EIGHTY YEARS AGO

Southland Times, Issue 23634, 8 October 1938, Page 13

EIGHTY YEARS AGO

Church Of Christ Founded ANNIVERSARY IN INVERCARGILL BANQUET TO CELEBRATE ’ EVENT Tn the year 1858 John Taylor and his wife, Samuel Elborn and his wife and S. Beaven met in a room above Mr Bea ven’s shop where H. and J. Smith’s store now stands. Thus began in Invercargill and in Southland a congregation of people desiring to be known simply as a church of Christ and pleading for a return to the creed, teachings and practices of the New Testament, and the union of all Christians on this basis. These foundation members were joined in 1862 by J. H. Perkins and his wife who moved from Dimedin, and in 1863 15 members met regularly for worship.

The eightieth anniversary of the church will be observed by special services tomorrow'.moming and evening and by a banquet in Smith’s tea rooms on Monday evening. The banquet will be attended by . the DeputyMayor (Mr J. R. Hanan) and the president of the Invercargill Ministers’ Association; (the fßev. E. B. Chambers). The first meeting place was erected on a site opposite the present Stobo Hall, the land and a large part of the cost of building being given by Mr Beaven. In 1865 the congregation numbered 40, . among them being Joshua Froggatt, John Watt and Mrs A. Beaven. The next year Mr and Mrs Perkins and Mr Watt removed to Mataura, pioneering the cause there, and with further removals to the. West Coast goldfields and elsewhere the membership was reduced to seven, these being joined in 1870 by Mr and Mrs J. Black from .England. About 1885 ..the property in Ythan street was sold, the church meeting in ' a cottage owned by Mr W. Sims until land was purchased in Bowmont street and a building designed and erected by H. Greenwood, who with his brother, F. W. Greenwood, left for the United States some time later to prepare for the ministry. The preaching was carried on by voluntary workers, among whom were George Purnell and R. Stewart. At this stage Mr and Mrs Thomas Todd came from Dunedin and linked up with the church in Bowmont street. While the church met there for worship, gospel meetings were for a time held in the old Y.M.C.A. rooms on Sunday evenings. In February 1915 a corporation lease at file corner of Conon and Tweed streets, now occupied by a shop, was purchased with a view to building there. This, however, did not eventuate and in 1920 the present church building and school hall, with a quarter of an acre of land at the corner of Teviot and Ythan streets were purchased from the Methodist Church trustees for £2700. The Bowmont street land and building were sold for £4OO and the Conon street property for a similar sum. On Sunday, April 11, 1920, the church assembled in this building for the first time. Shortly afterwards a house in Ythan street was acquired and is now used as the manse. At the beginning of 1938 approximately £l6OO was still owing on these properties. . A special appeal recently concluded resulted in £133 9/2 and this, together with the financial help of various auxiliaries and the regular payments, should see the liability reduced at the end of this year to a little below £l3OO.

GROWTH OF MEMBERSHIP It is somewhat difficult to compile a statistical register of church membership, but the following figures will show something of the numerical growth of’ the church. ■ ln 1894 the roll stood at 90; in 1906 it was 122. With varying figures in the course of years, there has been a steady growth and today the membership exceeds 200. The lack of early documents makes it hard to trace with accuracy the various activities of the church, but the following resume will be of interest: — In 1899 the deacon’s board consisted of Messrs R. Bell, G. Ladbrook, L. Michel, T. Riordan and W. Simb. Thereafter the following held office for varying terms: Messrs W. C. Everett, J. Black, J. McKie, A. Arthur (elected in 1902), Messrs T. Pryde and T. Todd (elected in 1908). In 1910 the names of Messrs P. J. Fenn, Hayward, T. Middlemiss and John Watt appear. Messrs J. Bewley, H. Stokes and J. Todd were appointed in 1913. Then came Messrs A. Langmuir (1914), C. Browett, R. Mableson (1917), J. H. Perkins, R. W. Todd, J. J. Cole (1918), H. Holmes (1919), E. M. Jackson (1920), E. Holmes and R. E. Ladbrook (1922), R. Bur-

don and G. H. Reid (1923), I. Wilkinson, T. Todd, jun., G. Mathieson and L. Holmes (1925), J. Clent (1927), H. Townshend (1928), J. S. Haywood (1929), C. Kerr and J. W. Wood (1930), H. McDougall (1936), I. Butler and E. P. Chambers (1938). The present board consists of Messrs C. G. Browett, I. Butler, J. Clent, E. Holmes L. Holmes, H. McDougall and J. W. Wood.

Those who held the position of secretary include Messrs R. Bell, J. Todd, G. Ladbrook, John Watt, T. Pryde, J. W. Wood and Miss H. Jamieson. With the exception of about 12 months Mr Pryde held the office for 26 years and was succeeded by the present secretary, Mr J. W. Wood. Messrs W. Sims, C. Browett, T. Todd, J. Bewley, E. M. Jackson, G. H. Reid and T. Todd, jun., served as treasurers. Mr E. Holmes, the present treasurer, was appointed in 1929.

The first resident minister was the Rev A. F. Turner, who began his ministry in 1889, remaining for seven months, during which time 20 were added to the church. His successor was the Rev. T. J. Bull who came from Victoria, staying for six months. Succeeding pastors were the Rev. W. J. Way, the Rev. J. Greenhill, the Rev. W. D. Little, the Rev. C. A. Batt, the Rev. T. J. Bull (a second term), the Rev G. E. Moore, the Rev. M. A. Charles Watt, the Rev. G. T. Fitzgerald, the Rev. A. Brooke, the Rev. B. C. Corlett and the Rev. G. Fretwell. The minister at present with the congregation, the Rev. V. C. Stafford, came to Invercargill from New South Wales in 1934.

Visiting ministers included the Rev. H. S. Earl, of the United States, Messrs Hamilton and Garmong, missioners, and the Harward-Binney mission. Mr Thomas Hagger, an Australian preacher, also visited Southland, conducting several missions in 1936, one of which was held in the city. Two South Island conferences were

held at Invercargill, one in 1894, when Mr H. Holmes was chairman, and the other in 1906. Twenty years later the Dominion conference of Associated Churches of Christ in New Zealand was held here, and in 1936 the conference again assembled in Invercargill under the presidency of Mr E. P. Aderman, B.A.

Many have gone from the church to fill the preaching ranks and to missionary service overseas. In 1880 Mr F. W. Greenwood left for Lexington College, United'States, and returned to take up several churches in New Zealand and Australia, finally becoming editor of The New Zealand Christian. Miss Eadie, after training at the College of the Bible in. Dunedin, left-for missionary work among Australian aborigines. Another Invercargill member, Mr R. A. Blampied, who trained at the same institution, is now minister of the church at Greymouth. Mr Garfield Todd, now missionary superintendent at Dadaya, Southern Rhodesia, was for many years associated with the church 'here. Mr G. Mathieson left Invercargill for the Melbourne College and is now minister of a big church in that city. Miss Masters, now the wife of Mr A. G. Saunders 8.A., minister of Vivian street Church, Wellington, went from this church to missionary service in China. A district conference was formed in 1931 Mi- J. W. Wood is secretary of the conference, which includes the four churches in Southland. A

The first deaconesses, appointed in 1925, were Mesdames M. Jackson, G. Langdon, R. Mableson, T. Pryde, M. Watt and F. W. Woollett. Mesdames E. Blampied, E. R. Peterson, J. H. Perkins, T. Stevenson, G. Fretwell, E. Edmonds, I. Wilkinson, C. Browett and J. W. Wood were later elected, the present board consisting of Mesdames E. M. Blampied, C. Browett, M. Jackson, J. H. Perkins, M. Watt, J. W. Wood and F. W. Woollett.

An organization known as the Christian Women’s Missionary Society was formed in 1908, the first president being Miss H. Jamieson, who after six years in that office was succeeded by Mrs M. Watt, who held it for 19 years. Mrs H. McDougall acted as secretary for 21 years. Th,e present executive is: President, Mrs V. C. Stafford, vice-presi-dents, Mrs H. McDougall and Miss A. Langdon; secretary, Miss A. Blampied; treasurer, Mrs T. J. Gosling. The Ladies’ Sewing Guild was formed in 1902. Those who held office in . the early days included Mrs G. Langdon, Miss Sarah Black, Mrs J. McKie, Mrs Cheyne, Mrs T. Pryde, Mrs J. J. Cole, Mrs Langmuir and Miss N. McKie. The present president, Mrs J. H. Perkins, was elected in 1926, and Mrs H. McDougall, who is still secretary-trea-surer, has held the office since 1914. Mrs W. Taylor is vice-president. BIBLE SCHOOL Little information is available concerning the early work of the Bible School, but from the beginning attention was given to the training of the young. During the Bowmont street period Messrs J. Todd, T. Todd, J. Bewley, E. M. Jackson and P. J. Fenn served as superintendents, Mr Todd acting in that capacity for 25 years. They were followed by Messrs A. Brooke, E. Holmes, G. Mathieson, L. Holmes, C. Kerr and Mrs McDougall. On Mr Kerr’s removal to Dunedin in 1937, Mr V. C. Stafford has taken charge of the school. Messrs O. Cheyne, G. Mathieson, Garfield Todd, J. Blampied and Miss Ruth Peterson gave service as secretary, the present secretary, Miss H. Woollett, being appointed in 1931. Kindergarten leaders included Mrs Black, Miss H. Jamieson, Miss T. Murdoch and Miss Alice Langdon, who is at present in charge of this department Xhere are 206 scholars and 20

teachers on the school roll at the present time. For many years Bible classes have been held for those graduating from the school and in 1934 the classes were graded. The classes and teachers were as fallows: Young men, Mr G. Fretwell; young women, Mrs C. Browett; junior girls, Miss Murdoch; junior boys, Mr J. Clent. At the present time the two senior classes meet as a combined class with the minister as leader. Miss Blampied is leader of the junior girls and Mr J. Clent still officiates in the junior boys’ class. Various auxiliaries such as a Young Women’s Club, Men’s Fraternal, Junior Christian Endeavour, Lifeboys and Boys’ Brigade are functioning in a satisfactory manner. In the musical needs of the church many have given voluntary service at the organ and among those who helped in this way were Miss E. Penny, Mrs Bewley, Mrs Labatt, Mrs Fenn, Miss V. Jamieson, Miss M. Cooper, Miss V. Pryde, Miss W. Mableson, Miss E. Langdon and the present organists, Mr J. W. Wood and Miss A. Langdon.