Gail Pope is social history curator at the MTG OPINION There are many strange and unusual objects in the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust collection. One such item is a broken wooden shamrock from St Patrick’s Catholic Church (1894-1981) which fronted Munroe St, Napier. On August 15, 1981, a quiet, sunny Saturday afternoon, Napier was suddenly startled out of its slumber by the persistent and urgent wailing of fire sirens.
Clouds of black smoke were billowing from the direction of the central business district – it became apparent that St Patrick’s Catholic Church was ablaze. Fire quickly engulfed the building, and such was the fury of the inferno that flames whipped wildly up the landmark spire sending sparks skyward until the cross, surmounting the very top, was totally enveloped. There was little chance of firefighters extinguishing the flames once they caught hold and within two hours there remained only the detritus of a once beautiful building.
The following morning Bernadette and Max Hartshorn attended Sunday mass, held at St Patrick’s Church Hall. To reach the hall the parishioners had to walk past the remains of their once beautiful church, gingerly avoiding the huge blackened beams and piles of burnt debris. At the back, against a low brick fence bordering Station St, Bernadette spied a remnant of unburnt wood lying on the ground which she picked up.
On close inspection, she discovered it was a wooden shamrock from the spire. As early as 1886, Catholic parishione.
