A LONELY CHURCH

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 127, 25 November 1933, Page 21

A LONELY CHURCH

IN WAINUI VALLEY

BUILT IN 1863

■ Motorists passing through the' Waimii Valley often notice a little church standing in a graveyard, and wonder what sort of. a congregation the church has in such a lonely spot. Ihe church is the Wainui Methodist Church, and is the only church in the Waimii Valley. Methodism •in the Hutt Valley dates back to 1847. The Wainui Church was 'built in 1863 as part of the Wellington Circuit. In 1872, when the Hutt became a separate circuit, Wainui became part of it, and on the separation of Hutt and Petone in 1909 Wainui was added to the Petone circuit. The booklet issued in connection with the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Wesley Church, Nelson Street, Petone, recently, stated that "When the valley was heavily wooded timber 'mills flourished, and the district carried a moderate population, and the church was full. Now, with only a few scattered farms, congregations ' arp smaller." There used to be two timber mills in the Wainui Valley. Regarding' population the 192 C census gave the total for Wainui-o-Mata as 235. Only Methodists use the church, as most of the Protestants in the valley belong to this denomination, and-service is held once a fortnight, generally held in the afternoon, but three evening services are held every quarter. The minister of the Wesley Church, Petone (the Rev. L. C. Horwood) officiates. Officials of the Methodist Church state that a good congregation consists of from sixteen to twenty people. In wet weather congregations'are very small, because of the long distance the people have to travel and the early milking hour that is necessary in the valley. At. the evening services candles are placed on the pulpit, and light is supplied by kerosene lamps let down by ropes from the ceiling. A harmonium' serves for music. Near the church there are only the house of the school mistress, another house, the school, and a public hall. The nearest church attendee, apart from the residents in the two houses just mentioned, lives two and a half miles away... The most, distant members live nine miles away, and among them are some of the most regular. - . The church was erected on a section donated by the late Mr. Richard Prouse. Pit-sawn timber.was used, and the church was erected by volunteer labour. A PECULIAR POSITION. A peculiar position once arose over the title deeds, of the church. As far as can be made out half of section 3 was given as the church' site. Section 3 was split in half by the road. : The church was built on the flat, and the title deed was for the hill section just, across the road. As the donor of the site assisted in building the church it is most unlikely that he would allow the church to go up in a wrong situation. It is believed that an error in the Lands Office gave rise to the confusion over the title deeds. The surrounding land changed hands several times until it came 'into the possession of the late Dr. H. •C. Faulke, who- purchased land on both sides of the road, and found that the land on which the church was built was included in his title. The title of the opposite section was held by the church trustees. 'Dr. Faulke offered a free exchange' of titles, and this was done sixtythree years after the original section was donated. The transfer was completed about six weeks before the death of Dr. Faulke. A strip of land on the south side of the church was offered for shelter purposes, and trees were planted. No title deed was given for this, but Dr. Faulke included it in the title.