By Roselyn Fauth
Fourteen years after the Church of Englands, St Mary's Church opened in Timaru, the Roman Catholics opened a small wooden church on Cragie Ave on 25 October 1874. It was dsigned by first parish priest, Fr Chataigner, in a Gothic style cruciform plan, and built by Mr J Derby. It was enlarged in 1876 to the design of Benjamin W Mountfort, and reopened by Bishop Redwoodon 24 June 1877. The enlarged building had a rose window placed in the sanctuary. The ceiling was painted sky blue and spangled with bright gilt stars.
By 1910, blue gum trees had grown tall by the girls school next door and were leaning over the little wooden church. In the early hours of 7 September 1908, a man walked past and flicked his butt into the church grounds. This sparked a flame, igniting a blue gum tree branch which engulfed the church. Unlike eight years earlier when the Great Fire of Timaru roared through the CBD in 3 hours and razed three quarters of the shops, offices and homes to the ground, the fire service were better equipped and ready. Thanks to their quick turnout the building was saved. However all the ceremonial garments used in church services (known as vestments) were destroyed. The church organ also sustained some damage, mainly due to water.
From the carnage of that cigarette butt sparked impressive built heritage on Craigie Ave. You can feel the roots of classic architecture impose over Timaru's state highway. I often wondered how the community managed such a magnificent building at the time.
Twenty five men outside the Basilica 1911 with clergyman Father John Tubman right and the building supervisor Bart Moriart on the left - South Canterbury Museum CN 0000
A pictorial postcard featuring an image of the Sacred Heart Basilica Timaru circa 1915 - South Canterbury Museum 202208103
In 1911, the world was going through a time of rapid change, invention, and rising political tension. In Europe, relationships between major powers like Britain, France, and Germany were becoming strained, Pressures that would eventually lead to World War I (28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918.). In China, the Qing dynasty was on the verge of collapse, with the Xinhai Revolution beginning later that year. In Britain, King George V was crowned, and the women’s suffrage movement was gaining momentum across many countries, including the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
At the same time, new technologies like the Model T Ford, early aircraft, and advances in radio and electricity were changing everyday life. (Our local, Richard Pearse, a New Zealand inventor and aviation pioneer, is believed to have first flown his powered aircraft on 31 March 1903 near Waitohi, South Canterbury.) Art, architecture, and fashion were influenced by styles like Art Nouveau and early modernism, while silent films and phonographs were popular forms of entertainment. In New Zealand, people were closely tied to British traditions and religion, with churches playing an important role in local communities.
Nationally, New Zealand was still a dominion of the British Empire, having gained dominion status in 1907. The country was peaceful but politically active, with labour rights, women’s rights, and land reform becoming key topics. Social issues also including Māori land concerns were also becoming more prominent in public life. People were starting to hear more about international tensions that would later lead to World War I, but in 1911 life in Timaru was largely optimistic and community-focused.
Timaru’s port and railway connections made it a key hub for trade and export, especially for frozen meat, wool, and grain from surrounding farms. The Harbour Board was active, improving the breakwater and port facilities to handle growing shipping traffic. Local industries were thriving, including freezing works, flour mills, and manufacturing businesses supporting agriculture. This is when a huge majority of the countries wheat land was in Canterbury, gaining us the reputation as the nations food bowl.
Stafford St Timaru decorated in honour of the Coronation of King George Vth June 22 1911_South Canterbury Museum 1488
I love this photo, you can see Ballantynes & Co near the left, and the facade of the Timaru's Theatre Royal to the right in 1911. The theater was actaully originally built to be a wool and grain store with a few shops at the front. It was built for local merchant Richard Turnbull. He held a town meeting there which resulted in the formation of the Harbour Board. The property was then known as Turnbulls Hall, later remodelled for a entertainment venue. The site has had heaps of tinkering over the years. And it is doubtfull much from those early foundations are still on the site. Fun fact though... Richard had been in business with David Clarkson in 1860s with the corner store where the Oxford is today. It was called Clarkson & Turnbull but it disolved after the 1868 fire. Clarkson went back to Christchurch and later sold his business Dunstable House to the Ballantyne family.
New Zealand architect Francis Petre. Right Timaru's Bascilla on a Winter morning. Photography Roselyn Fauth 2025
While the church building was undergoing repairs, plans for a new church were being developed. The architect Francis Petre designed a grand new building based on a large cruciform basilica. Francis William Petre (27 August 1847 – 10 December 1918), sometimes known as Frank Petre, was a New Zealand born architect based in Dunedin. The design included a classical Ionic portico, two cupola towers flanking the entrance, and a prominent central dome. Fun Fact, Petre's design was impressive, but also came at an impressive cost. Father Tubman was worried about the cost of Francis Petre’s grand church design, and while some believed Tubman forced changes that upset Petre, later research shows Petre was willing to build it in two stages, but Bishop Grimes insisted it be done all at once, so Tubman took control of the project himself to save money by acting as project manager and hiring a local surveyor and clerk of works Bart Moriarty, instead of Petre.
Bart went on to design several churches in Melbourne and Sydney, building a notable career in church architecture. In 1915, plans were made to expand the original 1889 Church of St Francis of Assisi, and the architectural firm Lush & Moriarty was commissioned to design the additions.by Lush & Moriarty Architects. This was the same Bart Moriarty who, five years earlier, had overseen the construction of Timaru's cathedral as clerk of works at Sacred Heart in Timaru. In the end, they only added the sanctuary (where the priest or minister leads the service), transepts (the transepts are like the arms of the cross, stretching out to the left and right), and sacristies (a small room in a church where the priest and helpers prepare for the service) to the existing nave from the original 1889 St Francis church building at Paddington, Sydney, Australia.
Local volunteers and workers helped with the building of the new church, which kept the overall cost down. The Church of the Sacred Heart was officially opened on 1 October 1911, with all four bishops from across New Zealand in attendance. Francis Petre did not attend, and it was recorded by historians that his contribution was barely acknowledged during the ceremony, even though Father Tubman made an effort to mention him. With Tubman being honoured as a Dean, much of the attention was on him, and Petre’s role was largely overlooked.
The total cost of the church came to £23,000. For comparison, a typical house in New Zealand at the time might have cost around £300 to £500. So the church cost about 50 to 75 times more than a home—a major investment. It was a huge fundraising and labour effort, especially considering that much of the work was supported by local volunteers and day labourers. Without that community effort, the cost would likely have been much higher.
A fire in the boy’s sacristy on 16 August 1934 had the potential to repeat history, but as Christopher Templeton stated in his historic report, fortunately it was 1908 all over again and not 1910!
In Timaru, the Catholic Church became a place where people could come together. Across the wider world, the Catholic Church has played a significant role in education, helping to preserve knowledge and founding some of the earliest universities. Its support for the arts has given us some of history’s most beautiful music, paintings, and architecture. Through acts of charity and the establishment of hospitals and schools, it has offered real help to those in need and made lasting contributions to communities.
I’m aware that religion is a deeply personal subject, and not everyone shares their views openly. I also recognise that the Church has been involved in difficult and painful chapters of history. But I can understand how, for many people, it has been a source of spiritual comfort, a sense of belonging, and hope. So while it is a religious institution, I also see how the Church could serve as a place for shared learning, service, and community purpose.
Today we have this incredible piece of built heritage to see and experience that links us to these stories of the past and people.
The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, circa 1910: a Palladian Roman temple in Wellington. Right: Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch, F. W. Petre's largest completed work. The central pediment is in the style of Sebastiano Serlio.- Wikipedia
Petre died at Dunedin, in December 1918, following 42 years of architectural practice and two days after the opening of the finally completed St Patrick's Basilica, Oamaru. He was a founder member of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, was elected a Fellow in 1905, and was president of the institute in 1907–08. He was buried at the Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin. Learn more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Petre
Sacred Heart Bascillca Timaru. Craigie Ave. Illustration By Roselyn Fauth. Designed by Frances Petre, and opened by Bishop Grimes on October 1, 1911.
A survey map from 1874 shows the grounds at the time with the reserve for Timaru's hospital over the road.
Magazine spread featuring Francis Petre’s architectural portfolio, including the Sacred Heart Basilica.
The Blue Plaque celebrates the site.
So, from now this blog goes a bit awall... as you know, I do love a good side quest! I haven't grown up in a church community, so I have lots of questions!
So, if you didn't know like me what a cruciform basilica is, it's a type of church building designed in the shape of a cross (from the Latin crux, meaning cross, and forma, meaning shape). There is typically a long central nave (the main body of the church), side aisles, a transept (the "arms" that cross the nave at a right angle), and a chancel or sanctuary at the eastern end where the altar is located. If you looked down on the church from above, the floor plan would look like a Latin cross creating a focal point both structurally and symbolically.
The Latin cross symbol comes from the shape of the cross on which Jesus is believed to have been crucified on, with a longer upright beam and a shorter crossbar. This became the main symbol of Christianity representing faith, sacrifice, and hope. In the 4th century AD (1,625 to 1,724 years ago), when Christianity became legal under Emperor Constantine, Christians adapted the basilica form for worship. Over time, this rectangular structure was modified to reflect Christian theology, most notably with the addition of a transept, giving it the symbolic shape of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.
There's 2000+ years of reglious history to comprehend, but I wanted to skim over the top to understand Catholism in context with Timaru's social and built history. So here is a little bit of what I have learned so far (which as I am new to this could be completely wrong, so feel free to reach out if you have more enlightenment for me!).
Before the year 313 AD, Christianity was illegal in the Roman Empire, and many Christians were punished or even killed for their beliefs. Other religions in the Roman Empire before 313 AD included Judaism, believed in one God and had ancient roots in the Middle East, and several mystery religions, such as the cult of Mithras, the cult of Isis, and the Eleusinian Mysteries, which offered secret rituals and promised spiritual rewards. There were also many local and regional religions from different parts of the empire, each with their own gods, traditions, and festivals, especially in places like Egypt, Gaul, and the eastern provinces. But the main religion in the Roman Empire was Roman paganism, also known as polytheism. This religion involved the worship of many gods and goddesses, such as Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Diana, as well as spirits of nature, household gods, and even the emperor, who was often honoured as a divine figure. The Roman government saw Christianity as a threat because Christians refused to worship Roman gods or the emperor. This changed when Emperor Constantine and his co-ruler Licinius made a new law called the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. This law said that people were free to follow any religion they wanted, including Christianity. It made Christianity legal, gave back church property that had been taken, and allowed Christians to worship openly without fear. This was a big turning point that helped Christianity spread more widely.
Fun fact: The largest landowner in the world is generally considered to be the British monarch, specifically King Charles III, through the Crown Estate, which manages royal land holdings in the UK and internationally. The Crown Estate (UK): Over 6.6 billion acres worldwide, though not all of it is personal property—it includes land in trust for the nation, like the seabed around Britain. The Catholic Church is one of the largest non-governmental landowners in the world. It owns tens of thousands of churches, schools, hospitals, monasteries, farms, and more, spread across many countries. While exact figures are unclear, estimates range between 177 to 200 million acres.
Interestingly, McDonald's is one of the largest corporate landowners in the world, especially in the fast food and commercial real estate sector, but it is not the single largest landowner when compared to companies involved in agriculture, forestry, or investment landholding. Its reputation as a land giant comes more from the power and value of the locations it owns, rather than sheer size. In 2025 McDonald’s owned/controled around 36,000+ restaurant properties in over 100 countries. It owns tens of thousands of acres of prime commercial real estate worldwide, and the real estate division of McDonald’s is worth billions of dollars, and property income often outpaces burger sales in profit margins.
Facebook is clearly watching what I have been searching, so after Googling for answers, I have been given interesting reels from the Facebook algorythum including a lecture about an incredible library in Alexandia, a city in Egypt, located on the Mediterranean coast in the northern part of the country. It was founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great. This might feel like we have dived right off topic - but who cares, it's interesting...
They say knowledge is power, but in Alexandria, that power was feared. There was this epic library know as The Great Library of Alexandria. It was a collectiong of human wisdom, gathering scrolls from all corners of the known world; science, astronomy, philosophy, and poetry, much of it older than Rome itself. It was a place where ideas thrived, regardless of origin or belief. But when the tide turned and Christianity became the favoured faith of the Roman Empire, the library’s vast collection came to be seen not as a treasure, but as a threat. The scrolls spoke of many gods, of stars and seasons, of philosophies that did not begin or end with the Bible. To those determined to build a new religious order wanted to hide the old knowledge labelled pagan, and paganism. Here are a few therories of what happened next, but essentially temples were torn down, shrines were defacedm, and although the exact moment of the library's destruction remains uncertain, many believe it was during these waves of religious violence and censorship that the library met its demise.
Quite incredible to think what was once a monument to curiosity and learning became a casualty of fear and control. Its loss was not just the burning of scrolls, but the silencing of centuries of thought. In pushing forward a single truth, they destroyed thousands. I was pretty gutted to read about this destruction and loss, but relieved to hear that there was another library over on the border of now Iraq called the Library of Nineveh. It is famous for its collection of clay tablets written in cuneiform script, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest known pieces of literature in the world. It was created under the reign of King Ashurbanipal, who was passionate about collecting texts from across Mesopotamia. Although it was also lost to war and time, archaeologists have recovered thousands of tablets from its ruins. They show us not just what people in ancient Mesopotamia knew, but how they thought, felt, and lived, giving us special and insight into the beliefs, stories, and knowledge at the time.
The Great Library of Alexandria, O. Von Corven, 19th century (Public Domain)
According to Old Persian and Armenian traditions, Alexander the Great saw the Royal Library of Ashurbanipal when he visited Nineveh. Inspired by it, he desired to seek out all the works of the peoples he had conquered, translate them into Greek, and store them in a great library of his own. Whilst the Macedonian conqueror did not live long enough to fulfil this dream of his, Ptolemy, who was one of Alexander’s generals, and who succeeded him in Egypt, began the creation of the Great Library of Alexandria.
The tablets include epic stories, the most famous being the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the world’s oldest surviving literary works. It tells the story of a powerful king who goes on a journey in search of eternal life. The epic explores themes like friendship, loss, the meaning of life, and the inevitability of death. Scholars believe it influenced later writings, including parts of the Bible.
Many tablets contain prayers, hymns, rituals, and omens, showing how closely religion was tied to daily life. There are guides for interpreting dreams and signs from the gods, as well as instructions for temple ceremonies. These texts reveal a world where people believed strongly in divine power and fate.
Some tablets record mathematics, astronomy, and medicine; for example, they include star charts and planetary movements used to predict events, medical texts listing symptoms and treatments with herbs or rituals, and mathematical writings showing advanced calculations such as geometry and early algebra.
There are legal codes and administrative records that tell us how cities were governed. They include rules about property, contracts, trade, marriage, and crime. These show that the Mesopotamians had a highly organised society with laws and systems to manage people and resources.
After totally digressed from the intial topic of the wooden Cragie Ave church and a carnage from a cigarette butt... lets come back from the side quests of curiosity looking back further to give some context to the story we are writing today... (virtual chocolate fish for you in thanks for sticking with me so far!)
All of this relates back to my original question a few blogs ago, where is Ann Williams. Her family were the first perminant European residents in Timaru. Sam was from Canada/USA, and Ann was Irish. They met in Ballarat Australia and moved to Timaru. Sam has a grave at the Timaru Cemetery erected by his friends in 1883, but I can't find Ann who died 23 years earlier anywhere. I wondered if religion could have played a part in determining where she was laid to rest? In Ireland at the time, the Church of Ireland (Anglican) was the official state church under English and later British rule. Irish Catholics were often treated as second-class citizens, with restricted rights to own land, vote, hold office, or practise their religion freely. This created deep resentment and a strong sense of cultural separation. So, now with this in mind, burial grounds can also symbolise that divide... who you were laid to rest beside mattered.
Illustration by Roselyn Fauth
Section of a Survey Map 1874 showing St Mary's on the corner of Church and Sophia Street. 1880 St Mary’s Church (Anglican) 328 Church Street & Sophia St
Timaru's churches did not have graveyards (burials on church grounds). The only recorded burials I can find so far, are at Timaru's cemetery. However back in the early surveying days, there were two cemeteries. The one we use today, was actually intended for Anglican burials. And another reserve was set aside for the Roman Catholics, Weslyn and Baptists. I am told by the council the latter which was on the corner where the Aigantighe Art Gallery is today, was never used. So that just leaves the hunt to the current day cemetery. And it is pretty obvious when you wander around that the cemetery at one point was segreated by denominations. Would Ann have held tight to the traditional resentment views of the Irish, or did that matter less when there were only 400 people living here at the time she died in the doorway of the Timaru Hotel on George Street?
Graveyards are burials by churches, cemeteries are burals by government. It's a fun fact, but it also helps us unravel the history of how we laid our past people to rest in Timaru in the 1850s onward.
In 1860, Timaru's first church was the Church of England - St Mary's Anglican Church. The Roman Catholics built their church in Timaru 14 years later.
The Anglican Church, or Church of England, split from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534 during the reign of King Henry VIII, after the Pope refused to grant Henry a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. In response, Henry passed the Act of Supremacy, which made him the head of the Church in England instead of the Pope. This was the beginning of a separate English church, which later became known as the Anglican Church. Although the split started for political reasons, the Church of England gradually developed its own style of worship, combining some Catholic traditions with Protestant ideas.
It is quite interesting to compare the two architectural styles of the churches in Timaru. The Roman Catholic Church, such as the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, is large and impressive, with domes, towers, and lots of decorative detail. It feels as though it was designed to inspire awe and create a strong sense of beauty and ceremony. In contrast, the Anglican Church has a much simpler and more modest design. It often features wooden elements, pointed arches, and a plain interior. This difference shows how each tradition expresses its faith in different ways, with the Catholic Church focusing more on visual beauty and ritual, and the Anglican Church placing more importance on simplicity and the reading of scripture.
The design flourished during the Romanesque and Gothic periods in Europe (roughly 11th to 15th centuries), as larger and more ornate churches were built. It became not only a functional layout for processions and congregational worship, but also a visual expression of Christian faith and salvation. Major churches and cathedrals across Europe—from St Peter’s Basilica in Rome to Notre-Dame in Paris—employ cruciform plans, often emphasised by soaring ceilings, domes, and detailed facades. The layout continues to inspire ecclesiastical architecture today, connecting modern worship spaces to centuries of tradition and symbolism.
Christopher Templeton wrote a fantastic document "Sacred Heart Catholic Church Timaru" that outlines what happened next:
Many sources, including local histories, newspaper reports, and a thesis on Petre, state that the parish priest at the time, Father Tubman, was alarmed by the projected cost of the new church. These accounts suggest that he insisted on significant design changes, which reportedly upset Petre so much that he sold the plans to Father Tubman and withdrew from the project.
However, historian Seán Brosnahan, in chapter eight of his 2011 book on the parish, provides a different version of events. Using original architectural plans held in the South Canterbury Museum, Brosnahan shows that Petre was in fact willing to manage construction in two separate stages to reduce expenses. It was actually Bishop Grimes who directed Father Tubman to proceed with building the entire church in a single stage, using the finalised design.
It appears that Father Tubman's alternative approach to saving money was to take on the responsibilities of project manager himself. This was a role that would usually have been filled by the architect, and one for which Petre would normally have received payment. With Petre no longer involved in this aspect of the project, and possibly feeling excluded, Father Tubman appointed Bart Moriarty, a building surveyor, to act as the clerk of works in charge of the day-to-day supervision. Moriarty later went on to design a number of churches in Melbourne and Sydney.
Timaru looking west from the Dome of the RC Church. No.1 South Canterbury Museum timdc.pastperfectonline.com/photo/535BE17A-BACB-409A-AD92-601631644000