Others listed in Te Ara – Encyclopedia of New Zealand include: Wheriko Church (Anglican), Category 1 historic place (Register no. 188), Pepara Church (Anglican), Category 2 historic place (Register no. 957), and the Ratana Temple.
Current Description Whitikaupeka Church is located within the small rural valley settlement of Moawhango. Dwarfed by the hill behind it, the church has the attractive qualities of other typical New Zealand country churches in that it seems a small but poignant statement of human activity within a vast, and sometimes inhospitable, environment. This impression is not diminished by the other buildings in the township, including those of the marae which the church is associated with, because they are relatively few in number and are generously spaced. The church, completed in 1905, sits to the rear of its modest churchyard, and as such the building and its immediate landscape are appropriately matched. There are only a few trees within the quaint picket fence which surrounds the churchyard. Otherwise the section is grassed with a concrete path leading to the church door. Of note is the remaining, towering, conifer. This tree was planted early in the history of the church. Whitikaupeka Church is a simple timber framed and rusticated weatherboard clad church building. The western porch spans the width of the nave and incorporates a vestry. The nave terminates with an apsidal chancel and this main section of the building has timber frame buttresses around the exterior, interspersed with hooded lancet windows. As is common in churches of this type the building has only a few ornamental touches, including an attractive tracery window above the altar in the chancel’s rear wall, set within an irregular pentagon-shaped sash. The bold use of timber in this building continues in the interior, which is fully lined with vertical tongue and groove boarding. Above the dado of the nave this has been painted, but elsewhere the native timber’s colour and grain are displayed to rich effect, including the pews and altar fittings and furniture. These features are reminiscent of the New Zealand translation of Gothic Revival church architecture. This church building has been maintained extremely well by the local community and as such there is a high degree of 1903-1905 original fabric remaining, with only as small amount as practical replaced during the 1994-1995 conservation project. As well as original interior and exterior native timber, the building’s four kerosene lamps are another early feature. These were common in contemporary churches but are now unusual in situ, mostly because other buildings had electricity installed which rendered the lamps redundant. The church’s wrought iron finials (matching the Batley Memorial Chapel) are located on the gable apexes of the porch, bell tower, and chancel, and are also original elements. The design of the church mirrors that of the neighbouring brick Batley Memorial Chapel, Category 2 historic place (Register No. 3308), which was constructed a few years earlier in 1902. The only major difference between the buildings is that Whitikaupeka Church was constructed from timber, whereas its counterpart is brick and concrete. Commonalities between the buildings include their alignment (west to east), size, west porches, the shape and position of their apsidal chancels, as well as the same number of longitudinal exterior buttresses. These similarities suggest the input of the Batley family in the creation of the building, and could indicate that Atkins also designed it. Alternatively, the form of the church may have been adapted directly from the Batley Memorial Chapel by another party. The similarities between the two buildings extend to interior features. In the Batley chapel these were constructed as part of Russell and Bignell’s building contract. The timber reredos in the Batley Chapel was described as an ‘excellent piece of carving’ which was ‘the work of Mr Dewson, in the employ of Messrs Russell and Bignell.’ Whitikaupeka Church’s reredos references this earlier work, both being the same scale and consisting of three panels with a cross carved into the central panel. However, the flanking panels differ, with ‘IHS’ carved into the Church’s left reredos panel and a symbol similar in shape to an ‘ao’ on the right. These letters could be a reference the Maori word for world, or relate back to the Batley’s alpha and omega panels. It is probably the work of Mr Dewson. Dewson’s carving was praised on another Russell and Bignell job, Atkins’ Foster’s Hotel in Wanganui. As another original feature, the church’s octagonal timber font may also have been carved by Dewson. The altar rails in the two Moawhango churches are also the same, as are the pews and altar furniture. The positioning of a curtained screen on the south side between the nave and chancel also matches, however, the post caps are carved into different shapes.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapu / Whanau
Iwi
Ngati Whitikaupeka
Completion Date
1st January 2014
Report Written By
Karen Astwood
Information Sources
Morrell, 1973
W. P. Morrell, The Anglican Church in New Zealand: A History, Dunedin, 1973
Donovan, 2002
Don Donovan, Country Churches of New Zealand, New Holland, Auckland, 2002.
Cochran, 1994
Cochran, C., ‘Whitikaupeka Church, Moawhango,’ Conservation Report for the Whitikaupeka Marae Trustees (2 September 1994)
Batley, 1958
Batley, R. A. L., Moawhango School: A short history of the Inland Patea, Taihape, Moawhango School Jubilee Committee, 1958
Monaghan, 1957
Monaghan, H. W., From Age to Age: The story of the Church of England in the Diocese of Wellington, 1858-1958, Wellington, Standing Committee of the Diocese of Wellington New Zealand, 1957
Report Written By
A fully referenced registration report is available on request from the Central Region Office of the NZHPT 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.
Current Usages
Uses: Religion
Specific Usage: Church
Former Usages
General Usage:: Religion
Specific Usage: Church
Themes
Of Significance to Maori