Take a look around St Davids Church. Built from river stone found nearby, and glacial granite from Mt Cook, not a single nail is used inside. It was designed in 1930 by Herbert W. Hall. The building was awarded the New Zealand Institute of Architects gold medal in 1934.
It was built for Thomas Burnett in memory of his father Andrew Burnett (1838–1927) and his mother Catherine (1837–1914), as well as to commemorate other pioneering run-holders who took up runs in the Mackenzie country. Andrew and Catherine Burnett arrived in Timaru in 1861.
Andrew was a Highland shepherd and he worked for John Hayhurst on Grays Hill, Simons Pass and Blue Cliffs stations before taking up the 30,000 Mount Cook Station with George McRae in 1864 for 63 years. Next time you visit the SC Museum, check out the plaque under the Oak tree.
Find an epic wall with Scottish connections: While we were taking a look around St David's Church in Cave, we had a look over the road and investigated an impressive and imposing wall full of interesting icons and gaelic!
Burnett is a big name in Cave. Andrew and Catherine Burnett, took up the Mount Cook sheep run in 1864.
St David's Church, was built by the Burnetts' son Thomas, who became a Member of Parliament. It commemorates his parents and all runholders, shepherds, drovers, shearers and other workers on early high-country runs. It was from about this site that pioneers of the Mackenzie Basin set off into the high country to establish their stations. St David's Church dominates a hillside just off the main road, near Cannington.
The 1930 church was built of boulders and no nails were used in the construction. The Highlands connection is even more strongly visible below the church, across the road. Here stands the eye-catching grand gateway to the Burnetts' down-country farm, Strath Naver.
This name is taken from the valley (strath) of the Naver River in the Sutherland Highlands, a district hard hit by forced evictions of tenant farmers during the Clearances of two centuries ago.
It was from this area that the Burnetts emigrated for a better life in New Zealand. The iron gates are flanked by massive stone walls that extend 20m in each direction.
Erected about the same time as the church, the gateway bears symbols of the Scottish thistle and New Zealand fern, with the legends: faith, hope, self-reliance, pioneering, toil and sweat. Printed in Gaelic are mottoes which translate as: "We keep the old ways, the good ways" and "What we have, we keep". -stuff.co.nz