Historic Methodist Church, New SS Opened In Whangarei

Northern Advocate, 15 April 1946, Page 3

Historic Methodist Church, New SS Opened In Whangarei

A link between the past and the present was forged on Saturday afternoon, when a large number of members of the Melnoaisl Church in Whangarei assembled on (he church’s property in Kamo Road to witness the official opening and rededicaticn of the Oruaiti Octagonal Chapel, and to take part in the official opening of the Air Force building which 0 to be used as a Sunday School.

These celebrations marked l'calurcs of the plans which the Methodist Church congregation has adopted to meet the requirements of the Whangarei which will exist in the years to come, when the northern end of the town will be still more closely settled. Publicity has already been given to the scheme, which provided for the purchase- of just over an acre of land in Kamo Road, opposite tiro King Street intersection, the erection of a parsonage. and the provision of a building which would serve the purpose of a Sunday School and other church requirements.

Tiie section was duly bought at a cost of £-135 in November. 1943. and a parsonage was built for £23G5, this including garage .paths and fowlhouse. Aga inst this, the old parsonage in Bank Street netted £1384 2 TO. after paying off a mortgage of £305/15/8. NEED PROVEN Immediately the parsonage was occupied. a Sunday School was commenced in it, and in a very short time there was an attendance of nearly 50 scholars, classes being held in the lounge, the study, kitchen and even in the washhouse. As it was felt this should not he allowed to continue, an Air Force building at Onerahi was bought and transported to the church section. This building, which is 461't x 24ft. was purchased for £251, and the cost of dismantling, re-erecting and re-roofing it brought the total cost to approximately £SOO. This was the building officially opened and dedicated cn Saturday, and its use for Sunday School purposes was commenced yesterday. Morning church services are to be held in the building. FAR NORTH PIONEERS The history of the Octagonal Church is unique. In March. 1859. there arrived at Doubtless Bay from England a band of immigrants who were to become renowned for their pioneering spirit and religious zeal. Their number included many whose family names are still honoured in the Mangonui and Whangaroa counties. True to the God of their fathers, the first thought of the pioneers, after building rough dwellings for themselves, was to build a chapel for Bible study and worship. The timber for a building was donated by Mr J. Ball and pitsawn bj’ the settlers. In due course the chapel took its place among the other buildings nestling around the farm homestead. The chapel was octagonal in shape, the roof being carried up from each side to a point and surmounted by a spire. The roof was thatched with Within two years from the time of tneir arrival in New Zealand the settlers opened their house of worship in 1861. 85 YEARS AGO Wooden seats were built around the walls and movable forms made for floor space. A reading desk was placed before a slightly raised platform at the back. The door lock was made of heart oak which the settlers had brought from England, while the lead used for flashing was a piece of that brought by one of the settlers for his own home, but which he gladly gave for the Lord's House. As the chapel was not attached to any mission station .the services were conducted each Sunday by Mr Ball and other members of the congregation, who each officiated in turn. No collections were taken, but there stood at the door a stout wooden box in which freewill offerings were placed. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was observed occasionally when a rriisionary from either the Church of England or Wesleyan Mission stations visited the district. An old pewter “common cup" brought out from England by Mr Ball for this purpose was used on these occasions. The hymn book used at the services was onecompiled from the Psalms and hymns, composed by Isaac Watts, the singing being led by Mr Ball to the pitch set

by his tuning lork. „ Later. Mr William Whitehead led the' singing with his 'cello. THE FIRST MUSE? Tiie arrival of a small harmonium j donated by Mr Ball and played by his ! daughter marked a red letter day in i the history of the church. In 1870 a ; library was opened in the chapel, the j books being housed on shelves in ihe pulpit under the Bible desk. During each week regular meetings were held for Bible study, prayer and sermon readings, and an annual tea meeting crowned the year's activities. In 1866 it was decided to shingle the roof, the work being carried out by Mr William Whitehead and his son Thomas. These shingles remained waterproof until 1919, when the roof was re-shingled in kauri with shingles cut bv hand from logs donated by Mr J. Goldie. In 1892 the Ball property—and with it the chapel—was bought by Messrs Jcspeh and Samuel Foster, and later by Mr Samuel Foster. Ultimately, the property passed into the hands of Mr John Foster, in whose family it remained until it was ceded to the Methodist Connexion as a gift in May, 1936. SECOND RE-OPENING The chapel was unused for 20 years, when it was re-opened for Methodist worship in the valley. The building had stood the period of disuse remarkably well. All the articles which had been loaned—the harmonium to a Maori mission and the pulpit Bible to the Fairburn Church at its opening, and the seats to a local hall—were returned, and a communion table presented to the chapel by the Rev. H. W. Payne, then Methodist "home missionary at Mangonui. In May, 1933, the chapel was placed on skids and transported from the centre of the farm to the roadside. There it stood until it was brought to Whangarei, a distance of over 80 miles, and there it has been re-erected as a memorial to tiie early pioneers of Northland. GRAND DAUGHTER TURNS KEY It was fitting that the ceremony of turning the key and declaring the chapel open for dedication should have been performed by Mrs G. Thomas, a daughter of the late Mr Thomas Whitehead and granddaughter of Mr William Whitehead, who were prominent in the building of the chapel and whose family has been a life-long supporter of Methodism in the Far North. Mrs Thomas performed her task very graciously, expressing appreciation of the honour done to her folk by asking her to officiate. A short service of prayer and the singing of hymns was then held in the chapel. The Sunday School building was then opened by Mr S. G. Babe, one of the oldest members of the Whangarei Methodist Church. A dedication service was followed by afternoon tea served in the building. ONE OF THE TOOLS During the afternoon Mrs Thomas presented to the church a mallet which had been used by her father and grandfather when making the joinery for the Octagonal Chapel. This mallet had been treasured by her family and she hoped it would be preserved by Methodists in Whangarei as an historic link with the pioneers of Northland.