CHURCH JUBILEE

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 75, 21 December 1929, Page 9

CHURCH JUBILEE

CONSECRATION OF ST. PETER’S AN HISTORIC LANDMARK TODAY’S ANNIVERSARY Half a century ago, 14 years after Wellington had become the seat of Government of the colony, and. when it was just emerging from the settlement stage, a large congregation assembled in St Peter’s Church, at the corner of Willis and Ghuznee Streets, for the consecration service. That was on St. Thomas’s Day, December 21, 1879, and the fiftieth anniversary of this event which falls to-day, will be cgjfibrated in St Peter’s tomorrow, when the Bishop of Wellington (Dr. T. H. Sprott) will preach the jubilee sermon at evensong. Eighty-two years of history are behind the site on which the present church stands, for the first Church of St. Peter was built in 1847—the year that the charter was signed dividing New Zealand into two provinces. The site was purchased for £2OO by the Bishop of New Zealand (the Rt. Rev. George Augustus Selwyn), and the first church was erected at a cost of £B9l. It was a plain little structure of the simplest English design, with no pretensions to architectural effect, capable of seating 252 people. The year following was a momentous one for Wellington, and nearly proved fatal to the young settlement. It was the year of the great earthquake, which continued for several weeks. In their extremity, and fear, many of the settlers sought the House of God, and for the whole three weeks the little Church of St. Peter was the dwelling place of a large number of settlers. Growth of Settlement. With the rapid growth of the settlement, the building soon proved inadequate to accommodate the ever-growing congregation, and in 1857 it was em larged by adding two aisles to the' original nave. This was accomplished at a cost of £697, and provided accommodation for 400 people. On March 13, 1958, the church was consecrated by Bishop Selwyn, assisted by the Rev. A. Stock, who was in charge, the Vicar’s Commissary and Vicar of St. Paul’s (Rev. Arthur Baker), the Rev. T. B. Hutton, of the Hutt, the Rev. H. W. St. Hill, of Porirua, and the Rev. R. Taylor, of Wanganui The laity were represented by Messrs R. Cheesman and J. H. Wallace. Very soon the building was again found insufficient for the growing population, and it was further enlarged in 1866,1868, and 1872, untU it was finally capable of seating 560 people. It was not long, however, before this accommodation was found quite inadequate, and as a further enlargement was out of the question, a meeting of parishioners was held in July, 1875, for the purpose of considering the erection of a new church. A building, capable of seating a thousand people, was recommended. This recommendation was accepted, but it was found necessary to altar the original plans, reducing the size of the building to seat 800. A tender was accepted for £6530. The old church was moved back to the school ground, and on Wednesday, May 7, 1879, Hie first stone was laid by the then Bishop of Wellington, the Rt. Rev. Octavius Hadfield, D.D. The building was finished by the end of the year, and it was consecrated on St. Thomas’s Day, December 21, the jubilee of which will be reached to-morrow. Building Shaken by Beils. One disappointment somewhat marred the joy at the completion of the church. A fine set of bells had been procured from England, but when they were first rung, the vibration was so great as to threaten, if continued, the stability of the building. There is still in Wellington a relic of the first Church of St. Peter. The clock, which dates back to the year 1849, and served for many, years as a town clock, may still be seen and heard at St. Matthew’s Church, Brooklyn. , Oxford and Cambridge, odd as it may seem, have alternatively found vicars for St. Peter’s. Oxford claims the Bev. S Poole, the Rev. W. O. Waters, and Archdeacon C. C. Harper; Cambridge, Archdeacon A. Stock, the Rev. G. P. Davys, and the present vicar, Canon H. Watson. .... Since its consecration the church has been further beautified by many gifts and memorials, including a tablet bearing the names of the twenty-four men connected with the parish who made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War, this being unveiled by the Governor-General (Sir Charles Fergusson) on Sunday, July 11, 1926. In spite of its age the church is in very fair condition, repairs having been recently made at a cost of £l6OO. With these it is hoped that the building will last another 30 years. Creation of Parish. The parish of St Peter was created by Diocesan Synod in 1859. Prior to that date the work of St. Peter’s was really a part'of St. Paul’s parish, which comprised the whole of Wellington, and extended to Lower Hutt and Petons. The first officiating clergyman at St. Peters in 1847 was the Rev. R. Cole, who conducted the service alternatively at that church and at St. Paul’s. Early in 1854 the Rev. S. Poole was appointed to the separate charge of St. Peter’s, and in 1856 he was succeeded by the Rev. Arthur Stock, who became the first vicar in 1859. when the parish was separated from St. Paul’s. During his ministry many important events happened, one being the creation of the parish of St. Mark, comprising the “whole of the town east of Taranaki Street.” The chief event, however, was the building of the present church. Archdeacon Stock was vicar for 32 years, and it would be difficult to estimate how much the parish owes to his long and faithful ministry. He resigned in 1888, and died 13 years The Rev. William Campbell Waters, M.A., succeeded Archdeacon Stock. In those days the parish was a residential area, and so large were the congregations that the enlarging of the church was seriously contemplated. Having accepted a living in England the Rev. Waters resigned in 1903, and the Rev. George Paul Davys, M.A., who had been assistant curate of the parish from 1899 to 1901, was appointed vicar. In 1909 Brooklyn was separated from the parish. Mr. Davys returned to England in 1910. and the Archdeacon of Rangitikei, the Ven. C. Coleridge Harper, M.A., was appointed vicar. On ‘Archdeacon Harper’s resignation in 1915, the present vicar, Canon H. Watson. succeeded him.

When Kelburn was created a parochial district in 1917 it became the third district that had been separated from the original parish. By this time the nature of St. Peter’s parish was rapidly changing. It was no longer a residential area, but had become a city parish, where the population was constantly changing. It was felt that its continuance could only be assured through the establishment of a strong endowment. A fund was started for thiff purpose in 1920, and through the generosity of parishioners it now stands at £7llO.