For a little more than 150 years the Parish of Karkloof was the epicentre of Anglican ministry in the midlands of what was then Natal. It wasn’t called the Parish of Karkloof. It was a network of small country churches; Nottingham Road, Rosetta, Lidgetton, York, Noodsberg, with St Luke’s in Howick as the centre. In addition, in places where there was no church building, visiting clergy took services in farmer’s homes. Until 1871, there was no resident priest in the area. Services were conducted by a resident deacon, and an occasional priest from Pietermaritzburg could from time to time conduct a Eucharist.

Initially there was only one church building in the area. St Mark’s in Shafton had been built in 1860, with the intention of giving it to the Methodists for services. When the Methodist church was unable to provide a minister, the church was given to the Anglicans. In the meanwhile there was a need for a church building in Howick. The village of Howick was the centre for all the small communities. Howick needed a church building. The foundation stone for St Luke’s was laid in 1867, and Mr William Nicolson charged with building a church.

The church was completed in 1869 but it was not quite the church we know today. It was low, poorly ventilated, hot and dark. Over the next 100 years the church has been heightened, widened and added to in many ways to meet the demands of the village of Howick, an important staging post on the road North to the gold and diamond fields.

Over time further churches were built in the area, and in 1960 the Parish of Karkloof came into being with chapels in Dargle, Lidgetton and Curry’s post as well as Shafton. Over time, too the originally barren land on which St Luke’s was built was planted with shrubs and trees now grown to maturity.

And now that beautiful little church in its lovely garden still serves a changing community – no longer pioneers, no longer primarily farming folk, but a modern if slightly unkempt village of dormitory workers, business people and a large number of retirees.