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war. The town’s first Catholic church was built in Herschel Street on the western side of the railway line opposite the town hall; it opened in 1872 but Ngaruawahia did not have a resident priest until 1903. The memorial stone of the current church, on the east side of Great South Road to the south of the town centre, was laid by Bishop Cleary of Auckland on November 16, 1913.
As can be seen in the illustration that accompanied the Tablet article, the new church was to have featured a bell tower at its northern end. A shortfall in funding meant that the building remains incomplete. Nevertheless, much of the original design had been realised when the church was officially opened in March 1915.
St Paul’s demonstrates the early 20th century popularity of the Romanesque Revival style for Catholic churches and educational buildings. The style was derived in part from the Catholic mission buildings of California. The designer of St Paul’s, John Warren (1859-1936), was an Australian-born architect who practised in Taranaki before running an office in Hamilton from the late 19th century until
c.1920. He practised at different times in partnership with John Blechynden and Gordon Reid, both engineers, and was also responsible for the design of Turangawaewae House in Ngaruawahia
(1919), and Greenslade house (1911-12) and St Peter’s Anglican Cathedral (1916) in Hamilton. Waikato Museum holds Warren’s drawings for St Paul’s in its collection. The fulsome report of the church published in the Tablet is also crucial to understanding the building’s history and heritage value. You can access it via this web address https:/ /paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. What a dramatic view of this old building – not so old in this photo which we think was probably taken as part of a series F.G.R. did at Waitomo. F G Radcliffe was a man of indifferent health who nevertheless travelled the whole of New Zealand recording the vistas of the day. He did all his travelling from Whangarei so covering the country was no small feat. A one-time farmer, his interest in photography lead to a profession for him. His legacy, a pictorial record of New Zealand in the late Victorian & Edwardian years is outstanding. This building, completed in 1908 was most likely photographed as part of a souvenir album Radcliffe published in 1910. The landscape has most certainly changed in the last 100 years. And, they do say the hotel is haunted.
Contributed by Perry Rice, Heritage Librarian – Photographs, Hamilton Central Library. If you have any information you would like to pass on or would like to buy an electronic copy of the photo, please e-mail perry.rice@hcc.govt.nz quoting: HCL_08618