On 17 March 1926 the Anglican Bishop of Waiapu, William Walmsely Sedgwick, consecrated a modest-sized rough-cast and concrete church building in the remote coastal settlement of Ōmāio. The church had been funded largely by the efforts of Canon Hakaraia Pahewa, who assisted the bishop at the service along with Archdeacon Henry Williams, Rev. J.A. Draper and three Māori lay readers. What had previously been referred to as the Ōmāio Soldiers’ Memorial Church was now formally named St Patrick’s Anglican Church.
During the ceremony, the bishop dedicated a brass memorial tablet or roll of honour inside the church. This was inscribed as follows:
“To the Glory of God / This church was erected by Pakeha and / Maori people in honoured memory of the / following men from this Parish who laid / down their lives in the Great War / 1914-1919 / Colonel C.C. Saxby – Whiiti T. Eruera / Tapauri Paraone – Owen S. Fairweather / Paratene Karapaina (misspelled Karataina) – Herewini E. Aramakutu / Hakota Karapaina – Heremia Delamere / Waikura Kapene – Tamati Makarini / Hamiora Lawson – Ruaawai Hunia / Tiweka Te Raina – Hemi Rewharewha /Arapeta P. Anaru – Tame Rihimona / Hemi Hill – Taane Toka / John H. Swinton – Winiata Hunia / Nepia Hauata / And in humble thanksgiving / for those who safely returned / ‘Their reward also is with the Lord and the / care of them with the Most High’-Wisdom V. 15”.
Today, St Patrick’s is no longer used for services. The roll of honour has been removed from the building for safekeeping and is currently in private hands. The decaying but beautifully sited church is one of the most frequently photographed buildings on the East Coast.
Sources: ‘Soldiers’ Memorial Church at Omaio’, NZ Weekly News, 11/2/1926, p. 52; ‘New Maori Church’, NZ Herald, 19/3/1926, p. 12; ‘Consecration of Church’, Waiapu Church Gazette, 1/5/1926, p. 2; ‘Settlement Weeps over Church Burglary’, NZ Herald, 11/3/2002.
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