Arthur’s Pass Chapel

Arthur's Pass Chapel is a small Anglican church in Arthur's Pass Village. Its large window above the altar frames Avalanche Creek Waterfall through a native beech hillside. If the door is open, step inside for a quiet pause and that view; the indoor view is the reason to stop.

The chapel sits on the village's short walking circuit, a 350 m route that takes about 10 minutes from the visitor centre and passes a stone bridge with a waterfall view. The closer waterfall platform is a steep extra section and isn't suitable for prams.

The window turns the falls into part of the chapel: water drops through several twisting cascades against the forested slope. Spring snowmelt and rain can make the falls stronger. From outside, the stone bridge is the easier place to see the water.

Plans followed an Easter communion in the Pass in 1951. By 1953, a committee brought together four Christian denominations and seven alpine and ski clubs to build a chapel for the area. Christchurch architect Paul Pascoe designed it; the foundation stone was laid in 1955 and it was dedicated on 2 April 1956. The stone facing uses boulders from the Bealey River, with Welsh slate on the roof, Oregon timbers in the porch and roof, and rimu rafters and end panelling inside.

Look for the altar cross and candlesticks, made at a New Zealand military hospital in Bari, Italy, in 1944 and brought home by chaplain F. O. B. Lane. The lectern and communion rail remember Samuel Edgar Russell, who died on Avalanche Peak in 1933. The font stands on three children's skis donated by the Christchurch Ski Club, an alpine touch that feels right at home here.

The adopted name is Arthur's Pass Chapel, though some directories and listings still call it the Chapel of the Snows. That alternate name was considered but never adopted.