Maraeroa Maori Urupa Church

Horeke Road in the Hokianga District runs for about 35 minutes with most of it being a dirt gravel road. Much of New Zealand's small towns are linked by this and along the way once again I asked the other half to stop when this baby caught my eye.

For some reason I can't find any information whatsoever about it except that it's named Maraeroa Historical Church and is on 1737 Horeke Road. There is only one grave there belonging to a Private Hone Matiu who served in the 1st World War and died in 1919.

Now sometimes we've found that with old churches the door is either locked or unlocked - this one was the latter. He's not into old buildings as much as I am so I carefully walked inside and what I saw was a very sparse but well looked after interior - looks quite humble doesn't it? From the retro pattered carpet mat down the center of the aisle to the table covered with a cloth and fresh flowers to the weaving hanging on the walls. Under the table to me it looked like a cloth or a cloak with feathers possibly hanging off the end and on top of the table is a large bible.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday.

Oromahoe Historical Church

Along the way on my fascination for historical buildings and churches we found this one about 15 minutes out town recently. The Oromahoe Church is owned by a trust and is next door to a Marae. It's about 120 years old and situated on land in a very country-ish area. According to the Papers Past website the church was built around 1880 but there aren't any further details.

Now when we find a Maori church we never immediately enter the gates. We are not of that culture so a huge amount of respect and caution is necessary - it's like barging into someone's home, we would prefer to be welcomed or invited there, we were unable to enter and see the inside.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Kaikohe Aperahama Church

Kaikohe Aperahama Church and Cemetery - Autumn 2018

This historic church was built by Neilsen brothers and opened in 1885 but is now owned by the Ngati Tautahi hapu. Kaikohe is in the surrounding areas near Kerikeri and I can't wait to explore the far north of NZ. Last week my daughter and I collected empty boxes from our workplaces. I've started filling them up, so far I've packed my collection of favourite books, towels/sheets etc from the linen cupboard, my vintage glassware that belonged to my nana and 3/4 of the drinking glasses.  The rest of this week outside of work I'll be starting on plates, the bathroom and the bedroom - think that'll keep me going for a while.