£60,00.0 BEQUEST

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 110, 11 May 1935, Page 10

£60,00.0 BEQUEST

AUCKLANDER'S WILL

CATHEDRAL NOW

ASSURED

LATE MISS 31. HORTON

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.) . ■ ' . AUCKLAND, May 10. ',-.. . By a* public-spirited bequest of ap■c. 'proximately £60,000 provided in the ' will of'the late Miss Mina Tait Hor- .; tori, of Kemuera, whose death occurred on May 3, the early commencement of a permanent Anglican cathedral for *• ■Auckland is assured. A condition, of the bequest is that the cathedral shall be erected on the site in Parnell bought for the purpose by Bishop Selwyn 92 years ago. Competitive designs must ~ be called for and the building commenced within ten years from the date -':■ of Miss Horton's death. -"*■ ..- "The site referred to, which has been ■: • held for the original purpose ever since :.'Bishop Selwyn purchased it, consists -"' of 6& acres of land with frontages to ;: Parnell Road, St. Stephen's Avenue, V and Brighton Road. It is opposite the 4 present St.' Mary's Cathedral and in- •; eludes the site of the Parneli Tennis ''-■ Club's courts. ' <■ , ; Miss Horton's will directs that her residuary estate, which it is estimated will amount to- £60,000 after payment of duties, shall be divided by her trus- • ; tees into four parts. One of these is j made subject to a life interest. The other three, with the accumulated inI'come therefrom, are to be held by the ,f trustees for the cathedral building r | fund and are to be paid, to a general :. i trust board_ of the Auckland diocese ■:, J.when certain conditions have been ful- , filled. On the termination of the life , ; interest the remaining fourth part is to ~ ibe paid over in the same way. , ; CONDITIONS LAID DOWN. '\ ,\ The,will further directs the trustees, ~~ ■; "when' they are' satisfied the cathedral. .: is to be built on the Parnell site, to '". pay out-of the-trust fund a sum not '".'. exceeding £1000 for an accepted competitive design for the cathedral. The i design must be accepted by the Gen- •-. eral Trust Board or other controlling ■J authority within seven years of the ' i testator's death, and the building must be commenced within ten years of her death. If these conditions are not '■■ "/fulfilled, or if the trustees are not sat- :'■ isfied at the end of ten years that the 1 buildfeg will be properly carried on •to the completed state, the bequest (except as regards payment for design, if . one has been accepted) shall lapse and the residuary estate shall be held by the trustees of certain other trusts specified in the will. ■• REALISATION OF A VISION. "This wonderful gift will enable the "i, Church to realise a .vision of Selwyn— ~•; a vision which many Auckland church -,■- people have held since his day^" said ■-• .'Archbishop Averill in commenting ~ upon tKe late Miss Horton's bequest J "of, some £60,000 to the fund for bulid- • iirig the Auckland Anglican Cathedral; • "The idea of beginning the erection of .<!,. a cathedral upon the historic site in •. 'Parnell has been in my mind ever ; jsince'l became Bishop of Auckland.-21 ,?. lyears ago,.and .naturally it is most • "gratifying .'that ny my ' silver jubilee .1 • .year :!^his:: vision should be brought • : within reach of realisation. tl,*' "At the same time I would emphasise very strongly' that the cathedral r which Miss Horton's 'beneficence will enable us to begin should properly be , considered as an institution in which the whole public will have an interest. The church which we hope to erect, 'standing, as it .will, upon the command-) ing site which Selwyn's foresight chose - for.it nearly a century ago, will be a ¥■ worthy addition to the buildings which - ,a cify-like Auckland should possess * :: /and a landmark for every ship that f' -enters Auckland Harbour. It will be "' in;n.p sense, a private church, but in '■■: ..a very large degree it will belong to ';..■: ;:the public. We hope that it will be ■ ameetihg-placefor all Christian people '; and a real centre for the religious life '!:/■'■'■ of Auckland.' ■■■'•■ ■.- "The realisation of our hopes comes ~'. at a most, appropriate time, for in 1940 ■..■ ■. Auckland will celebrate the centenary I of its foundation, and two years later v , <,that of. the arrival of Bishop Selwyn. .. V. If possible, I should very much like '■ the: cathedral to be associated with !• -the city's centenary, and the laying of ..its foundation-stone made part of the -celebrations. There could hardly be a more fitting occasion, and I think Auckland, would gladly accept such a ceremony as an important part of the festival. ' "We will take steps at once to appeal to the public for gifts to augment this very generous benefaction, for it -Will depend to a very large extent upon the interest of .citizens whether the dream of a,'worthy cathedral is '; : realised to the full. I hope the Diocesan ',' ;Synod, when it 'meets in October, will ; set. up a strong committee to take the ;,:./matter .'in. hand, as soon as possible."