Scandinavian Club of Manawatu Inc.
Nes Church, Romerike, Akerhus, Norway
Nes Church, at Nes, Romerike, in Akerhus county, Norway, was central to the early lives of a number of New Zealand's earliest Norwegian settlers, including some who settled in Manawatu. One couple that emigrated aboard the Celaeno in 1870, Bernt and Elisabeth Johansen, married in the church two days before embarkation. Their first child was born at sea a month later.
This church was built in 1860 to replace a 900-year-old stone church, which was burnt out in 1854. Its ruins are now a tourist attraction. (Photo: Tom Halvorsen, Årnes, Norway, August 1999)