St Mary's Catholic Church in Kaikorai will be "almost shipshape" in time for its centennial celebrations later this year, thanks to a donation from a Dunedin tradesman.
Parish priest Fr Cipriano Fernandes said he was "overwhelmed" by the generosity of the tradesman, who had donated materials and labour to plaster and repaint an interior wall which was water damaged after a roof leak.
He estimated the donation was worth about $10,000.
"The wall was a real eyesore. Fixing it was one of our biggest jobs and because of him we paid absolutely nothing - zero."
The church, in Cromwell St, was opened on December 8, 1912. A school was opened next door in 1929.
Fr Fernandes had hoped about $20,000 of interior renovations would be completed before the centenary of the church and school was celebrated at Labour Weekend.
While not enough money had been raised to complete all he had hoped to do, the church would be "almost shipshape" by then, Fr Fernandes said.
About 300-400 people were expected at the celebrations.
