ST. JAMES'S CHURCH JUBILEE.

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 24, 6 November 1930, Page 7

ST. JAMES'S CHURCH JUBILEE.

[ On Sunday "next tho .parishioners of .St. James's Church will commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the consecration of the present Parish Church. Special services avUI 'be held and boththe morning and evening services will be- conducted by Cairon Watson, tiie Diocesan Missioner. Special offertories ; are 'being asked for and will be divided between the nciw church fund and A.c present needs of the church: *and the new 'building fund, as it is thought desirable that provision should be made as tihe present building is aat only showing signs of decayy but is proving to be too small for the requirexneiits i>f thU vapidly growing' disitrielt.

The present building which cclelbratesj its julbilee tiiis week is tfhe third ibearihg the name of St. James in the district. The first church was a small building, : built in Maori fashion of: raupo and wood and stood near the site of the present Hutt Central School in 1 feliait vPiis then known as the to-wnaiiip of Aglionlby. This building Avith. itflxo eenietery surrounding it was wasied1 away iii oho of the many floods which.. the district was then .sutbjeeited to, 'be-, tween the years 1840 and 1845. The Rev. Rdbert Oole was in charge of St. Paul's, Wellington, and used to visit the Settlement on tire banks otf the Hutt ; River whenever h,is services were required. The . ehU'reh records of that tinie s&aws that the district was known as A'glionlby-on-the-Hutt."

It is not quite;clear when the second church was built on the eastern s side of the river, (but in 1848 a baptism was; i'6eorded so tihat is proib&lbly albout tie date of the building. There are also gravestones in the present church yard bearing the "date 1852.

The first cleiigyanan ill charge was, tfce Rev. J. P. Churtou, ibtit he left &lter a short time, and the services were kept going by Lay Readers'—notably Mr. U. Davy—'together with "what' help co-uld be obtained from Wellington. In 1848 the Rev. T. B. Huitton was appointed to the charge—the boundaries of which were "ithe limits of possibility." Ho eovei-ed the ground from Penlcarroiw Heads to the Wiairara.pa. Hj6 wsis no mean worker ia wiood, &&d his handicraft is to toe seen, still in Ohxist Church", Taifa.' In those 'daya l^iita, was just as important as theLoiwrer Hutt; and Mr. Hutiton tonalt th© first *Vic&raige Ostill known as the, (Hebe) half-way between the two, Churches, on a spot where he would escape the floods. Afiter ten years of strenuous work, -Mr. Hutton ■went Home for a holiday. His place T^aa tak^en 'by the Bey. G. H. Johnstone, wlio refused nomiiiiation as "Curate" because Mr. Hutton's resignation had not been sent ia. For some unkndiwn Teasoii that resignation did not come in till 1863, and by that time Mr. JdJan'stone had gone, various ether eleiigy had assisted as tWy could, and at last the Bey. j. H. Herring was appointed. "

;" Mr. Herring found the 'difficulties'of .tho Parish very gi-eat—^atfter so lonjg aA interval d'iffi&ulties were "bound to

arise. Further, a large numfber of Church families ihad gone-higher up the valley—some further afield. Those mixo went to the Upper Hutt set to work— headed by Mr. 'Bdehavd Barton-—to build a Church there. It still stands-— St. John's Tirentham. A new Parochial District - was formed, and a clergyman appointed. The Church in which Mr. Herring officiated may still !be seen —or rather, part of it—it is the present lafant. Sunday School in Wotrarn Road.

In 1870 Mr. Herring was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Fanedurt (afterw&rds Anehdeaeon. of Wellington) and in 1880 the present- Qhureh -wsas ibuHt and eonseerated. Meantime the opening of the BaiWay Workshops had brought a large poipulaition to Petone, and provision had to. be made for its needs. A Cfaurch, dedicated to St. Augustine oi Canterbury, was built there. It is noiw knorvrn as St. Augtstine'a Hall, one of tfce Parisih Halls of Petone

In 1884 Mr. Fancourt found that *h* development of the work of Diocesan Secretary was increasing to such an extent that he could not do justice to it and to his growing Parish. Most gener* duely he placed the Diocese first, and took up a Outc which -would give Mm more time to organise the Ctenenral Church Hand, under Bishop Hadfleld. He -was succeeded by the Rev. E. S. Gross, who remained in charge for only a s>hort period. D-uTihg his charge the present vieanag'e was touilt in 1884. His

jilacQ.VTas taken by that fine scholar and dei'oted Parish' Priest, the Rev. Jashiva Jones. TJndea- him the Parish grow-—«, school was built at Taita and St. Jamesi's Hall Mas built. 'Petone was rapidly, growing, and was separated ecclesiastically from, the Mother Parish in 1895—'though no appointment -was' inede till a897, when the Rev. J.- D. JK-usscll (now Archdeaebn and Vieav of Oamaru) was ihSitituted as first yiear of a distridb coterminous with the Borough of Peitone. The next step was the formation of another district consisting of the Bays on the Eastern side of Port Nicholson, now known as tie Parochial District of. Eastbourne.

After twen'ty-edght years of patient ministry Mr Jones resigned, and soon ai'tenwards passed to Tiis rest. Hfe su-er-ce»sor, the present Vicai*, the Yen. A. T«. 'Haiisell (Archdeacon of Wairaiiapa) has seen great changes. 'Tiho district has grown from a purely residential. siiiburib, surrounded hy_ farms, to a town, of some 13,000 people. The ChuTch has: been enMi'ged and even now it is too., small. A fine School-room has ibecn put rip and is in conataat use. Tie'policy t of the Vestiy has been to take t3ie Church to the people. In 1920 the Church of the/Good Shepherd was open ed ait Epnni, where ground has been •puiiehased. for a futui*e Vicarage; in | 1928 anotther ChuTcihrooiu (wihich, at the present timc > is being enlarged) . was opened at Waiw'hetu and dedicated to St. Paul. At both these mew Chui'ch rooms, at- the Parish Chuonch, at Christ Church, Taita;. and at Be>lanon.t; regular • •ervices are iheld by the Ar&hdeacon, ilia Cdlleaignie, and a fine band of Lay' Readens. It is a pity that fow people who pass , t'hroug-h the Lower Hutt, on the irtain|: road' from Wellington to the Wairarapa., see the gracefui Church and its surxioundings. Though but a stone's tha'oiw from the road, it is screened from view by TinprepossessjpDtg tPiiildiffgsi aodd (hoard ings-. T!he Chiireh lies' back in. its God's acre Sn the midst of well-chesen trees, chief among .which are ibeauitiful specimens of the 'l Tree of Paradise,' r xestful and reverently inspiring in its peaceful setting. Althoiigih there is a N"ew (Chuireh Fund in existence, we hope UTew Cfhiurch Fund in existemce, it is hoped the old Church will give its message of tradition and of hope for many yeaa-s to come.