The lives of 11 people buried at Pāuatahanui will be the focus of a Wellington Heritage Festival talk on Saturday 7 November.
Leigh Savage will discuss the families behind ancestors buried at St Joseph’s and St Albans, drawing on the interconnected families and iwi of the region to bring out stories of people who settled in Pāuatahanui.
The talk runs from 2pm to 3pm at St Joseph’s Pāuatahanui, 85 Paremata-Haywards Road, State Highway 58. Entry is by koha.
St Joseph’s graveyard contains the names of early Pāuatahanui settlers as well as more recent families, according to the church. Four local men bought land for the church in 1876 for £20, according to its published history. Wellington architect Thomas Turnbull designed the building, which was constructed mainly from locally milled rimu and matai and completed in 1878. The festival listing does not name the 11 ancestors who will feature in the talk.
The St Joseph’s Stewardship Committee, the event host, is a group of volunteers who act as kaitiaki of the church on behalf of St Theresa’s Parish. The church and graveyard have a Category 1 historic-place listing from Heritage New Zealand.
Visitors should note that the site slopes and there are steps into the church. Disabled parking is available on site. There are no toilets or mains water at the site; toilets are in Pāuatahanui village.
Details are on the Wellington Heritage Festival event page.