Unwavering belief, commitment, love and memory are the very things an earthquake-damaged stone church near the Marlborough coastline was built on a century ago.
St Oswald’s Memorial Church, situated on State Highway 1 between Kaikōura and Blenheim, was severely damaged in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.
As part of an extensive restoration effort, the church is now covered in plastic sheeting, and its owners are working hard to restore the roadside monument to its former glory.
Leicester Murray, the grandchild of Charles and Jessie Murray — who built the church in 1927 in memory of their 19-year-old son, Hector, who died in Geneva — spoke to Seven Sharp about the restoration project.
“We’re so looking forward to taking the wrapping off and [the church] being how it was — it will look a million dollars,” he said.
Murray, his wife Laura, and their only child, Wilson, began restoring the church in 2018 after engineers declared it would not need to be demolished. Continue reading