HISTORIC CEMETERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19497, 29 November 1926, Page 12

HISTORIC CEMETERY.

AREA AT JUDGE'S BAY.

ST. STEPHEN'S CHAPEL. A LINK WITH THE PAST. BY ELSIE K. MORTON*. Rarely indeed is any city given the opportunity of securing, nearly a century after its foundation, so beautiful and valuable a waterfront reserve as the Judge's Bay and St. Stephen's cemetery area, offered to the City Council last week by the Diocesan Trust Board. For many years past the neglected state of the pretty little waterside cemetery has been a matter of regret with all Aucklanders who take pride and interest in the historic associations of their city. Hidden within a wilderness of blackberry, periwinkle, bracken and tail grass, are the graves of many of the most notable pioneer soldiers, statesmen and citizens of early Auckland. Many protests have been made against the dilapidated condition of the cemetery, but the church authorities have found themselves unable, through lack of funds, to keep the little graveyard in order. Actually, the only endowment for the maintenance of the cemetery and chapel is the adjoining cliff-top area, a little over an acre in extent, set aside for that purpose by Bishop Selwyn. Difficulty of access alone has prevented the lease of that site for building purposes. Had this been available, tho Judge's Bay cliff-top, with its beautiful sea view, would undoubtedly have been cut up long ago, like other church endowment areas in Parnell, and the city would have lost forever the chance of acquiring a delightful seaside reserve. Where Pioneers Sleep. No other burial place in Auckland possesses such early associations, or so great an historic interest, as the wilderness of a graveyard that surrounds the picturesque little chapel of St. Stephen's. Its setting is very beautiful, the cemetery forming a secluded little hillside reserve sloping on one side to a grove of fine old pohutukawas and willows, and opening out on to the crest of the hill and' the grassy, open spaces of St. Stephen's Point. St. Stephen's, or Tararua Cemetery, as it was called in the early days, was the first Anglican cemetery in Auckland A walk through the little graveyard, an examination of the lichen-covered tombstones, carries one far back to the days when Auckland was a pioneering settlement, and soldiers and statesmen, missionaries and colonists, were working with all the strength of brain and soul and body to lay the foundations of a new and prosperous Britain of the South. The earliest date decipherable on the headstones is 1849, graven on the black, weatherworn slab of stone that marks the last resting place of John William Leech. Who he was. what he did, is no longer known, but his name still stands graven deep in stone, one of the vanguard of Auckland's great army of the pioneer dead. Some of the most distinguished of that early band of New Zealand's clergy rest in that quiet little cemetery. Hero lie buried the great and beloved Primate j and Bishop, William Garden Cowie, and ] his wife, Vicesimus Lush, first Archdeacon of Waikato, Benjamin Thornton Dudley, the Rev. Canon and Mrs. Nelson, and the Rev. Benjamin Ashwell, "for upwards of 50 years missionary of the Church Missionary Society in Sierra Leone and New Zealand." «

Early Days at Tararua.

Here, the graves of those pioneer statesmen Sir Frederick Whitaker, K.C.M.G., one of New Zealand's early Premiers, and of William Swainson, first Attorney-General of New Zealand. There are still many early colonists living who retain vivid memories of Mr. Swainson, one of the leaders of Auckland's social and politica' world in the days of the "sixties." Many grey-haired men and women stilJ speak of the days when this suave and polished gentleman set forth in his little boat each morning from the beautiful shores of Judge's Bay, to be rowed up to Official Bay hy his faithful servitor, old Mohi. Mohi Horowhenua lies buried in the little cemetery, too, sleeping, like his master, within sound of the wind and the waves upon which both had adventured in company so often. On the opposite hillslope of Parnell Park. Mr. Swainson's little cottage still stands as a reminder of those gallant days when all the beauty and aristocracy of young Auckland assembled to" partake of the hospitality of the popular bachelor, host of Tararua. Veterans of the Maori War. Memories of early days of warfare, as v.-ell as those of colonising and evangelising, are stirred by the names graven on the headstones of St. Stephen's. Among those who have found their last resting place in that hallowed ground are Colonel Balneavis, of the 58th Regiment, Lieut. Colonel W. H. Kenny, of the 73rd, Major Matscn and Captain Eyre of the 58th, and Captain Sewell, of the 61st. With so many distinguished founders and defenders of the country lying at rest m that seaside burial ground, it is fitting that for many years, the Melanesian Mission steamer, the Southern Cross, should have followed a custom instituted by Bishop Patteson, of dipping the flag as a mark of respect every time the vessel passed the cemetery on its way to or from the Islands. For many years the ! custom was faithfully observed, a simple, | eloouent tribute to the dead. Although many burials had already taken place in the old cemetery, the formal purchase of the land was not com nleted bv Bishop Sehvyn for several years *fter St. Stephen's chapel had been prected. In this chanel, on June 13. 1 857. the constitution of the Church of the Province of New Zealand was ratified by Bishop Selwyn On August 9. 1859. over 'wo years later ,the purchase was com nleted of "an area of three roods twenty one perches as the site for a chanel and cemetery called St Stephen's. In Feh rnary. 1861. "Bishop Selwyn boncht the adjoining area of 18 acre* for St P*<""iben ,,; School, " foi the education of children of both race? and thp South Sea Inlanders " Upkeep of the Cemetery. Details of an important transfer such as that outlined last week to the City Council are not easy to arrange, bnt it would seem as though both the Diocesan Board and the city itself will benefit as a result of the proposal, if put into effect. The upkeep of the area would be assured by the transfer of one of the Church trust funds, which trust, in turn, would be benefited by proposed improvements to Terrace It has been suggested that the transferred fund should be set aside as a perpetual endowment for the Dreservation of St. Stephen's chapel, which forms a treasured link between the present and the past The cemetery itself would also be put m good order and the adjoining area beautified by tree-planting, sc tlhat there would be a waterfront re serve extending ii. sweeping crescent from Parnell baths to the opposite cliff tops of Parnel) Park The value of such a beauty spot in a fast-growing city cannot be assessed in terms cf cash. For once, however, sentiment and treasured associations go hand in hand with an eminently practical and advantageous, proposition, and the ratifies tion of the proposal by General Synod next year will be keenly desired by city authorities and public alike.