FAITH WHICH PERSISTED

Taranaki Daily News, 16 April 1932, Page 15 (Supplement)

FAITH WHICH PERSISTED

EARLY HISTORY OF CHURCH DISTRESSFUL DAYS IN THE RAST. TENACITY OF THE WORSHIPPERS. ULTIMATE PROSPERITY. REACHED. Brought into being in the troublesome days of the Maori war, the church of St. Andrew, New Plymouth, has had a history in which shadows have played their part. There were dark days in the past when it seemed the church must perish. There were times when the congregation dwindled to a tiny few, there were distressful days when the church was empty for eighteen long months at a time, and there was a despairing day when the church was burned to the ground and the congregation found itself with no church, no minister afid no funds. But in the face of adversity, the tenacity of the faith which has never bowed to defeat "alone kept the church alive. At last with the coming of the Rev. S. S. Osborne in 1894 the church came into placid days. In 1913 the church celebrated its jubilee as the first Presbyterian church in Taranaki. Under the wise guidance of succeeding ministers the church, continued to prosper until to-day. Now, with the opening of the new church in Liardet 'Street, the crown is set on its achievement.

Sixty-nine years ago, the Rev. John Thom, of Wanganui, an itinerant minister, began the first regular services in the Congregational chapel, which was situated where the Devon buildings are to-day. So, for some time, two services were held each Sunday in New Plymouth. But Mr. Thom was more at home in pioneering work than as a ■settled minister, and when he left for ’New South ‘Wales, application was made to the Church of Scotland for a successor to be appointed.

The Rev. R. F. McNicol, who had been assistant in St. Luke’s Church, Calton, Glasgow, was appointed to the church of St. Andrew’s, New Plymouth, and ■arrived with his wife on November 25, T 865. The young minister had a hard task before him. The British regiments had left the town, for a time at least, taking with them many supporters of the Presbyterian church, and the whole

province was suffering greatly from the effects of the war. Mr. McNicol held his first service in the Freemasons’ Hall 'on December 3, 1865, and there he continued his ministrations until the erection of the new Kirk, for which a suo'scription list was opened. Matters moved quickly, and the new building was opened on October 28, 1866, the preacher being the Bev. D. Bruce, Auckland. The church had seating accommodation for 220 people and the cost of the building and the site —that on which the present wooden building stands — was £lO5O. The young church managed to meet the interest on that sura and give Mr. McNicol a stipend of £l5O, a ■similar sum being provided by the Colonial Council of the Home Church. Fighting was still going on at intervals, and the country was in a hopelessly unsettled condition,’but in spite of these difficulties Mr. McNicol battled ahead and met with success. In 1867 the women of the congregation held a bazaar to raise funds for the liquidation of the debt on the church, and collected £252, a large sum for those early days. Eighteen months later, however, Mr. McNicol was chosen as pastor of St. James’ Church, Auckland, and, after another bazaar had cleared off £126 of the debt, he sailed with his family for Auckland.

Ten days later the Rev. John Whiteley and seven others were murdered at White Cliffs. The tragedy brought the war to a close. Severe depression in the district followed the end of the war, and the removal of the active ministry of Mr. Mc-

■Nicol seemed almost a. death blow to the Presbyterian cause. In February, 1370, the Rev. Thomas Blain, of the ■Ulster Presbytery, came as pastor, but he left five months later. The services were continued as a labour of love by Mr. B. Wells, who was the editor of the Taranaki Daily News. Mr. Wells and other supporters of the church had the pleasure of seeing the debt faially cleared' off in November, 1871. The census of that year showed that there were 377 (Presbyterians in the province, but these were widely scattered and many were Presbyterians only in name. The work of Mr. Wells had been carried on for two years when a call was ■extended by the congregation to the Rev. M. S. Breach, of Kaipara. For a time the church made rapid progress, and there were advertisements in the papers inviting the services of a leader of psalmody for the Kirk, and reports of literary and ’musical entertainments to defray the cost of a harmonium. 'By the year 1'87'5 the subsidy from the Church of Scotland had been reduced to £lOO, and the New Plymouth Church was thrown more upon its own resources. The church became divided, and the pastor lost the support of his people. As the result of this domestic unhappiness the Auckland Presbytery decided to sever the pastoral tie between Mr. Breach and the congregation, and Mr. Breach having agreed to resign, the charge was declared vacwt on Sunday, August 15. Six days later the church was 'burned down. The verdict at the inquiry which followed was that the church had been burned down by some unknown incendiary. The insurance company refused to pay the £4OO for which the church was insured, and the congregation was left without a church, without a minister and without funds. For a time the Rev. J. Fulton held services in the Brougham Street hall, but it was plain that without outside assistance the cause would have to be abandoned.

In February, 1883, at a meeting of the Auckland Presbytery, it was decided to transfer the church to the Wellington Presbytery, which was more in touch with Taranaki than Auckland was. It ■was determined to maintain the foot'hold Presbyterianism had obtained in Taranaki and to commend the re-build-ing of the church to the Presbyteries ■for assistance. THe extensJon committee further guaranteed £l'so for the stipend of a student to undertake the duties of. the charge. The Rev. 'W. Grant came to New Plymouth in 1883 and active steps were ■taken for the. re-building of the church. ■ln Taranaki subscriptions amounting to £145 were promised, a bazaar produced £l5O and the energy of the Rev. James ■Patterson was mainly responsible for the collection of £235 in Auckland, Wel-

•lington, Wanganui and Napier. The new church cost £452 without seats and fittings. The 'building , was opened -on ‘Sunday, March 2, 1884, and the subscriptions and collections at the time reduced the deficit to £3l. The Rev. James Patterson was the preacher at •the opening service. But the troubles of St. Andrew’s were •not yet over. Ministers made only a short stay in New Plymouth. Mr. Grant ■left in 1884 and was succeeded by the •Rev. Isaac Jolly, who resigned in 1885. Mr. J. A. Dawson, his successor, resigned in 1886. The numbers of the ■church fell off, and an inquiry into the causes was held by the Presbytery. The •Rev. J. B. Finlay, who followed Mr. ■Dawson, resigned in 1887. After this there was a gap of IS months in which there were no regular services. In November, 18SS, the Rev. W. Grant returned to the charge and it was decided to take steps for his ordination. About this time the question of building a manse was considered, but i 1 was decided later to build a Sunday School first. In 1891, Mr. Grant received and accepted a call to Leeston. The Rev. Chas. Macdonald was called to the vacant charge in 1891. During the next year the Sunday School was erected, the tender for the work £283. The communion roll in 1892 showed a total of 51 members, and in 1894 of 75. In 1894 Mr. Macdonald resigned chiefly on account of his health.

With the induction to the charge of the Rev. S. S. Osborne a period of steady progress began. Mr. Osborne remained in the charge of St. Andrew’s for .17 years, the longest period of ministerial service in the church up to the present time. The roll of communicants rose from 71 in 1896 to 10-1 in 1903. .In 1898 ’the congregation- became independent ■of any outside assistance, and a number •of improvements were made in the ventilation and lighting of the church.. The school-room was lined, and an additional ■room was added behind it. Activity in the church was accompanied by developments in a wider field. In 1901, services ■were begun in Inglewood, which Mr. ■Osborne visited once a month. In 1905 a church was opened at Tarata, and later home mission stations were started at Okato and Waitara. In all the out-stations excellent work was accomplished. The church still lacked a manse, however, and in 1902 the old manse, a two-storeyed building in Devon Street near the Eliot Street intersection, was 'bought for £1350. In February, 1911, after long and fruitful service, Mr. Osborne resigned from the charge. The church was now on a sound and prosperous footing. It was under happy auspices that the Rev. T. H. Roseveare came from Weston in September, 1911. The town of New Plymouth had been steadily increasing in population, and the number of Presbyterians was large enough to provide a good congregation.

In 1913 the ehurch celebrated its jubilee

In 1917, the Rev. Oscar Blundell followed the Rev. T. H. Roseveare, and the expansion of the church steadily continued. A new manse was built in Gill Street, and in 1925 a start was made with plans for suburban development. •Committees were set up in Moturoa, ■Westown, Vogeltown and Fitzroy to select sites for the erection of school halls in those districts. A Sunday School was opened in the Fitzroy public hall. During this period the membership of the church rose to 250 and with the exception of a small balance unpaid on the manse the financial position of the congregation had been put on a solid basis.

Before enterprise in the church could be carried further the congregation lost

their minister by the. tragic death of the Rev. Oscar Blundell while making a tramp on Mt. Egmont on November 11, 1925. The death of Mr. Blundell was mourned by the whole community as well as by the congregation. Many could point to individual instances of his good work for the poor and needy, all carried out with the least possible show. In his younger days he had been a member of the Salvation Army. Passing through Knox College in Dunedin, Mr. Blundell was ordained as a Presbyterian minister and held pastoral appointments near Whaugarei and later at Te Aroha, from where he came to New Plymouth. Under his charge the church made great progress and had begun its undertaking of a development scheme in the suburbs.

To-day the opening service will be conducted at the new St. Andrew’s Church, New Plymouth, by the Rev. Professor W. Hewitson, 8.A., Dunedin, who laid the foundation-stone of the church. For many months the people of New Plymouth have been watching with pride the grey stone building 1 slowly taking shape, and its completion not only marks a new epoch in the history of the church, but also strikes a note of hitherto unequalled grace and dignity in the architecture of Taranaki. The members of the congregation to-day will look back over the hjstory of St. Andrew’s, the first Presbyterian Church of Taranaki. Just oyer 69 years have passed since the first Presbyterian services were begun regularly in New Plymouth by the Rev. John Thom in a small chapel in Devon Street. • The opening service of the new church will begin at 2.15 this afternoon. Services in the church in the morning and evening to-morrow will be taken by Professor Hewitson, and in the afternoon there is to be a special children’s, service. The anniversary banquet, social and concert will be held on Wednesday, and there is to be a special tea for the children on Thursday night. On the following Sunday the services in the church will be taken by the Rev. John Paterson, M.A., Wanganui.