If you haven't yet made it into a marae (meeting house), you’ll get a fair idea of what you’re missing out on by visiting the extraordinary St Mary’s Church, which opened for redemption in 1926. It’s nothing special from the outside, but step inside for a sensory overload. There are woven tukutuku (flax panels) on the walls, geometrically patterned stained-glass windows, painted beams and amazing carvings – check out the little guys holding up the pulpit.
A stained-glass crucifixion scene behind the pulpit depicts WWI Māori soldiers attending to JC.