Hiona St Stephen's Church. Opotiki. New Zealand.
S 38° 00.230 E 177° 17.075
60H E 524984 N 5793721
An old church with quite a history.... the Mission Church of Hiona St Stephens, an historic church in Opotiki. This timber church is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Waymark Code: WM76W1
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 09/10/2009
Views: 3
Erected in 1862-1864, the building was initially part of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) base in the coastal settlement of Opotiki.
Construction was overseen by the Reverend Carl Volkner (1819-1865), a German of Lutheran background, who had been appointed to Opotiki in 1861. St. Stephen's remains one of the few links with the early missionary period.
Volkner first came to Opotiki in 1859. There he worked among Te Whakatohea, who built a church and a school for him. Völkner's significance lies not so much in his life as a missionary, however, but in his death, at the hands of members of his own congregation, on 2 March 1865.
In 1865 there was an outbreak of typhoid at Opotiki, and Volkner, warned of an impending Hauhau attack, went with his wife to Auckland for medicines, leaving her there for safety. In the interim the Hauhaus ransacked the mission. When Volkner and his assistant, the Rev. T. S. Grace, returned on 1 March 1865 they were seized by Kereopa, the leader of the invaders. On 2 March Volkner was condemned to death and hanged outside his church, the body afterwards being mutilated. Kereopa, who had instigated the crime, was captured and executed in January 1872.
Volkner was buried behind his church (St. Stephen the Martyr), but during extensions to the building in 1910 his grave was brought within the sanctuary.
Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1862
Age of Church building determined by?: Cornerstone or plaque
If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Anglican
If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Sunday
Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 9:30 AM
Street address of Church:
Church Street
Opotiki., Bay of Plenty. New Zealand.
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Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link]
Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link]
If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed
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