MAORI CHURCH CENTENARY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 130, 17 March 1950, Page 4

MAORI CHURCH CENTENARY

THEIR MAJESTIES’ GIFT DEDICATION CEREMONY TO-MORROW (P.A.) OTAKI, March IG. Thousands of people, European and Maori, are flocking to Otaki to attend the centenary celebrations of the Rangiatea Church, which will reach a climax on Saturday, • when his Excellency -the Governor-General (Sir Bernard Freyberg) and Lady Frey- • berg will attend the official cere- • mony. A highlight of the celebrations will be the unveiling of an altar frontal—a gift from their Majesties the King and Queen—by the Governor-General The actual altar cloth will replace the historic one presented to the church in the distant past by Queen Victoria. ■The new cloth will be dedicated by the Bishop of Wellington (the Rt. Rev. R. H. Owen) “to the glory of God and in pious memory of Victoria, some time Queen of this Dominion.” Several church dignitaries will be present, including the Bishop of Aotea roa (the Rt. Rev. F. A. Bennett). A historic visit will be made by King Koroki,_.who, with Princess ‘ To Puea and a retinue, is expected to arrive at Otaki to-morrow morning. The Ngati Raukawa tribe will be hosts ,and the official centennial committee expects that with the influx of more visitors to-morrow, they will cater for about 4000 guests. The Rangiatea Church is one of the most historic buildings on the Avest coast of the North Island. It is an early landmark of Christian endeavour, and it is inseparably linked Avith the redoubtable Maori “Napoleon” (Te Rauparaha), his son, Tamihana, and the second Bishop of Wellington (the Ven. Archdeacon Octavius Hadfield), Who first arrived on the WaikanaeOtaki coast in 1839.

Historians dispute whether Te Rauparaha actually Avas responsible for the building of the church, but he certainly provided Archdeacon Hadfield with select trees from his totara forest at Ohau. Those tree trunks stand today as the ridgepole of the church. The building is 80ft long, 86ft broad and 40ft high. Its famous ridgepole is 86 long. All of the timber Avas hauled and floated some 10 or 12 miles. .. ■

The building of the church is con-, sidered to have begun in 184.8 or 1849, and it was* opened in 1851. It has been renovated several times, and Sir Apirana Ngata and a band of his Ngati Porou artisans and Avell-known Araw'a carvers from Rotorua have recently completely restored the decorative panelling and other interior relics.