St Werenfried’s Church

We should have known… To accompany a recent blog, TRM included a 2018 photo of a local historic church without any explanation. The post received 500 likes from over 45,000 views with several messages asking for more information, where it was, etc., so we needed to expand on some local history. If this were in Rotorua, it would be on every tourist’s must-visit list like the Buried Village of Te Wairoa, but in Turangi, it is hidden. Tourists love any sensitive historic ramblings.

St Werenfried Church is located in Waihi Village on the southern shore of Lake Taupo. This is a private Maori settlement where the public is not welcome. TRM risks being criticised for even showing any photos. In 2018, we were escorted by an elderly Maori lady who grew up in the little village and could relate to the history. So, in anticipation of any objections, we were allowed to take the photos and had her approval.

Nestled on the southern shores of Lake Taupō, just 7 km northwest of Tūrangi, Waihī Village is the traditional ancestral home of Ngāti Turumākina and the Te Heuheu family of Ngāti Tūwharetoa. It holds profound historical significance, shaped by early Catholic missions and devastating natural events. – all good tourist fodder!

Waihī Village History

  • Waihi Village, also known as Little Waihi, is a small Māori community of around 25 households on the southwestern shores of Lake Taupo.
  • On 7 May 1846, a devastating landslide obliterated the Ngāti Tūwharetoa village of Te Rapa on the south-west shore of Lake Taupō.
  • The Waihī landslide was just the latest in a series whose origins lay in weakened, hydrothermally altered cliffs.
  • It has been the site of three major landslides, in 1910, 1846 and around 1780, which killed over 200 people in total. The landslides flowed down the Waimatai Stream from their source above the village in the Hipaua Steaming Cliffs geothermal area.
  • The village was evacuated on 29 June 2009 after a series of small earthquakes, which led to fears of a landslide. Residents were allowed to return on 2 July 2009.
  • The name Waihi is said to be of Hawaiki origin, meaning “water gushing out” What does that tell you?

History and Construction

  • Early Origins: The church was constructed primarily through the efforts of Father John Smiers (a Mill Hill Missionary), who arrived in the area in 1889.
  • Community Effort: Despite having little prior construction experience, Father Smiers worked alongside tāngata whenua and carpenter John O’Shea to build the church.
  • Opening: The church was pit-sawn from local timber and officially opened on Christmas Day, 1895.
  • Patron Saint: Father Smiers named the church in honour of Saint Werenfried, his patron saint.

Cultural Significance

The “Māori Madonna” is a revered stained-glass window in St Werenfried’s Catholic Church at Little Waihi (Waihi Village) near Lake Taupo. It depicts the Virgin Mary and the infant Christ with traditional Māori features, surrounded by the inscription, “E Maria E Toku Whaea”.

  • St Werenfried’s features stunning timber Gothic Revival architecture.
  • The church is highly regarded for its unique interior, including two famous stained-glass windows added in the 1950s by Dutch artist Martin Roestenburg.
  • These windows depict a Māori Madonna and child and a Māori Jesus in traditional dress.
  • It remains a deeply significant spiritual and community space for the district’s whānau.
  • The village’s Catholic Church of St. Werenfried featured on a 40 cent Christmas stamp in 2002.
  • An abandoned ruin of a dairy and timber mill – photo below – at Waihī Village were established in the early 20th century by Mill Hill missionary Father Adrian Langerwerf (known as Pā Ateriona) as a way to provide local employment and boost the living standards of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa community.