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Story: Ngāi Tūhoe

St Stephen’s Church, Ōpōtiki

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St Stephen’s Church, Ōpōtiki

St Stephen’s Church in Ōpōtiki was completed and dedicated on 30 January 1864. On 1 March 1865, at the instigation of Hauhau extremists, the Reverend Carl Sylvius Völkner was put to death by members of his own congregation. Tūhoe were implicated, and it was one of the reasons used by the government to confiscate thousands of hectares of the most fertile Tūhoe lands. Tūhoe have always strenuously denied involvement in this incident.

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How to cite this page

Rangi McGarvey, Ngāi Tūhoe – The impact of Europeans, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4230/st-stephens-church-opotiki (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rangi McGarvey, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 March 2017.