Waimate’s impressive church is Romanesque Revival style

St Patrick’s Basilica is one of the most impressive buildings in the Waimate District.

It was designed by Francis William Petre (1847-1918) and is constructed of reinforced concrete with brick and Oamaru stone facings and a Marseille-tiled roof. It was built in 1908-09 by contractors Mills, Ford and Murtagh of Oamaru.

The church replaced a wooden version built in 1876 and which was transported to Washdyke in 1936, where it remained until it was demolished in 1998.

The neoclassical design is Romanesque Revival in style and you may recognise the similarity with the Catholic Basilica in Timaru (Sacred Heart – built 1910-11) and Christchurch (Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament – built 1901-05, demolished 2021), which were also designed by Petre.

The bell tower was added in 1912, crowned with an eight-sided copper-sheathed dome which sits above the arcaded entrance portico. The Hobday pipe organ, which was installed in 1920, was the last organ built by Arthur A Hobday.

The building was earthquake strengthened in 2005, as part of a three-stage restoration project.

Sitting next to the basilica is the presbytery, a two-story brick and plaster building, constructed in 1894 that was designed by the (Belgian born) Timaru architect Maurice Duval.

– Nigel Gilkison