Over 100 years ago, Teddy Green (Edward) gifted a parcel of land at the end of his farm for the building of a church. The property was a corner section fronting what was then the main road and Beach Road. (The main highway was realigned during the 1950s when a new bridge was built.) Messrs J. Keane, M. Cavanagh and C.F. Connors approached the manager of the Bank of New South Wales in Marton for a loan to build the church. These gentlemen acted as guarantors for the loan. The loan was fully repaid in April 1932, with funds raised mainly through the very popular dances held at the local hall. Busloads of revellers came from Wanganui. Building started in 1925; the architect was Mr G.I. McLaughlin and the builder was Mr D. Guy.
The total cost was 707 pounds 10 shillings. The Rangitikei Advocate and the Wanganui Herald recorded the occasion: on 19 December 1926, the Most Rev. Archbishop O’Shea, S.M., D.D., of Wellington solemnly blessed and dedicated the church. In addressing the congregation, His Grace Archbishop O’Shea congratulated the people on their faith and generosity in building so fine an edifice. He warmly urged his hearers to be faithful to the law of God and their Church. The Rev. Father Macmanus of Palmerston North and the Rev. Father Butler, the Archbishop’s chaplain, were in attendance. The Marton parish priest, Rev. Father McLaughlin, celebrated Holy Mass, assisted by Fr H. Mitchell of Holy Cross College, Mosgiel, and Master Bernard McDonald.
On 19 December 1976, the Golden Jubilee was celebrated with a First Communion Mass and supper at the school hall. The nuns from Marton attended, as did Mrs Sinclair from Turakina, who recalled riding her horse over from Turakina to attend the opening. There had been a very large crowd in attendance, she said.
On 16 February 2004, the valley was flooded from hill to hill, and the church did not escape. Fr Dominic Heslin was the parish priest at the time. Sadly, when the altar was moved, the sacred altar stone fell and was lost in the mud. In the following years, there were further floods, with the damage successfully repaired each time by Mr Noel Crocker. The area was declared a flood zone. The Hall Committee extended an invitation for the church to be re-sited on higher ground near the community hall. The move took place on 18 December 2018, when the church was literally rolled down the main highway.
In March 2020, Fr Peter Brockhill blessed and reopened the relocated St Andrew’s Church. Later that month, New Zealand entered its first nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, and Masses were paused.
During 2022, the local parishioners arranged for the relocated church’s exterior to be painted and a new roof fitted. The Camera Club also photographed the churches in Wanganui and the surrounding area, including St Andrew’s in Whangaehu.
Now it is time to celebrate! The centenary celebration will take place on Sunday 20 December 2026. Holy Mass will be celebrated at 6pm, followed at 7pm by a social gathering with a shared potluck meal (BYO). Comments, photos and expressions of interest can be added to the Facebook page “Whangaehu Catholic Church Centenary”.
