Leaves From My Sketchbooks. 11.St. Stephens, Judges Bay, Auckland
While I called my book Country Churches of New Zealand, I nevertheless included the final illustration of this Auckland city church because when it was built it was in the country. It's such a charming little chapel hidden in the inner suburbs of the city that it's easy to forget that well over a million people live in the district.
The day I did this scribble is memorable because an elderly couple stopped to talk to me. They were off a cruise liner and they'd seen the church from the ship as it entered Waitemata Harbour early that morning. They were quietly spoken Yorkshire folk and I was impressed that they were smart enough to bypass all the touristy seductions of Lower Queen Street and make a bee-line for an Auckland jewel.
© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
www.don-donovan.blogspot.co.nz