Stained glass window rescued

• Published date: 18 April 2024
• Publication title: Otago Daily Times (New Zealand)

And with his help, the artist hopes it will last another 80 or so years at Opoho Presbyterian Church

Mr Mackenzie received the call yesterday that the window was falling apart.

‘‘I got there just in the nick of time.

‘‘It was starting to buckle and collapse when I got there, and when I was removing the window it began to disintegrate.

‘‘It was pretty nerve-racking, but I managed to cradle it.’’

The stained glass window was designed by John Brock in the late 1930s, and was a ‘‘pretty special’’ example, Mr Mackenzie said.

‘‘John Brock was a very accomplished stained-glass artist who originally worked in London before he moved to Dunedin for good in 1914.’’

This was one of Brock’s most ‘‘striking’’ works, Mr Mackenzie said.

‘‘It’s one of the few stained-glass windows in Presbyterian churches which shows the emblem of the burning bush.

‘‘Presbyterian Churches of that time tended to be pretty dour buildings, so the colour of this one is quite...