Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Third of a Century.] WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1910 THE CHURCH OUT-BACK.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXII, Issue 9598, 9 February 1910, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Third of a Century.] WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1910 THE CHURCH OUT-BACK.

Anglican Bishop Trodsham contributes an interesting article in a recent issue of tfie Melbourne Argus, descriptive of the church "out-bick." The rev. contributor describes a prayerlneetiug which he held iv a boundaryrider's hut. The boundary-rider's wife had aheatly told the visiting- clergyman that she was "married to an English minister's sou." The hot afternoon sun was slantiug over the yellow-ochre ground outside on to the tiny corrugated-iron room, and foil ur>ou the rugged features of the kneeling boumlary-rider and his wife. The clergyman prayed earnestly for the spiritual welfare of these solitary dwellers in the bush, and tor grace to comfort them in their hours of sorrow and loneliness. And then the clergyman took his departure through the rich orange light of the evening and the lengthening shadows of the gum trees. At a place called Mount, Elliott, where no church existed, the communion v/as celebrated iv a .canvas dormitory in a lodging house. There were no doors to the room, and the floor was mother earth, roughly smoothed. But on this notable occasion ministering angels had been busy, and the unpromising little room had been transformed into the semblance of a place of worship. The Holy Table was an up-ended packing case, and was covered by a clean white counterpane. A clean serviette pinned to the canvas behind was the reredos. The "upper room" in Jerusalem could not have been more simply furnished, and surely the sacred celebration was none the less real. At another mining camp no religious service had ever .been held. There was but oue communicant: At evensong the blacksmith's shop at the mine-bead served as a church.

The bare auvil was the prayor-desk, and the seats were planks resting upon oil drums. It must have been a remarkable service ia every way. Only three people iv the whole camp were absent. Never, remarks the rev. contributor, was there a more devout or attentive congregation, and seldom was heard more congregational singing. They sang tha old hymns which they all knew. Two of those present told the travelling messenger of peace aud righteousness that they had not been to a religious service for twenty years before. The incidents narrated, some ot them pathetic to a degree, speak eloquently for more labourers in the vineyard through the vast sparsely-settled districts of North Queensland aud other portions of the groat Never Never Land into which colonisation is slowly spreading. As the Bishop points out in the course of his descriptive article, "It is the work of the Christian Church in Nortli Queensland to build up the character of the people there. To do this rightly is just as important for tlio welfare of Australia as to develop the country."

Pahiatua is to be congratulated upon a successful maiden Pastoral and Agricultural Show. We recall a time, thirty yeais ago, when there was a migratiou of settlers from Masterton to settle this new small farm district, which had been mainly secured through the efforts of the Hon. W. W. Mc.Uardlo. In 1880 houses were few and far between iv the new Pahiatua towuship, aud a modest accommodation house supplied the needs of weary travellers. Tl.e Pahiatua district has grown aud flourished as only small farm settlement cau progress. At the same time, the clearing and grassing of the big Balfour estate assisted materially the pioneer settlers by providing thorn with employment. The Hon. W. W. McOardlo can fairly claim to have beou the father of Pahiatua, aud, although he subsequently travelled north, no oue was more strenuous than he in advancing its earlier interests.

It is satisfactory to liui! that harinouy now reigns between the County ami Borough Councils on the vexed question of the Northern Approach, aud the coucertocl effort, which is to widen for all time this dangerous passage, is now to be made. What Mr Hogg once termed "the waspwaistcd bridge" was good enough for all traffic five-aud-twenty years ago, but Lansfiowuo then consisted of only two or three buildings, aud there was little local traffic. For the past ten years tiie bridge- has beeu a danger point aud a standing menace to the community. We care but little as to the exact cost of the necessary improvement; at any reasouable cost it is worth doiug. aud it is a pity time it has not been taken iv liaud long ago.