Remote church with no parishioners offered for sale

Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Pongaroa, about 40 minutes south-east of Dannevirke, was built in the 1920s. Palmerston North Diocese is seeking offers over $189,000 for the church.

Mass is celebrated there once a year at Christmas, when people visit the area for holidays.

St Joseph’s Parish Dannevirke member Mary Barrow, who is helping with the sale of the church, said “There’s no longer a parish community there in Pongaroa using the church. It’s sad to say that the building is surplus to requirements now. It’s one of those signs of the times.

The church, which features a hand-sawn rimu interior and is set on a quarter-acre of land, is in a reasonably good state of repair. Pongaroa has never had a resident priest; in the past, priests would travel from Dannevirke to celebrate Mass there.

Ms Barrow said that Dannevirke parishioners would like the church to be bought by someone who wants to live in the Pongaroa community.

“A lot of people would love to see the building carry on serving the community in some way because of its history,” she said.

“I think people are definitely aware that it being converted into a home is a possibility, because there are a lot of little churches around the place that have been used in that way.”

Pongaroa is a tight-knit little community where people look out for one another. For years, Ms Barrow said, the parish had no idea who was mowing the lawns around the church. It turned out a neighbour across the road had been doing it, despite not being a Catholic.

“It’s a great little community out there,” she said.

The property listing is with Patrick Baker of Property Brokers – whose great grandfather contributed to the building of the church.

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Remote Tararua church with no parishioners up for sale (By Kylie Klein Nixon/Stuff – subscription required)