St Joseph's Anglican Maori Church

St Joseph's Anglican Maori Church is located just on the outskirts of Awanui and was built roughly around 1887. It was given it's name in compliance with the wish of the principal chiefs in commemoration of of the missionary work done by Reverend Joseph Matthews and the ministry of lay-reader Joseph Poutama.

We visited this area in 2018 but never got to venture inside but still a nice tidy church and cemetery nonetheless.

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St Clement's Anglican Church

Nestled on a small hill just around the corner from Ahipara township and bay is this little wee gem. St Clement's Anglican Church and cemetery dates back to around 1873 and was named "Pukemiro" after the hill that is stands on.

As per an old Maori story this area was chosen as a sacred burial spot for Poroa who was the Chief of Te Rawara - he lived here when times were peaceful. Most of the graves are from the 1800s with a few of them surrounded by old iron fencing.

Inside everything looks quite tidy, humble and well looked after. The church itself was built by local Maoris named Inoka Tutangiora, Rapata Wharawhara and Kihirini Te Morenga under the guidance of Richard Matthews who was the son of Joseph Matthews (part of the Missionary Society).

The view from the top steps next to the church looks out over miles of farmland. In 2012 restoration committee of the church were looking for funding to restore the church, I'd say since then alot of work has been done quite tastefully. After sharing these photos on Facebook I had a few people tell me their Tupuna (ancestors) were buried there.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday and My corner of the world.