Couple's church restoration gets historic places nod
Photo:
Supplied/ Michael Simpson & Anna Miles
A Waitaki couple's six-year passion project to restore a landmark building has paid off, with the former Kakanui Church granted a top-tier heritage listing.
The 155-year old Gothic-style building in Otago was one of two surviving Presbyterian timber churches in New Zealand designed by prominent Scottish architect Robert Arthur Lawson.
Heritage New Zealand this month recognised it as a Category 1 historic place with "special or outstanding historical or cultural significance."
Michael Simpson said it had descended into "pretty bad shape" by the time he and his wife Anna Miles bought it in 2019.
"The parish church had battled for a few years because they had too many buildings and not enough money to do it up ... there was just a lot of deferred maintenance and like a lot of old buildings, it was hard to keep up with," he said.
"We thought, well, we can give it a crack. As sad as it looks ... I like doing up old wooden buildings. It didn't look too scary to me. It scared off a lot of other people. It probably should have really."
A Christmas carols event held in the Kakanui Church last year.
Photo:
Supplied/ Michael Simpson & Anna Miles
Simpson said they had worked to restore it "with no time frame", starting with repairing rotten wood in the sub-floor, and restoring the windows.
They gave the inside a fresh coat of paint, and more recently the couple turned their focus to the exterior, where they were stripping, refitting and painting the weatherboards.
"We're loving how it's starting to look," Simpson said.
Photo:
Supplied/ Michael Simpson & Anna Miles
The couple were also renovating two outbuildings - the Workers' Hut and Sunday School.
Simpson said locals had taken a keen interest in the project.
"The community was so happy that we were trying to save it. It's been amazing. We never sort of expected that," he said.
"We have the doors open when we're down there and anyone that wants to come in and have a look ... can do that. It's just been really nice to share it."
A fresh coat of paint on one side of the Kakanui Church, during the restoration.
Photo:
Supplied/ Michael Simpson & Anna Miles
Once the building was weather-tight and stable, Simpson said they had hosted a wedding, market days and gigs in the church.
They hoped to keep using it as a community hub.
"It's just such a thrill having life in the building and seeing people enjoy it," Simpson said.
Heritage New Zealand heritage assessment advisor Alison Breese described the church as having "outstanding aesthetic, architectural and historic significance."
"It's been a pleasure seeing the love and hard mahi the owners have put into it," she said.
Simpson said the restoration wasn't yet complete, but he and Miles were thrilled to have the building formally acknowledged and protected.
"All we wanted to do, with our airy fairy plans, was restore the building as well as [possibly] to give it a life after us. This justifies that feeling, and just adds another sort of string to the bow, recognising it's worth saving," he said.
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