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Kōrero: East Coast region

Māori churches: Whakawhitirā church in the Waiapu valley

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Māori churches: Whakawhitirā church in the Waiapu valley

One of the earliest churches on the East Coast was built by Ngāti Porou on the Waiapu River in the 1830s. This drawing of it was made by Whanganui missionary Richard Taylor after visiting in April 1839. At the time the church was sited in what was described to Taylor as the largest on the coast.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Reference: C.5577

by Richard Taylor

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Monty Soutar, East Coast region – European impact on Māori, 1769 to 1869, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/artwork/33722/maori-churches-whakawhitira-church-in-the-waiapu-valley (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Monty Soutar, i tāngia i te 23 August 2011, updated 1 March 2015.