STORY OF THE CHURCH.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 October 1924, Page 42 (Supplement)

STORY OF THE CHURCH.

EARLY RELIGIOUS EFFORT. GRADUAL GROWTH TRACED. ALL COMMUNITIES SERVED. The s'txwy of religious eff-ont in Taranaki is a fas-ciiuitin'g one... In its early stages -a record dauntless courage, of faith that was tUm-oiS't sublime, of hard work) and high adventure, oc fiery zeal w'hidt book all. risks, of conaeeraled, eomm-onaenfs-e which t-ook ‘ though I for the morrow” of the tiny sertbkuucnrt. In the whirring - days of war, and through the three score years which have followed, the banner of the Cross lias 'been upheld by nun who have stamped their impress upon the tne oonniniunity they served. And to-day when there is little of the spice of adventure to stimui-lalte i-t t'he work goes on, and in lesw spectacular fashion there is as much devotion, setf-saea’-ifice, and belief in (he ifuture shown to day a.s in the more stirring days our history covers. What a h-istory it is. Look at its opening picture. The Methodist Missionary anilidst his flock of Maori adherents welcoming the White immigrants to their new' home. Then read again the story of Whiteley who, knowing the risk, followed duty to the death. Consider the divine audacity which could set about bu-iidin-g a Congregational Cliuroh with less than a dozen adherents to support. it. Think what S?l--wyn’s visit mteant to a community two thirds Anglican. How his virile personality robust ftaith and practical miud stirred hveiLto action and .recall.'d them fo a sense of their church’s claim upon her children. Read the story of Father Rolland amongst the flying, bullets helping any podr soul, Catholic or Protestant, through (he dark hour of his passing. tlaiHsider the rise of the Salvation Army. buffet ted by the irreligious and scorned by existing churchi-s, but gradually winning for itself the high place if holds in social work to-day. Th ink of the Um lief i-n their oaiirie or creed which has quickened so many other churches into being and of the self denial and patient enduriance which keejw so many of them active. The inst-anoee given eouikl b? multiplied tenfold, I»ut sufficient have been men Honed to show that here is ft phase of Taranaki’s history which well deserves telling und in a far ampler fashion than van be attempted here. I HE METHODIST’ CHURCH. The Methodist Church can claim pride, of pl-ace a>s. the first to establish public worship in Taranaki. In January, 1841, the Methodist Missio i at Ngftmotii had been established, and when the first imuiigranif. ship (Will'i-am Bryan i arrived the «-tilers were welcomed by Missionary Creed. On the Sunday following a Methodist service was conducted by one of the inimignaut.s Mr. HenryGOberi,. In 18-12 the Methodist settlers erected a church in Brougham Sit'el. 'but refusing to allow Captain King to hold a Hower show in it. they were ordered io remove the building.

They then purchased from the Cpngrega tional Church a partly completed building at the corner of Oourteuay and L'lardet Streets, where they worshipped until 1856, when a new chapel was erected diagonally opposite the old one. This bufi'lding still remlains, being used as the Sunday aoho'ol hall, whilst the present Whiteley Memorial Church was ereoled in 1898. T'he new church soon had it‘s Sunday solrool, for there is a record extant of an Anniversary Service held on Easter Sunday, 1342, followed by a tea meeting on the Monday, and a public exam inat-i-on of fhe children in the open air!

Side by side and, indeed, in ’the eariy days, often ovenshadow-i-ng, the work amoug'st the Europeans, the Methodist Maori Missions wore conducted, nn-1 the most notable of the Missionaries. John Whiteley, joined the ‘noble army of martyrs” whilst in chba-rge of the New Plymouth Church and Mission. If ‘ the. blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” then bats Whiteley’s martyrdom been amply fulfilled. For, no sooner had the cessation of hostilities cleared the way for extension of church work than the Methodist Church pushed out finst northwards to Waitara, then along “the coast”, then to each new settlement to the south as they came into being, until to-day there is a belt of circuits and home mission stations at Inglewbod, Stratford, Blitham, 'J I-a wera, Man-aia, Pa tea and Kaponga. In the early days the church was divided into Wesyleans and Primitive Methodists, but amalgamation took place, and in .this article the Methodist ChurcJ> has been treated as one entity throughout. The Congregational Church was the second to lie founded in New Plymouth, the Rev. If. Groube; son of an English Admiral, commencing services in a raupo whare in February, 1812. In 1849 he erected a chapel in Devon Street East, but owing to the smallness of his Hock, removed io Victoria, and the fhe building waw sold to the Methodists. T’he Congregations lists; as we see later, joined forces with the Presbyterians in founding their chnreli. T HE ANGLICAN CHURCH. Glimx'h. of England services had been held, in (he Methodist Church, from the rommenoenien-t of the settlement. In October, 1842. the first Bishop of New Zealand,. G-etorge Augustus Selwyn. visited New Plymouth. The fruits of,his Stimulating and dominating personality were soon apparent. Mr. W. H. Skinner, jn his Taranaki Eighty Years Ago, quotes an official census as showing that in June, 184.*». 61 per cent, of the -settlers were members of the Anglican Church. No wonder ' their Biishop got busy! Two parishes.-on? at Te Henu‘i, the other St. Mary’s, were formed. To the latter, art the end of ]S44 the Rev. Willliam Rvlland was appointed, and the erection of a church worthy of the parish was seriously undertaken. In 1841 a small .chapel. Wft*; erecte<l at Te lleni"i out of funds provided by the bishop himself and. early in 1315 the arohituct. of St. Mary’s was able to report that “most of the materials are eolleotpd. The settlers have paid up nearlv all the cant ribo Hops (these were or produce) and the building will be completed in the course of three or fou-r mon His.”

Actually, tie first alone was laid on March 25, 1845. and the Church was. opened on SeptemeWr 29, 1846. ,N'ine months afb-r SI. Mary’s was opened, the vicar wh-o Irani worked s-> hard for its (>stftibf'shment died, -and the blow to th? young ,parish was very severe. Mr. itolland was mi wed cd by the late Rev. Henry Govett, v.ho in 1859 was appointed .firsrt Are'hdeacon of Tara-naki. lor ov«ir fifty years he wa«s a tower of strength to his Church, and his memory is still fragrant t-o many of its older adherents. S*t. Mary's has been enlarged mid altered many times, until there is little of -the original building left. Today, however, everyone who sees it agrees that the stately building, set am-idrit its beautiful churchyard, males a magii'iliciriit cx<nt-re of a beautiful town. Ohuirches at Omata (1818) and Bell Block (1'851) fol-io-wed those in New Plymouth, but the outbreak of war put an offectu-al atop to Church exten-s-ion for many years. When peaCV came, and with it increased settlement, the work of the Church was rapidlv extended. lu 1872 a parish was farnfed in Pa tea and a church eroded. In 1875 a curate was appointed to Waitara and in 1877 a church was -opened -in Inglewood, l ive yea-re later saw the establishment of the lla-wera parish, which then included the district Mamtia to Opuna-ke also. hi 1881 the Manaia parish was formed and in this there are churches at Manaia. Otakelio and Okaiawa. The Stratford Church was built in 1889 and Eltham followed a few years later. As setlleinent pushes out so does the church, anil churches are now being erected al Whan gain onion a and Urut-i. Mention should al-ao be made of the fine school for girls which has been established by the Church a-t StaUtford. T’HE ROMAN CATHOLICS. T'he Roman Catholic Church was not cst-ablisheKl in T’aranaki until 1852. Father Peza-nt, the first priest to vipit Ta rianaki, did so then, and found no more than forty Catholics in the whole province. H's ‘district’ extended from Wan.gajiU'l bo New Plymouth. .Hisjoti'meyings were perforce on foot, find he had to carry with him necessaries for Alias's and for his personal u'se. The couii-try Was very rough, and the natives who almost exclusively ’"'•- habi'ted it wore far from fricndlv. Well might any man have been daunted at the prospecT. In 1856 the U.ith&lic Mission was gifanled bv the Government u town section in the eastern end of Ne.w Plymouth. Mr. R. Brown supple-, men led this,, with a donation -of a further section or two. Tn that year soldiers of (lie 5-fith Jlegt. were sent 1 ’• New Plviriouth in connection with n i f ive disturbinces. Amongst the troops wore several Catholics, and it was not kino- before the first small chtircli was built, in Courtenay Street. In 1860 when the Maori war broke out. and more troops came. Father T’resbillet was tippoi-nled r'sident priest i" New Plvniouth. The soldiens finding it inconvenient to march po mass from - Ma rein nd Tlill to Courtenay S.tre t picket! up Choir cluirdi (it would only Reiart 30 personis), set it on. andber site in Ik'von Street and Hun enkirued it T'-he church was aga'n en'arrel by Fat her Pert ins. who -relieved Fa ther T're’ssallet in 1863. Tii 1865 ovme Father Louis Rolland, whose meip-orv' is sit ill re vered throng-oi’-t t'-o nrov'no?. His ex fended from White Cliff’s to P’lei an 1 I he travelled from end to en I of iy

several times a year. Writcrt a'ldgli dignitary of the church: ’He waa not only parish priest bu-t nrilibayy ehaplaiwi also. He loved the troops and’ was with them whenever th«re was a likelihood of fighting. He knew no fear. More than once hi-s hat was ri-ddled with bullets, but he would continue his ministrations with that same smile that in after years continued to charm his. friends, myself amongst the number. J often tried to get that old bullet riddled hat. T* would over and over again contend that the church in Taranaki had a right to it, ‘I am no-saint’ the old priest would reply, ‘and 1 intend to leave no re Ire behind me.’ No less a tnil-itary authority than tl»e gallant Von Tenipsky left written record of the bravery and devotion of Father Rolland TV SOUTH TARANAKI. ‘ -Tie was siicee; tied by Father-Lampilla who built a new church, which in turn was -succeeded by the present church of St. Joseph. From 1875 onwards the progress of the church has been unchecked. That year saw the foundation of the huge Hawera parish with Father Vertins as ftnst priest .in charge. Here also it was the day of small things.^ A small cottage (moved from Waihi) did duty for both church and prcsbvtery. Eive years after its formation the late Dean Grogan took clia-rge of the piri-sh, and under his invigorating influence the church was enlarged, and its property in Hawera increased. In 1898 Monsignor Power, wli-o is* sitill parish priest, took charge in Hawera. aml from the day of his arrival the forward movement Inns developed. New parishes inOpunake, Eltham and Manaia have been, carved out of that of Hawera. churehoH and schools have been multiplied, and a great effort in connection with th© golden jubilee of the Hawera parish Is now progressing. A church was buiK in Patea. followed (1891) by the formation of a parish t here. in New Plvmouth again H»e late Dban Janus McKenna had been appointed in 1889. His -work aml worth is still well remembered by those of his own faith and tho<e outside it. The fine churches in New Ph month. Ok a to, Stratford. Inglewood and Waitara were raised by him. as well as <-;»n\■?n , ts in the three last named ices’. "He writes an old friend “a d epiv spiritunf man. of fine mental equipment, and of strong and just character.” PR ]•'.S BYTE RIAN CH U RUH. The history of the Pr obvteriwn Church in T aranaki prior to 1874 is confined to operations conducted in and around New Plymouth. Like the sett! ment itself the Presbyterian cause at its commencement hftd a struggle for ex : sterice. When, hi 1858. IL v. John Thom arrived from Wanganui to hold services in New Plvmouth and to draw together the people of Pi'esh) terian upbringing, he was unable to -accomplish Aery much owing to t o cond-itiowi wh-ich obtained among the settlers during the war-; For K'bout three years ho itinerated in Taranaki, but- whs unable to organise a proper pastoral charge or uongrt gat-ion.

In No\'‘’»' , r/r. !? -». however, the Rev. IL F. Mac Nicol arrived with his wife in New Plymouth, but with the departure of the Imperial regiments and owing to the unsettled conditions arising out of the war-, it was found very di get things estalbl'shed in anv Fn.tOlfactory manner in th* church for some time. The remaining Presbyterians wtire very few in nunl'ier and had ln»sfc heavily as a result of the war. The gloomy outlook, however, was oourwgeously faced and better fortune beir.ni to come. The (ongrega;ionalists, who at that time had lost their minis Ur. threw in their lot with their Preshrter?n brethren and in 1866 the first St. Andrew's Church was built «r ” cost ?s settlement spread gradually farther from the town, the Presbyterian minister extended his operations and held services in the houses of settlers, often at the ris«k of his life from the 'Ha-u.-Ilau rebels, and from fording rivers, particularly the Waitara. whereonce he was nearly drowned. As with others, the Presbyterian Church has advanced with the <a?tlleniont of the iwovince. The Stratford Church was built in 1886. and there are now churches pst-a'blished at Hawera. Eltham, Inglewood, Waitar.a etc. THE BAPTIST CHURCH The Baptist oati.se in New oummenved in 1865, when the R*v. John White!-y.-of-the Metlnxlist M-issiov--ary Society, laid the foundation' stone of a Baptist chapel at the corner of G-ill and Li-ardct Streets. After some year’s the church cea.sed to exist, bub 'was resuscitated in 1893 under the pastorate of the late Rev. W. Drew. In 1913 the Gill Street church was sold and the present church in Liardet Street erected. The Minister to-day is the Rev. A .11. Collins, whose sermons have been a greatly appreciated feauure o.f fhQ Saturday issue of t-he Daily News for gome years. , In 1884 the Salvation Army was established in New Plymouth, and two yeans later in Inglewood. T'be following year saw an extension to, Hawera, Stretford and Eltham in 1893 and *9l, and Patea in 1895. The Army’s methods and work -are well known and appreciated by all social workers, and in regard to this must be mentioned t-he splendid Boys’ Home establish' Eltham in 1910. There are 60 boys residence now, and hundreds have passed through the Home to become u-se-fi 1 citizens c-f the Dominion. There are several other den-»"iinations with churches and adherents in '’’»ranjiki, viz. Church of Christ. Plymouth Brethren and othcTs. Tn recent years aNo ,the Seventh’ Dav Adventists ?nj the Christian Science Church have become established in the province.