In a country churchyard

Press, 14 December 1985, Page 19

In a country churchyard

Many of the features of St David's Pioneer Memorial Church, at Cave, tell an historic tale of their own, and together they make the church one of New Zealand's finest historic show places. On the initiative of the member of Parliament for Temuka for 20 years, Mr Thomas David Burnett, St David’s was built in the 19205. It is a memorial to Andrew and Catherine Burnett, who took up the Mount Cook sheep-run in 1864, and to all the pioneering people of the back country. The artist-architect, Herbert Hall, was awarded the New Zealand Institute of Architects’ gold medal for his attractive design. Charlie Groves and Mr Mcßride supervised the collection of glacial boulders from the Tasman and ofher valleys. Each boulder was carefully selected for its size,

colour, and texture, requiring only a small amount of chiselling to hew it into shape. Jack Walker, a stonemason, and Alick Esler were two other important contributors to this work. The Westmorland slate on the roof is believed to be one of the heaviest slates imported into New Zealand and is complemented by thick copper spouting and downpipes. A church motto of “watch and pray” is symbolised by the tower and nave underneath.

The large dedication stone in the church porch was the table in a hut up the Jollie Gorge. Shining overhead in the porch is a mast-light from an early barque that docked at the Port of Timaru. Stones from the hearth of the first shelter on Mount Cook Station form the base of the pulpit.

Andy Kennedy, with his foreman, Jim Brown, were responsible for the interior woodwork built of roughly adzed timber. Australian ironbark provides the strong roof principals, aided by jarrah rafters attached mainly with the use of wooden pegs.

Totara from forest remnants in the Tasman Valley sits astride the pulpit built of hearth-stones from the first hut occupied by Catherine and Andrew Burnett at Mount Cook Station. A flower design , carved out of kowhai wood on the pulpit by Charlie Fraser, represents the mountain lily and ribbonwood. Totara was also used in blocks for the floor, and the pews are of solid Southland beech. Plaster left over from the outer walls roughly coat the inner walls, adding to the impression of a church built in a

pioneer style. A huge unhewn boulder of greywacke brought from the Jollie River Gorge forms the base of the unique baptismal font. Mounted on the boulder is the hub of an old bullock dray used on long journeys throughout the region. To symbolise the home roots of the early pioneers, an ancient Scottish mortar for grinding oats and barley serves as the baptismal basin on the top of the font. Known as saddle stone, it was brought from the head of Strath Brora, in the County of Sutherland, to the Scottish coastline by the Mackays, the Highland ancestors of Mrs Catherine Burnett.

Medieval grisaille forms the glass of the 12 tudor-arched windows, six on each wall, that depict the 12 apostles. The grey colouring of these windows harmonise with

the grey protruding stones of the walls and the coating of greyish plaster. St David’s Church and the Provincial Council Chambers in Christchurch are believed to be the only buildings in Australasia to have windows of medieval grisaille. Two memorial windows at the western end are dedicated to the pioneer women of the Mackenzie Country. The first shows Rachel drawing water from the well and the second depicts a house scene with Jesus, Martha, and Mary. Following the death of Mrs T. D. Burnett, her family gave money to complete a Sunday School project as a memorial to her. The church is still administered by the Burnett Valley Trust and is one of the most frequently visited country churches in New Zealand. By TESSA WARD