ST. MARY'S, TIMARU.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 3625, 26 August 1901, Page 3

ST. MARY'S, TIMARU.

ANNIVERSARY SERVICES.

Special services were held at St. Mary's Church yesterday, in celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of the consecration and opening of the, present building. At the morning service the Vein. Archdeacon Harper, vicar of the parish, conducted the service, and by way of sermon he gave an interesting retrospect of the history of the building. When he came to Timaru in 1875, the parish property consisted only of the lj roods on which the present church stvids, with a- small church upon it, partly of '.vood and partly ni slcne, and in size by r.o means adequate to the demands of the population of Timaru. Besides this there was a small piece of glebe land outside the town, which had been secured by the foresight of some of the early parishioners. It was felt that an effort must be made to provide something more suitable to the immediate and prospective needs of the place. It was also felt that it would require a great effort, that many difficulties would have to be faced. But now, looking back over the time that had elapsed they might well feel thankful at the goodness of God in the past. First of all" a site for a vicarage and, school was purchased. It was intended to build St. Mary's by -degrees, and as it would be''impossible to avoid a temporary provision Jqr worship, it was determined to build a,sdliool church, not to consecrate it, but to t'use it- temporarily, and when this temporary purpose had been served toi turn it into a schooL The site was at a price which would-make people open their eyes now-a-days, for then land §ad very high values put upon it. Then subscriptions had to be raised, and plans obtained; They were, fortunate in obtaining tneW,sendees,one of the best ecclesiastical architects ever known in New Zealand or even in Australasia, Mr W. B: Armson, of Christchurch, a mail surpassed by none in thorough knowledge of ecclesiastical buildings, a<nd he was also a man of great business capacity in carrying out any work he designed. From 1875 to 1880 subscriptions were diligently sought, and on the 9th of September 1880 the first stone was laid by the late Dean of Christchurch, in the presence of a large number of clergy and people. Six years were occupied in erecting the building as it now stands. The long time the building was in hand was no detriment, quite the' contrary, as it allowed the timber to be well seasoned, the stone well prepared, and the strictest attention to be paid to every detail of construction. And so faithfully was the magnificent design provided by Mr Armson carried out by the contractors,, that they could safely say the' building, so far as it goes, has not its equal "in New Zealand, or, he believed, in the whole of Australasia; a building which wins the attention and admiration of all experts who have come here from older countries, where they were accustomed to see churches that took centuries to build, and on which money was lavished without end. In 1886 the building was ready for use, and it was opened and consecrated by the late Bishop of Christchurch, Primate of New Zealand, with all circumstance of pomp and ceremony. There were crowded congregations, as doubtless some of those present would recollect. He might mention the names of the church officers at that time—churchwardens, Messrs Belfield, Woollcombe and Montague Sims; vestrymen, Messrs B. . Hibbard, W. Priest, W. Mason, J. Ziesler, A. Steadman, F. Nuding, M. White, T. Gillman and E. Cook. There were pre-' sent also the Bishop of Dunedin, the Dean of Christchurch, eleven clergy of this Diocese and one from the Diocese of Dunediin. In 1886, whsn the church' was opened, it had cost for building and fittings, rather more than £JO,OOO, of which£7ooo had been raised : and spent. Last year the whole of t-lie balance, £3OOO, was" paid off. The cost of the school site and building, £1950, had been paid off. Lastly, the Vicarage and site had cost £2200, and there remained due on this £IBOO, this' being the only debt remaining of an expenditure of £14,000 incurred since 1880. And except £IOO received from the-funds of the Diocese, the whole of the money had been provided by the parishoners of Timaru, and their friends. The church was not yet complete, and when the right time came they would be able to add a chancel, vestries, tower, spire, and bells. In the meantime, they could congratulate themselves on the possession of a church for necessary working purposes worthy of any country, and supplied already with some splendid works of art, memorials of those who once worshipped within its walls—magnificent and unique granite pillars in memory of the late Mr P. Luxmoore; artistic stained-glass windows in memory of other parishioners, and memorial brasses—giving the sanctuary a solemnity and holy associations entwined with the early history of the place. And save for some extraordinary catastrophe of nature, the church may in God's providence exist in all its beauty and harmony until New Zealand has taken its place among comparatively older off-shoots of Great Britain and has become a nation in itself. They did well to commemorate their anniversary, and in doing so to remember those who wrought so hard in the building of the church. Twenty-five years is nearly a generation, and during that time hundreds had wrought faithfully amd affectionately for . this house of God. He •quoted the prayer authorised by the Bishop of Christchurph ;to be used at the consecration ceremony, asking a blessing upon those and the families 'of those who hadhelped in the erection of the church, and upon all who might - in. future worship " therein. Then looking forward, the preacher said the day would come sooner or later when the same enthusiasm which raised the buildings would complete it; when besides looking back they .would look forward, and " with their hearts in their hands," set about the completion of the magnificent work they had carried on so far towards completion. The congregation was not so large as usual, the prevalent epidemic being responsible for the absence of whole families, as well as many individual attendants. The Rev. Mr Adcock conducted service and preached in the evening.