ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 February 1928, Page 32 (Supplement)

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

In the e arly l ’sixties, the West Coast so far a.s its Roman. Catholic inhabitants j were concerned,, was under the jurisdiction of the Right Rev. Dr. Viard-, first Bishop of Wellington, who at an. eslrly date visited his newlyacquired ; people, and sent the Rev. Fathe? T ressalet, S.M., to Greymouth. His sue cesgor, a French priest, the Rev. Father Royer, arrived in 186 G. Fat] rer Royer was assisted for. a considerable time by Father Thomas Walsh (afterwards Monsignor, Walsh), .who subsequently established the pai'ish of Westport; where he remained until his death in December, 1926. The parish extended from the ♦ 4 ++ F ■ t F*£*- +F th <£■ tk

Teremakau River to Nelson, and to the ranges in the interior. • Father Royer erected the first Catholic church in Greymouth. Unfortunately the site (Arney Street) was too near the Grey River, the frequent floods of which brought the watets to h depth of five fdet wifein the little building. In 18*70, Father Royer was replaced py Father ' (afterwards Dean) Bins- , fel®, S.M., In May of the same year, another change brought Father Golomb, whose zeal and energy accomplished much in the short space from his arrival to his death. In 1871 he was drowned in attempting to cross Nelson Creek. Father Colomb enlarged the church to double its first dimensions, and built the first Catholic school, the site of which was subsequently purchased by the Government for harbour improvements. After Father Colomb’e death, Father Bins-

fclrl returned, and remained until the arrival of his successor, the Rey/ Father Belliard, S.M. About 1883,Barrytown and Marsden were added to the parish of Greymouth, little ' churches having previously been erected at both places by the Rev. Father Roland. After Father Belliard the Rev. Fathers McGuinness and. O’Connor resided at Greymouth until the arrival of the Very Rev. Dean Carew, S.M., in 1884. In 1887, the foundation stone of the present fine church in Chapel Street was laid by the Most Rev. Metropolitan (then) Bishop Redwood who afterwards officiated at the opening ceremony Pentecost Sunday following* year. The erection and finishing of

; the new church, dedicated to St. Pat- . rick, cost about £B,OO0 —a debt of the past. In 1912, a site for a new presbytery was purchased at a cost of ' £ 800. The first band of Sisters of Mercy arrived from Hokitika and the Convent was opened on November 3, . 1882. . From 1886 to 1889 a sum of £llOO was expended on a new school and convent of the Sisters of Mercy at Brunnerton. A new church, dedicated to the Sacred Heart, erected at a cost of £520, was opened at the State coal mines in 1909. At Cobden, £lBOO was expended on a. site and the erection of a church and schools. The new Convent was built on a site in Tainui Street, and was opened in 1926. ' ' ■ ' The H.A.C.B. Society, St. Columba; Club, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Apostleship of Prayer, and the Sodality of the Children of Mary, are among the activities of the church, while the original outlay on the Hibernian Hall aiid clubrooms amounted to £lOOO. ' The Marist Brothers impart primary and secondary instruction to the boys in the Dean Carew Memorial School, which has accommodation for about 200 pupils,-and was opened by Archbishop Mannix in 1924. The present church is a substantial edifice of brick, 135 ft-, in length, 51 ft. in width, with walls 33ft in height, of Gothic architecture. It was designed by Mr. F. W. Petrie, Dunedin, and erected'by Messrs Arnott and Seabrook, contractors, Greymouth. In 1905, a front, including side porches, a fine tower with bells, and a spiro 120 ft high, was erected by Mr. Thomas Bell, contractor, Greymouth. The church will accommodate 900 persons. The beauty’of the interior of the church, which is considered to be one of the best in the Dominion, has recently been enhanced by the erection of a new marble altar, altar rails, and a splendid stained glass Eastern window. ' > .

In recent years, the boundaries of the parish were readjusted, and it now extends from the Teremakau in the South to Punakaiki in the North,'

’ th th -F th +h th th ’F th ■F th th th dt ■F th«th th and from the sea to Arthur’s Pass. The parish is in the diocese, of Christchurch, which is under the jurisdiction of His Lordship Bishop Brodie, whose parents were married in Greymouth in the early ’sixties. He will be present at the Jubilee.