Project aims to strengthen, restore Te Puna church

The St Joseph’s Church Seismic Remediation Project will strengthen the building to meet current New Zealand earthquake standards while preserving the character of one of Te Puna’s most significant buildings.

Several fundraising events will help bring the nearly $490,000 project to life.

The church’s story began in the late 1800s, when the predominantly Catholic Pirirākau hapū spent two years constructing what would become Te Puna’s only church.

Today, the church still features native kauri and rewarewa panelling, carved entrances, tukutuku panels and stained-glass windows, reflecting Māori and Catholic traditions.

It remains deeply connected to Pirirākau and the four local marae – Tutereinga, Poututerangi, Paparoa and Tawhitinui – which have supported fundraising efforts. Last year, Pirirākau Tribal Authority gifted three historical interpretation panels detailing the church’s story.

The building also houses one of the Bay of Plenty’s most significant Catholic artefacts – its bell.

Gifted by Bishop Jean-Baptiste Pompallier, the first Bishop in New Zealand, the bell first hung at the Catholic church in Ōtūmoetai before finding its home in Te Puna.

Project committee chair Tim Dunn said the bell remains central to the church’s identity.

“It still rings every Sunday,” he said. “When we rebuild the tower, we’ll bring the bell down, clean it up and see if we can discover more about its origins.”

The church’s baptismal font, also brought by Bishop Pompallier, is another treasured link to early missionary years.

While the church has been carefully maintained over its lifetime, including major renovations before its centenary in 2000, current building standards require it to receive further work.

Following an earthquake assessment, engineers identified the bell tower needed seismic strengthening.

“The tower is the earthquake-prone part,” Mr Dunn said. “We’re going to rebuild it, so it looks exactly the same because we don’t want to change the appearance of the church.”

The project will also repair deteriorating weatherboards, restore a leaking stained-glass window and complete other maintenance.

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Historical Te Puna church set for new chapter (By Rosalie Liddle Crawford/Sunlive)