A NATIONAL LOSS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2722, 29 January 1910, Page 7

A NATIONAL LOSS.

destruction of a historic BUILDING. TE ARAI NATIVE CHURCH DESTROYED BY FIRE.

A most disastrous and unfortunate lire occurred at Te Arai in the early hours of yesterday morning, by means of which the historic Maori church at Te Arai was totally destroyed. A party of Arai residents were returning from, a social at abou;t 1.30 >a.m., and they were attracted by a glare in the direction of the church ,and upon investigation found that flames were bursting through the roof and that the interior of the building was a roaring mass of fire. There was absolutely no chance of the saving of the building, so great a hold had the flames obtained. lew peals on the church bell aroused the whole neighborhood, and Maori and pakeha alike assembled to witness the sad sight of the magnificent building being slowly reduced to ashes. The origin of the outbrea'k is a complete mystery. No service ilias been held there since the natives assembled on Christmas Sunday. Since then some, visitors have inspected the building, and on Thursday afternoon a couple of Gisborne gentlemen were out there. It is thought that the fire may have originated in the vestry, where the kerosene used for the churoli lamps was kept. The building was insured for +IIOOO in tlie National Office, but in reality tlie loss cannot be estimated in figures, as the church contained some of tlie finest carvings to the seen in the Dominion, and these, of course, have been utterly lost. The carvings were bold and handsome, of the type known to the natives as “Manaia,” which corresponds with the European idea of carving in relief. The Rev. Ahipene Eangi was tho curate of the church, and the caretaker was a native named Erutiti. The church, which now unfortunately is no more, was not the first place of worship erected by the Maoris at Te Arai. In 1850, almost on the site of the ruins of the present building, a church was built by a large number of Maori carpenters, led by one Aperaliama Matawhaiti, who was the principal toliunga as far as carpentry was concerned. The difficulties confronting tlie builders "were very great and apparently insurmountable, but with the exercise of their natural ingenuity and exemplary patience, the church was at last an accomplished fact, ten years having elapsed since the commencement of the work. The carved posts, huge pillars of solid wood, which formed a striking feature of the building, were all originally. carved from logs mostly dug out of river-beds by means of a primitive levering apparatus, and some little idea of the magnitude of the work may be gathered when it is remembered that in. those days neither horses nor bullocks were available for traction purposes, while any other means, such as traction engines, were undreamt of. In consequence the logs had to be dug out by hand and hauled along by hand to the church site, the distance varying from one to ten miles. On arrival at the site the logs were cleaned and shaped, and the work of carving began. A great array of tohungas were engaged in the carving work, and they were led bv Paratene Turangi (an ancestor of Mrs. Carroll) and Natanahira Torongata, and in addition there were about twenty assistants all skilled in the work. The work of providing food for such a largo number was, in those days, a task of "no little magnitude, but tlie Maoris loyally rallied round those! engaged in the labor of love, and from far and near, even from as far as Wairoa, supplies were brought to the site at regular intervals. The scene when the church was finally completed is described as a remarkable one. Maoris from all parts flocked to see the building, and great were the rejoicings that took place, feasting and celebrations that lasted for 1 some days. As time wore on, however, wind and water had their natural effect on the structure, and in 1887 it was seen that the church, the joy and pride of the Maori heart, was falling into decay. Nothing daunted, the Maoris, acting on the suggestion of Bishop Williams, who was at that time. Archdeacon of Waiapu, started a subscription list for the erection of a new church. There was a liberal response to tlie appeal for funds, over £IOO in cash being/ received, and the second building, the one just destroyed by fire, was finished in 1889, and was consecrated by the then Bishop of Waiapu, Bishop Stuart, who is now stationed at Ispahan, Persia. The new building contained nearly aIL the carvings which had been in the old one, and was a most commodious edifice, capable of accommodating over four hundred people. As well as being a severe loss locally, tlie destruction of the church may well be termed a national loss, on account of the magnificent illustrations of Maori carving it contained. iSome of the best specimens in the Dominion were to be seen there, and visitors from all parts of New Zealand invariably went away deeply impressed with the •splendour of the work. Unlike the •majority of native carvings, those in ‘the building 'had .practically no significance as regards Maori genealogy, being done specially for the sacred 'structure. It is almost certain that tliev will never be replaced on account of the fact that the art of carving, With the exception of in one or two places, like Rotorua, is rapidly dying out amongst the Maoris. Plenty of barving is still done, and generally done, but unfortunately the tendency amongst the more modern carvers is to eschew originality and follow, in a sort of half-hearted manner, European patterns. The result of this is to produce a kind of “between styles” effect, which has not the merit of the European work, and has almost entirely lost ‘the grace, dignity and charm which Were the characteristics of the old car '•vings. The patterns similar to those ■contained in the church are now out of date, and it undoubtedly would be >a- most difficult, if not impossible, undertaking to replace them. Fortunately, however, a number of carvings taken from the old original'church were not, for some reason, put into the second building. They consequently have been saved, having been transferred for safe keeping to the care of Rev. F. F Chatterton, at Te Rau College. At tlie time of the fire there was fortunatelv nothing of great value in the church with the exception of the organ and registry, a number of important documents ‘having recently been reTbe news of the catastrophe quickly spread, and large numbers of Maoris were on the scene, all day yesterday. A “tan<n” was held over the remains of the beautiful church; expressions of the most profound grief were on the faces of all, and great, strong specimens of Maori manhood were to be seen sobbing like little children, and. above all was to be heard the weird wailin" of the women folk. The scene .in vicinity of the destroyed building was a truly memorable one, some of the pakelia visitors being visibly effected by the bitter grief of the Maori people, as the latter joined, one with another, in bewailing the loss of their beautiful temple of worship.