St Mary's Catholic Church in

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

, New Zealand, is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church. It is a landmark on the country's West Coast.

Background

Irish Catholics, mostly miners attracted to the West Coast by its natural resources, made up a large proportion of the area's population. A Roman Catholic Reserve was designated for the Catholic community in the town's survey, bordered by Tancred, Stafford, and Sewell streets. Church buildings with

Saint Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

were built on this reserve in 1865 and, when it soon proved too small, in 1866. In 1912, the former church was in poor condition.

Architecture and construction

The parish building committee resolved on 15 July 1912 that a call be made for tender and specification for a new church. A

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

architect, John Thomas Watson, prepared a concept design for the parish in Roman or

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

. This was a departure from

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

that had been prevailing until then, and was guided by the architectural style chosen for the Christchurch Basilica that had been consecrated in 1905. Alfred Luttrell of the Luttrell brothers won the tender for the detailed design and construction of the church, and the Luttrells were guided by Watson's work but introduced significantly different aspects. The 1866 church was demolished in February 1914. Bishop John Grimes laid the foundation stone on 23 March 1914. The new church occupied the site of the previous church, but with the entrance facing Sewell instead of Tancred Street. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of the church was first used on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

in 1914. Owing to the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and funding difficulties, it was not until 1920–21 that the

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

and tower were added. The portico is adorned with the Latin phrase ''Deiparae Virgini Mariae'' ("Mother Virgin Mary") and the abbreviation ''D.O.M.'', which refers to the Latin phrase ''

Deo optimo maximo ''Deo optimo maximo'', often abbreviated D.O.M. or Deo Opt. Max., is a Latin phrase which means "to the greatest and best god", or "to God, most good, most great". It was originally used as a pagan formula addressed to Jupiter (mythology), Jupite ...

'' ("to the greatest and best God"). Internally, the church is simpler and less decorated than its exterior, but this is typical of other neoclassical basilicas built in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

during the same period. The interior includes a large organ and choir loft cantilevered above the nave. The church was built in double brick, but it was not until 1927/28 that plaster was applied, and the building achieved its final appearance.

Current status

In 2004, the church, which belongs to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch The Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch (''Dioecesis Christopolitana'') is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Wellington. Its cathedral and see city are located in Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. I ...

, was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

) as a Category I structure, with registration number 1705. Following a structural assessment triggered by the February

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...

, the church was closed to the public in June 2012.

Gallery

File:St Mary's Catholic Church, Hokitika 04.jpg File:St Mary's Catholic Church, Hokitika 01.jpg File:St Mary's Catholic Church, Hokitika 01 (cropped).jpg File:St Mary's Catholic Church, Hokitika 285.JPG File:St Mary's Catholic Church, Hokitika (2).jpg File:圣玛利亚天主教堂 St. Mary’s Catholic Church - panoramio.jpg File:Interior of St Mary's, Hokitika.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marys Catholic Church, Hokitika Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the West Coast Region Hokitika Listed churches in New Zealand 1910s churches in New Zealand Roman Catholic churches completed in 1928 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in New Zealand Sidney and Alfred Luttrell buildings