Church on a Hill

I turned into Wairahoraho Road on Karikari Peninsular in the Far North to see if I could get to this gorgeous little Maori church that sat high on a hill overlooking the peninsular. Unfortunately, the way up to the church was a heavily rutted clay track that would have ruined my car, so I had to content myself with this long view with a telephoto lens. I adore Northland's red-roofed Maori churches and I photographed dozens of them on last year's trip. Well-known New Zealand photographer, Laurence Aberhart made a comprehensive photographic study of them - usually in black and white - and many of his images are in major New Zealand art collections. When I lived in Wanganui many years ago (back in the mid-eighties), Laurence Aberhart was the artist-in-residence at Sarjeant Gallery's Tylee Cottage and he was often seen wandering about the town, wheeling his photographic gear in a wheelbarrow.

A Northland Church

Northland. May 2009. Ajr

On my recent whirlwind trip around New Zealand, I encountered dozens of gorgeous little, red-roofed churches, many of them in Maori communities and many of them in Northland. Almost without exception I stopped to photograph them - unless there were too many cars for me to safely negotiate a stop. (Always frustrating!) It was a grey, rainy day when I came upon this one - sweet little St Mary's Anglican Church, not far north of Dargaville and very close to Taita Marae. I haven't been able to find out anything specific about the church but for now it can stand alone for us to admire. Suffice to say, I came away from Northland with a much better understanding of why well-known New Zealand photographer, Laurence Aberhart made such a concerted study, over a number of years, of Northland Maori churches.