HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

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

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

"T Arrived at Greymouth in 1869, to replace. the. first 'y Anglican clergyman, the-Rev. G.'Beaumont, who had, ■*£ been transferred to Otago. After serving ten years tp at Greymouth, Mr. Watkins was on the eve of a. trip to his home town, Deptford, England, -when he became seriously ill, and died on June 18, 1879, aged 48 years. His death was generally regretted, and-a, ■d+ report of the funeral estimates the number of mourners at 2000. As a token of appreciation of his work, +V his friends had subscribed £125, which they had in•)j+ tended, to give him on the day of his departure for ■*i+ England. After his death, it was decided that the T+ amount be set aside to provide annually a gold medal, to be known as the “Watkins Medal” to be. +t+ presented to the most successful scholar at the Grey A- District High School. The memory of Mr. Watkins * is also perpetuated by a beautiful stained glass win- ❖ dow in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church.

h The ministration of the Church of 9- England at Greymouth dates from the + year 1867, when the first Holy Trinity + Church was erected on the site of the + present building. The Rev. G. P. Beau- + mont was the first minister. A whirl- + wind demolished the church, in 1881, + and, in the following year, the pre- + sent church was erected, a wooden ♦ building, with the Sunday * School and vicarage, on two acres of <■ ground facing Guinness Street. The ► church, which is capable of seating > 600 persons, was designed by Messrs. h Young Bros., architects, of Westport. In 1905, it was renovated at a cost of ■ .C6OO, but it is again in need of atten- • • tion. As a matter' of fact, it has been recognised for a long time that the building has reached the demolition stage, and a site has been secured for the construction of a new church in Tainui Street. The' east end of, the present church has a very fine stained glass window, erected to the memory of the late Rev. G. T. N. Watkins, who ' succeeded the Rev. G. P Beaumont, , ■ and held the position until his death, ten years later, on June 18, 1879. In 1 -41-A A -A- A A AAA A A 44+44+4+44+ AA ,

that year, the Synod created Greymouth a .parish, and thereby gave it . the right to select its own minister from the names submitted to it by the Bishop. Rev. J. P. Kempthorne was appointed vicar of Greymouth on July 1, 1880; His son, who is the present Bishop of Polynesia, is a Greymouth boy. 1 The present church, which was built by Messrs Anderson and Hillman, of Greymouth, was consecrated on May 17, 1883,, by Bishop Suter,, and was then credited with being the finest parish church in the Nelson diocesein 1884, the Rev. C. W. Jennings arrived to assist Mr. Kempthorne, and was succeeded by the Rev. InnesJones, now Archdeacon in the Wellington district. Rev. J. P. Kempthorne left Greymouth in 1885, and was succeeded "by the Rev. T. B. Maclean, who was then curate at Reefton, on March 31, 1886. \ The Archdeaconry of Mawhera was created in December, 1886, and the Rev. T. B. Maclean became its first t|+ A* +

Archdeacon. In 1887, Bishop Harper visited Greymouth, and on that occasion he was presented with an illuminated address, which had been prepared by the late Mr. E. I. Lord. Archdeacon Maclean resigned in 1892, and ’ became Vicar of Wanganui. Rev. T. Johnston was. appointed as his successor, but resigned in the following year ,and afterwards became Vicar of Motucka. He was succeeded' by the Rev. A.*C. Wright, who arrived ■at

Greymouth in vApril, 18931 but remained only a year owing to ill-health. On September 9, 1894, the Rev. .G. W. 'York was appointed'Vicar of Grey-' mouth, and was made Archdeacon, in March, 1908. He remained at Greymouth for 25 years, being'transferred 1 to Blenheim in 1919. He was succeeded by the Rev. J. A. Rogers. On Oc-' tobcr 25, 1919, Rev. A. J. Carr took charge of the parish, and was made Archdeacon of Mawhera on October 4, 1920, a position he still holds. The Diamond Jubilee of the Church was celebrated on. October 16, 1927, the services being conducted by the “Bishop of Nelson (Dr. Sadjier), assisted by Archdeacons Kempthorne and Car)-. . - - 4+ AAAAA A A A A +l+A AAAA A A Aj