Museum prepares for exhibition about converted churches

April 20th, 2011
[by Malcolm Garrett]

With the current exhibition 'Wawata Tawhiti - Distant Dreams' ending in June, work is underway at the Motueka Museum for the next two, the spring and summer exhibitions. The Spring exhibition, titled Converted, is about three churches that now serve a new purpose.

Some things stay the same for years. Others change their use, if not their appearance. A tobacco shed might become a storage shed for machinery once it outlives its former purpose. The Recreation Centre has been altered so radically that it is unrecognisable in its original shape and form as a packing shed for fruit. Shops change their operators, and a clothing shop might become a bookshop, or a health food shop.

Some buildings are so distinctive in their design and architecture, however, that their use over time can change remarkably but their former intended purpose is still clearly visible. In our community of Motueka there have been the usual turnover of usage by various businesses, with fit-outs in the interior being all that was required to make them suitable for different uses. Long-term residents will have clear memories of the various buildings and their occupiers over the years.

High Street could provide numerous examples to ponder on. Perhaps the most recent has been the closure of the Business "Gorgeous" and its occupancy by a new fruiterer, beside the Cafe "Celsius".

The Museum was itself once a thriving District High School. It is very easy to detect its former use by the Motto on the front. Later in the year, an exhibition is planned by the Museum to illustrate the changing use idea with that most striking class of architecture - that of a place of worship.

Whilst many churches are still operating strongly, some changes have taken place along High Street and elsewhere. The most original design is that of the Chanel Arts Centre as it is known today. This was once known as St Peter Chanel Church, the centre for Christian worship by the Roman Catholic community. Its construction in solid marble from Takaka Hill makes it a most unusual and eye-catching building.

However the solidity of its structure proved a limitation in the end, as numbers grew too large for the space provided. A new building was erected at the other end of High Street and the Marble church became surplus to requirements.

It was sold into private hands, and is now available for its present use. The details of its construction, the resulting use by church-goers, and its subsequent disposal will form part of the information in the exhibition.

Another church building which has been retained but fills a completely different purpose, is the former Methodist church, now re-developed and renamed as "The Gothic" restaurant. The original shape remains but the developments outside and inside have dramatically altered the image portrayed to the public.

This building, as I understand it, became surplus when the Presbyterian and Methodist churches united to form the Uniting Church, using the St Andrew's Church as their centre for worship.

A further study will take place regarding the Presbyrerian Church at Riwaka. Again the details of the historic use, the change of purpose, and alterations undertaken by the new owners will form part of the display at the Museum later in the year.

Research on all these matters is underway at the moment, in consultation with older parishioners, new users and so on. Once this is done, the results will be a permanent written record of events of the time, for the benefit of those coming after us all.

>> , to be added to the page. [If this link doesn't work, use this form instead]

[ Return ]