CHURCH WITH A HISTORY.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 154, 1 July 1924, Page 3

CHURCH WITH A HISTORY.

OLD ST. ANDREW'S NEARLY 80 YEARS OLD. Soon after the Scots immigrants ! arrived in Auckland by the ships Jans . Gilford and Duchess ot Argyle, in 1812, • the need for a kirk in which to worship was recognised, and 77 years ago St. ! Andrew's Presbyterian Church was \ erected of dressed scoria at the lower j end of Symonds Street. It was just a , plain building, the present front with I columns, and the steeple not being added until many years later. In the ; early days of Auckland money was not | plentiful enough to be expended i" j rendering churches ornate. When, in October, 1592, the jubilee of the arrival of the Jane Gifford and Duchess of Argyle was celebrated in the Choral Hall, the fact was mentioned that the first cry of the unemployed was heard in Auckland when it was found the labour market was glutted by the ' arrival of the Scots immigrants. The Government was called upon to provide ' work just the same as it is to-day when ' a mine closes down. Spades ■ and shovels were provide,!, and the Scots were set to work cutting down Shortland Street at 2/6 per day. The wages certainly were not high, but in bygone ; years the State did not pay full rates for relief works, the idea probably being that the men would sooner get more remunerative employment elsewhere if 1 the pay was not too high. This state of ' affairs no doubt explains why St. | Andrew's at first was very severe and j plain in elevation. j There were several buildings erected of ■ dressed scoria in the early days, but most have since been demolished. When ! O'Connell Street was widened a few j years ago, the' double storey stone buildings erected by Brown and Camp- ' bell had to be pulled down. It was rather a pity, as this structure had a staircase to the roof, erected on tbe outside of the building. The old "Southern Cross" building at the corner of O'Connell Street and Chancery Lane, which was also of dressed scoria, has been removed to make way for a more up-to-date structure, and Graham's Bond, in Fort Street, and St. Andrew's Church are now about the last of these old. stone structures. In the early days of Auckland St. Andrew's Church was looked upon as a city of refuge for the women fand children to fly to in case the Maoris raided Auckland. Hone Heke. after sacking Kororareka, at Bay of Islands, threatened to march on to Auckland, but was stopped by a message from the chief of the then powerful Waikato tribe, to the effect that the pakehas were under lii-a protection. On one occasion when a Maori raid was feared the citizens of Auckland set to work to excavate trenches around St. Andrew's Church as a first line of defence. Auckland was threatened with an attack on several occasions, and once, in ISSI, the Ngatipaoa tribue actually landed from their canoes in Mechanics' Bay. That occurred during Sir George Grey's first term as Governor. The pakeha soldiers assembled on Constitution Hill, w'/ere the Supreme Court now stands, but the attack did not take place. Buglers had been distributed through the Domain, and as soon as the call was sour-ded or Constitution Hill replies were received from various parts of the bush, and the Maoris, fearing a flank attack, paddled away in their canoes. No doubt at that anxious time the women and children had sought refuge in the church. The mother Presbyterian church of Auckland, like others near the waterfront, suffered when the town spread further outwards. The Auckland Presbytery was wont to meet at St. Andrew's for many years, but finally it was recognised that St. David's, in Khyber Pass, was a more central position for holding the sittings of the church court. For a while it seemed as if it would have been fitting to write Ichabod on the walls of St. Andrew's Church, for it appeared as if the glory had departed. Quite recently all the congregation followed their minister out of St. Andrew's Church, and for a few Sundays the sound of worship was not heard within those venerable walls, but it was felt it would never do to let the I old mother go under, and a strop..-! com- j mittee from other Presbyterian chrrrches j kept the place open until the present j minister was called to carry on the j work in the historic building.