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Story: Stewart Island/Rakiura

Remains of a chapel and school, Ruapuke Island, 1895

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Remains of a chapel and school, Ruapuke Island, 1895

Johann Wohlers ran a Lutheran mission on Ruapuke Island from 1844 until his death in 1885. He was not replaced, probably because local people had moved from Ruapuke to Stewart Island or to the mainland, and within a few years of his death the chapel and school were in ruins.

Using this item

Hocken Collections, University of Otago

Reference: S12-108d

Permission of the Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Stewart Island/Rakiura – History to 1850, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/37631/remains-of-a-chapel-and-school-ruapuke-island-1895 (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 30 November 2012, updated 1 May 2015.