Model builder Peter van Grinsven has completed a 1:64 HO scale model of the Raetihi Temple which has been gifted to the restoration team to help reach its goal.
The model is intended to be a conversation starter and visual aid to promote fundraising.
“The temple is iconic and I liked it so I decided to build it, I am hoping it proves useful in the local effort to save an iconic piece of history,” van Grinsven said.
The entire process, from gathering information to planning and 3D printing, has taken van Grinsven almost three years.
“I try to make my models as accurate as possible, referencing historic plans and images while remembering that the buildings change all the time.
“Some elements are difficult to get exact but with the architect’s drawings, photos, internet research and my visits, I think I am close.”
The Raetihi Temple is one of only six Rātana-style churches and the only one, other than the original at Rātana, outside Northland.
“Those buildings in particular are very strong symbols of the spread of the faith,” New Zealand art historian and architectural academic Deidre Brown said.
This made the preservation of the Raetihi Temple important for the history of Māori architecture and faith.
Project manager Darnell Watling said it meant a lot, not just physically but also spiritually.
“Once you walk through those doors you actually feel that spiritual connection,” she said.
Brown said the original Rātana church was possibly inspired by the Urakami Catholic Church in Nagasaki, Japan, which founder TW Rātana visited in 1924 during a world tour.
The church is a Romanesque-style cathedral that was destroyed after Rātana’s visit during World War II when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, but it has since been rebuilt.
This connection is significant as, according to the Rātana Church’s website, the Rātana faith believes that Māori and Japanese people, along with others, belong to the same lost tribe of Israel.
“The building itself is just full of symbolism and meaning,” Brown said.
Other than the usual repairs needed for a century-old building, the Raetihi Temple’s renovations are largely due to water damage.
The windows, structural framing and cladding on the towers are water-damaged, and much of the building is not watertight, according to the building’s heritage assessment.
The proposed renovations include seismic upgrading, new foundations, recladding, removing and rebuilding the towers, paving the forecourt, insulation, electrical fittings, reroofing, and interior and exterior painting.
Two years ago the temple was closed due to risk to the public. The towers were a particular source of concern with fears they could collapse.
The projected cost of the restoration is $1 million but if less is spent the remaining funds will be used for building maintenance.
The project team hoped to apply for a grant from the Department of Internal Affairs by the end of February, but it needed to meet one-third of the requested amount.
Another $59,000 was needed to meet the team’s goal of $269,000 to be eligible for a $538,500 grant.
With the aim to complete the restoration by next year’s centennial, it was important to meet the requirements for the six-monthly grant round and not have to rely on community funding, the project team said.
Along with van Grinsven’s model donation, all of the workers on the project, including architects and consultants, have worked for free or at a discounted cost.
“Now that we know there’s an ‘x’ amount to go, we feel we can do it,” Watling said.
“We’re driven to get it done, it’s been a journey that’s for sure.”
Donations can be submitted through the project’s Givealittle page or through buying an item from its online store at www.teparihaoraetihi.nz
Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
