St.+ Peter’s + Church, + Wellington.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume X, Issue 11, 18 March 1893, Page 244

St.+ Peter’s + Church, + Wellington.

THE first church belonging to the parish of St. Peter’s Wellington, was originally built in the year 1847, and cost £B9l, and during the terrible earthquakes of the following years it was the great place of refuge to many distressed and terrified familiesThe first who had charge of the parish was the Rev. Robert Cole, M.A. of Queen’s College, Oxford, who had accompanied the famous George Augustus Selwyn when he came out in 1842 as Bishop of New Zealand. This clergyman acted as Colonial Chaplain, and re-

ceived state aid up to 1853, when the New Zealand Constitution was proclaimed, and religious equality established. Nothing of any note happened during his cure of the parish, and eventually his health and private matters obliged him to return home, and the Rev. Samuel Poole, M.A. of Pembroke College, Oxford, was appointed in his place. The parish was now worked upon the voluntary principle. The barracks were situated within its boundaries. Other soldiers were accustomed to attend services specially provided for them every Sunday at 9 a.m. It was somewhere about this time that St. Paul’s Parish was constituted, St. Peter’s being looked after by Mr Poole, who also held a service at St. John’s on the Porirua Road. The newly elected church officers were most zealous, we may mention, in particular, Mr J. C. Raymond, Manager of the Union Bank, and the Hon. R. Stokes, editor of the local paper, and the I parish, under the combined energy and zeal of these and their minister, soon became a flourishing and self-supporting institution.

One of the most valuable works undertaken in those early days was the foundation of a school in June, 1854. This had as its first teacher Mr W. H. Holmes, whose memory will be quite fresh to many even in these days. He had been trained in England at Battersea, and had been originally selected for the Canterbury settlement. Although religions instruction was given during school hours, in accordance with the principles of the Church of England, yet all denominations availed themselves of the secular instruction, and on one occasion the then Governor, His Excellency, Sir Goie Browne, visited the schoo) and expressed his ‘greatest satisfaction ’ at the way in which the children underwent Biblical examination in his presence.

During the Rev. S. Poole’s incumbency, a very important meeting was held in St. Peter’s schoolroom, at which Bishop Selwyn sketched out the leading ideas which he afterwards embodied in his Church of .New Zealand Constitution. His chaplain on that occasion was the Rev. J. C. Patteson, afterwards the martyred Bishop of Melanesia. On the resignation of Mr Poole the Rev. Arthur Stock, B. A , of Pembroke College, Cambridge, was appointed to the vacancy, and when the New Zealand Church Constitution had been adopted and the first General Synod held at Wel-

lington, in 1859, at which provisions were made for the formation of parishes, Mr (afterwards Archdeacon) Stock was nominated, and duly inducted into the incumbency of St. Peter’s parish.

During his loving and devoted ministry of nearly 33 years the parish grew in population and the whole place underwent a marvellous change. When Archdeacon Stock succeeded Mr Poole there were hardly any houses in Te Aro, and when he resigned in July, 1888, nearly all Te Aro

bad been built over and a large tract of land had been reclaimed from the sea, and the hamlets, Brooklyn, Taitville, Michelton, and PolhiH's Gully had all been formed. ’ The heavy task fell to the Archdeacon of endeavouring to keep pace with all these increased needs, and he laboured faithfully to overcome the difficulties that faced him. The little church of St. Peter’s was enlarged uo less than four times at a total cost of £1,820, and eventually, in 1880, the present large and commodious building was erected at a cost of nearly £9.000. All this was effected through the energy and self sacrifice of the Archdeacon, assisted by the willing generosity of the parishioners. Amongst other notable events which took place in connection} with tie original church was the consecration of Bi-bop Williams to the see of Waiapu within its walls by Bishop Selwyn, assisted by other prelates, and the meeting in St. Peter’s Schoolroom at which the provisions for the Church Constitution were finally agreed upon. In the year 1875 the parish of St. Mirk’s was formed, and towards this the parishioners of S'. Peter’s contributed most liberally, and in addition made an annual payment out of its revenues of £3O.

The late incumbent resigned in July, 1888, amid the universal regret of all the parishioners, and he was presented with various tokens of their feelings towards him. In December, 1889, the present incumbent, the Rev. William Campbell Waters, M.A., of Exeter College, Oxford, was nominated to the living, and on Sunday, June 2nd, of the following year, was inducted by the Lord Bishop of the diocese to the vacant cute.

The original church was consecrated on Thursday, the 18th of March, 1858, and a full account of it appears in the New Zealand Spectator for Saturday, March 20th, 1858, from which the following details are gleaned. The Bishop of New Zealand was the consecrator, and the Revs. A. Stock, B. A., A. Baker, M A. of St. Paul’s, T. B. Hutton, of the Lower Hutt, and W. H. St. Hill, of Hawtrey, weie also present. It is interesting to record that during the progress of the service the infant son of one of the present churchwardens was baptized by the Bishop. There was an enormous congregation, the Bishop appears to have preached an excellent sermon, and he and the clergy and all the church officials were entertained afterwards by Mr and Mrs J. H. Bethune.

The present church is a large building, consisting of nave and chancel. It is 144 feet long and 56 feet wide, and has seating accommodation for 806, although it is capable of seating a far larger number on special occasions. The architect of the building was Mr Thomas Turnbull, and the contractors Messrs Murdoch and Rose. It was consecrated for Divine worship on December 21, 1879, by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese. It has a spacious porch and gallery at the west end, and one of the special features of the church is a small baptistry at the south west of the church, under the tower, which contains in addition to the font a small but exquisite window in memory of the late Mr Kebbell, of Courtenay Place. The tower of the church contains a fine peal of eight bells which, unfortunately, are not able to be rung, as the tower is not strong enough to bear the vibrating ; but as the bells are fitted with the late Rev. H. T. Ellacumhe’s chiming apparatus, they are always chimed before the Sunday services and on other appropriate occasions, and they sound very sweetly in the clear New Zealand air. They were presented to the parish partly by public subscriptions, of which

Mr S. S. Downes kindly gave £lOO, and also from the church funds.

The windows of the nave and gallery are filled with cathedral glass placed there in December, 1891, but the

colours ami arrangements of the glass have been very unfortunate. The end window of the nave on the south side the church, nearest the chancel, has been filled with handsome stained glass—very rich and showy in colour—by Mrs

Rhodes of the Grange, in memory of her’husband the Hon. W. B. Rhodes.

On each side of the chancel are three very convenient vestries for the clergy, the choir, men, and boys. The really striking part of the interior is the chancel itself. It has a very fine appearance when looked at from the body of the church. There are three windows at the

east end, and they are filled with singularly beautiful tained glass from the firm of Messrs Banand and Lavers, and were placed there in memory of the late Mr Martin by his widow, now Mrs T. Evans Brown, of Asheville, North Carolina. These are universally admired because of their soft and delicate colouring. A new altar table was placed in the church at Christmas, 1890, and is now supplied with all the appropriate fittings in brass, although the parish only possesses at present one really good altar one, and designed by Messrs James and The altar cross was the gift of two [uMßrs. The candlesticks are in memory of Mrs Herbert Baillie, and the red altar cloth, just alluded to, was procured by public subscription. The organ, which is placed in a chamber prepared for it in the north of the chancel, is an excellent instrument, manufactured by Messrs Hill, of London, and is one of the best church organs in this part of the world for purity and delicacy of touch. Its acquirement originated in a handsome donation from the trustees of the late Miss Lewis’ estate, which sum was supplemented by the exertions of the choir assisted by parishioners and other friends. It has just had an addition of another stop which has completed its external appearance. One of the latest improvements in the church was the chancel screen, designed by Messrs Cleve and Richmond, used first in the church on Whit-Sunday, 1892 It has been much admired, and has given to the church a much more ecclesiastical appearance. The services at St. Peter’s Church are famed for their congregational character. The choir, which is entirely voluntary, consists of twenty men, twenty boys, and fourteen women, these last sitting in the body of the church, the men and boys occupying the chancel seats. When we mention that the organist is the well-known Mr Thos. Tallis Trimnell, Mus. Bac., Oxon, the excellence of the musical parts of the sei vice will not be wondered at. The alterations and improvements in the internal appearance of the church have been mainly owing to the energy and zeal of the ladies’ working party, which was commenced in July, 1889, and has already achieved a wondeiful amount of success. The parishioners all take considerable interest in their church and all other parochial institutions, and the consequence is that the parish is gradually being supplied with all its various requirements, and in time we do not doubt will take a foremost place in the ecclesiastical life of New Zealand.

We give an engraving of the two present churchwardens. Mr Edward Anderson, the people’s warden, has been in office for upwards of 13 years. He was first selected in 1880 and ever since has retained the position, save for a time in 1889 and 1890 when he was away in England. The amount of time and trouble which he gives to St. Peter’s parish is well-known, and the parishioners show their appreciation of this by selecting him year by year as their representative. Mr John Henry Bethune is the incumbent’s warden. He is a very old resident both in the parish and in Wellington. He belongs to the band of settlers who made New Zealand what it is. His geniality and kindliness are proverbial, and his interest in St. Peter’s has always been constant and sincere.