CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY TE HENUI.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 21, 26 May 1909, Page 32

CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY TE HENUI.

the mother cm iu ii or TAKAN AKI. About one mile to the east of New Phmouth. just oil' the high road, prettily situated in a narrow lam* leading down to the sea. stands the t’hureh of the Hol\ Trinity. Te Henui. the Mother t’hureh of Taranaki, founded by Bishop Selwyn in the year 154.~». The position of the church ’ecins a strange one. standing somewhat isolated in this narrow track, but at one time it was the centre of the early set t lenient of \\ eekstow n or Te Henui. stand ing in the midst of a cluster of cottages built by these early -ettlers. Short ly after th* founding of the New Plymouth settlement. Dr. Weeks bought a large section of land just across the Henui river. This he cut up into small sections or allotments, and sold or let them to s ( »me of the New Plymouth set tiers. About t»0 families moved out to thi* new settlement. When Bishop Sei wyn visited Taranaki for tin* first time he went out to this settlement, and at once mad.* arrangements for the build ing of a small church at his own cost. In the year 1545 we find an entry in his diary in which he expresses his thankful ness to God for the building of the lit th* church in which these settlers might worship God after the manner of their fathers. The church was a simple lit th* structure, built of untrimmed slabs of wood ami thatched with fern stalk. It has been considerable altered to ap|>earanee. but the timber of the old structure is in the present building, and the low nave and sanctuary give us a true idea of the original building. The transepts were a much later addition. The Taranaki War caused the surroundings of the chinch to lx* much altered. The churchyard was overrun, and it is impossible now to trace where the dead are laid to rest. Part of the settlement was burned, and there is only one house stand-

ing of the original settlement. This, until quite recently, was occupied by a Mr Walter Bailey, who did splendid work in the war as a scout. The church itself was untouched. It now contains a memorial brass, recording the founding of the church by Bishop Selwyn in 1545. ami besides the brass is a photograph of the original letter written by him. accepting the Bishopric of New Zealand. Tlr*re ait* also memorial brasses to the niemorv of Arch-

deacon Govett and “Parson Brown.” whose names are household words in that portion of Taranaki. In the porch is a map of the original settlement, compiled by the Rev. A. Fowler, now curate iu charge, from information supplied by old settlers, showing the position of every house in the obi settlement with the name of the occupier in 1842. and in the church record is a list of the settlers and of their children, so far as they can be ascertained.