Church project a healing process

A project that is building reconciliation between Māori and Pakeha in Taranaki means New Zealand’s oldest stone church will remain closed for a few more years.

The redevelopment at the Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary, New Plymouth, started as a plan to earthquake-strengthen the 1846 building.

But it has grown into a tangible way of coming to terms with the ugly stories entwined in both its own and Taranaki’s past.

The building, which is rated at just 15 per cent of the new building standard, was closed in 2016, and its congregation meets at the Peace Hall, across the road.

A massive fundraising drive has so far raised $12.25 million of the expected $16.5m for the Mere Tapu project, after Covid delays and rising costs pushed the budget out by $500,000.

Work has begun on building Te Whare Hononga – The House That Binds, a centre for peace and reconciliation, and it is expected to be complete by September 2022.

It will stand alongside the cathedral, and in front of the vicarage, which was moved in 2020 and is being renovated as part of the overall scheme.

The whare will be open for people to come and learn the stories connected to Pūkākā, the land on which the cathedral sits, co-dean Jay Ruka said.

‘‘It will tell the stories of mana whenua, Ngāti Te Whiti, Te Atiawa and Taranaki, and their relationships with St Mary’s and Pukaka.’’

Those stories will include the six Māori warriors buried in the corner of the vicarage lawn.

The men, from Ngāti Hauā in Waikato, were killed in a battle at Mahoetahi in 1861 and buried in the middle of the night by the second vicar of St Mary’s, Henry Govett, who was not permitted to bury them in the church cemetery.

It was important the whare was built first, to tell the story from a Māori perspective, before beginning on the church work, Ruka said.

‘‘We have got to right our wrongs here and do so in partnership.’’

As well as being a beautiful building in a historical cemetery,St Mary’s was integral part of colonisation in Taranaki.

Gravestones in the cemetery speak of men ‘‘cruelly killed by rebellious Māori’’ and ‘‘killed by hostile Māori,’’ but the truth is the opposite of that, Ruka said.

‘‘Our people were murdered on our own land by people trying to take our space.’’

Damon Ritai, from Ngāti Te Whiti, said the church and the cemetery behind it was a hostile place to Māori for decades, but iwi had wanted reconciliation for decades.

In 1956, mana whenua laid more than 40 wreaths of kawakawa, a traditional sign of mourning, on the graves as a sign of forgiveness, he said.

In 2018, the burial of Archdeacon Tikituterangi ‘Tiki’ Raumati in the cemetery was a significant step in the reconciliation process.

‘‘He is the only Māori buried here, so we don’t forget what happened, he purposefully came here,’’ Ritai said.

For a long time, the church has been a stark reminder of what happened, with military coats of arms and flags on display in what was meant to be a place of peace.

But when the cathedral reopens, the military paraphernalia will no longer be on show.

‘‘When the cathedral opens up, out of respect and humility, they’ll still be there, but they’ll be in a drawer, so you can see them if you want to see them,’’ Ruka said.