KEY POINTS:
Guardians of a landmark are struggling to balance competing forces as tourism and religion clash at a tiny South Island church.
Flocks of tourists crowd the Church of the Good Shepherd daily as they take a brief respite at a midpoint on the coachline route from Christchurch to
Mount Cook and Queenstown. Overlooking Lake Tekapo in the Mackenzie District of South Canterbury and built as a memorial to the pioneer runholders, the little stone church is arguably the most photographed in the country.
No wonder then that it also hosts more than 100 weddings a year - many of the couples having previously visited as tourists, and others increasingly drawn to the church from internet advertising.
Amid the competing commercial interests swirling around the church building itself lies the needs of its parish - regular services, local weddings, baptisms and funerals.
Intended by the rural folk who built it in 1935 as a memorial to the district's hardy pioneers and a place of worship for all main denominations, the 55-seat church falls within the Mackenzie parish.
Current ministers, Presbyterian husband-and-wife team Phillip and Shona Bettany, say they are treading a fine line between catering to the tourist masses and using the historical building as a place of worship.
"We had one lady after a wedding who came up to us and said 'I just think it's wonderful the way you put on these weddings for the tourists'," the Rev Shona Bettany said.
"We said 'this isn't a toy church - it's a real one'."
With visitor numbers sometimes reaching 2000 a day in the peak tourist season, the Bettanys have ruled out performing any marriages between 11am and 2pm. "That's rush hour," said Mrs Bettany.
Classed by the Historic Places Trust as a Category 1 building, the picturesque stone masonry and hardwood interior of the church is in good heart and lovingly maintained by a team of local volunteers. It shows no apparent signs of dilapidation.
When the building was erected, its donors stipulated that the ground on which the church stands should be left as natural and undisturbed as possible. It was to be built of stone gathered from within an 8km radius and bonded with sand and shingles from the lake shoreline. A testament to the stonemasons' art, the church looks as if it could have been transported from the Scottish Highlands.
But masses of feet muddying the tussocky knoll on which the Church of the Good Shepherd stands have required some new stonework to be placed under the altar window, where tourists gather to view the interior.
Religious services are held throughout the year, with the frequency varying with the season.
"We adjust the number of services we have in relation to the demand and the number of people who are here," the Rev Phillip Bettany said.
Many weddings - both commercial and for locals - tended to be large affairs. "Because the church is so small, we'll end up with double the number of people outside," he said.
More than 150 people turned up for a Christmas Eve service last year.
Then there are the tourist coaches that arrive during weddings and church services.
Usually two guides are employed for weddings, Mrs Bettany explained, to keep tourists from "doing the camera through the window thing" and to respect the wedding party's privacy.
The Bettanys say they have been amazed by the bottleneck at the church caused by the "sheer volume of visitors".
They, and the committee that looks after the church, say they are reluctant to impose any curbs on an undoubted tourism drawcard and valuable community asset.
Mr Bettany said the church guardians had discussed a possible photography ban similar to that imposed in many overseas churches, monuments and galleries. "If you've got three buses - 150 people - all lining up to take their shot, it becomes a real bottleneck," he said.
Restricting the number of days the church is open to the public would be another option, but the Bettanys say they would prefer a "management" solution that would allow a quicker flow in and out of the building.
Church of the Good Shepherd committee chairwoman Rosemary Brown said guides employed throughout the week monitored the building and ensured its role was respected.
Although acknowledging the "hordes of tourists" have grown over the years, she refuses to describe the situation as becoming a headache.
"I think the church has managed quite well with the number of tourists coming through. It's very busy," Mrs Brown said.
"But we want to ensure the church is a place for prayer and worship as opposed to a tourist icon."
Landmark
* Built in 1935 as a memorial to the pioneer runholders.
* Overlooks Lake Tekapo in the Mackenzie District.
* Hosts more than 100 weddings a year.
* Has as many as 2000 visitors a day.
- NZPA