MEMOIRS OF THE EARLY DAYS THE CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 42, 17 October 1907, Page 30

MEMOIRS OF THE EARLY DAYS

THE CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND

(Contributed.) (Continued from last week.)

CANTERBURY, 111. Recollections of Mr P. Henley.

When those of whom I am writing -'first arrived in Canterbury there was no employment. Most of them had to live in barracks at Government expense until prospects brightened, . working three days a week for rations. Some of" the prices for necessaries even .were • almost prohibitive. Flour, for instance, cost 27s 6d per 1001 b; merino mutton, 9d per lb; tea,. ss per lb; sugar (of a class not used in these days), 9d per lb; butter, 3s per lb. I will let Mr P. Henley, one of our pioneers, tell his own story : — ' There arrived on . Tuesday, August 22, 1860, in Lyttelton harbour, the ship "William Millar," from the United Kingdom, and amongst the passengers were forty-four Catholics, these being the first, in any considerable body, to reach "the shores of Canterbury. Included in the number were" names associated ever since with the settlement of the province, and identified with the Church's progress. Among the married portion of the emigrant passengers were Mi^ and Mrs P." Henley, P. Mahar, P. Martin, P. Gill, P. Gallagher, Andrew Stevens, Frank Hardy, Michael Doyle, Hugh Cassin, Luke Martin, John Whelan, with families. of children ranging in age up to twelve years. .The single women were Misses -M. Byron, Annie Dillon, Nora Lawlor, and Cones -_(2), and the single men "J. M'Connell, W. Hines, J. M'Guire, and J. and M. Lawlor.

' The passengers disembarked on the day following arrival, and for a few days after were compelled, owing to bad weather, to remain at the port. On Saturday/ August 26, the weather cleared sufficiently for some of the new arrivals to take a walk in the open air. One of the first sights met with was a funeral procession, consisting of the Rev. Father Chataigner and four men carrying a coffin to the burial ground. • We subsequently met the pioneer-priest, and in the, course of conversation I was asked by him if we belonged to the place. I gave him the particulars of our landing only four days previously. Further questioning on his part elicited the number of Catholics our vessel had brought, our destination, and other interesting details. With a' hearty hand-shake -he expressed great delight at the news, and informed us that -we would be his future parishioners, adding that he had intended going to Christchurch that afternoon, but owing to so many Catholics being at port, and as the following day was Sunday, he would stay overnight at Lyttelton and in the morning celebrate Mass at, the house* of aMr Carroll. So overjoyed were we at the prospect, and' so cheered at the presence .of a priest at our destination, that we forgot to "assure ourselves of" the" whereabouts of Mr Carroll's residence.

'I went out next morning rather earlier than my. companions in quest of the much-desired information. After a time a man was seen to approach from the beach, and on arriving at the door of a certain house he removed his hat, his action showing that here was the place we were looking for. Soon there was seen approaching the entire party, numbering forty-three persons, the largest number of Catholics going' in a body to Mass probably ever seen at Port Lyttelton. 'The Resident Catholics at Lyttelton i prior to our arrival numbered only five — three women and two men. From this it will be seen that the first Mass celebrated in Canterbury in the presence of a Catholic congregation was that of Sunday, August 27, 1860, by Father Chataigner. He was immediately appointed parish priest of Lyttelton and Christchurch, and may indeed be said to be the first parish priest of Canterbury, although Father Scon had been labouring amongst the Maoris of this province and of Otago for a period of ten years prior to that. *

'On August 29 our immigrant „ party came on to Christ church by the small steamer " Lyttelton," landing at 'the steam, wharf at Heathcote, and later arrived at the barracks, then situated between where the Rink Stables now- stand and- the river Avon. The party were met by the Rev.'Eather Chataigner, who welcomed them warmly and gave kindly encouragement.

The priest's residence then was a two-roomed cottage,- situated in Tuam west, immediately at 1 the rear of the Royal Hotel, a busy part of the town in after years, and the startingplace for the coaches to the West Coast. The cottage was owned by Mrs Thompson, a Catholic lady, who was also the proprietor . of the hotel. Father, Chataigner' offered up the Holy Sacrifice of the -Mass for the first time in Christchurch in a room of the Royal Hotel, kindly prepared for the occasion, on September 3, 1860, the congregation consisting of our. .party and a few resident" Catholics. At Mass- we were all invited to attend at the priest's house to hear some good news. All went, and the " good news " imparted to us was to the effect that, the Provincial Government had given notice that, unless the section in Barbadoes street, granted to the Catholics by the Government, was immediately occupied by having a building erected the- penalty would be forfeiture. Adjoining this section two additional acr.es had been added- by purchase by the Rev. Father O'Reilly and another priest from Nelson ' (whose name I do not remember). This is where the Marist Brothers' residence and boys' school now stand. Legal delays were the cause. "of the property not .being utilised sooner.'

- An immediate arrangement. was now, however, entered into with- a Mr Coxhead, a builder, to at once" erect" the first partof a projected structure to be used as a church, the dimensionsbeing,24ft x 18ft., It was to be erected within the Government limit of "time, and at a cost of £75. -The framework was cut out in the builder's yard, carted to the site by Mr John O'Neil, and on September 7, 1860, the foundation was well and truly laid in the presence of five persons — two Catholics, Father Chataigner and' Mr P. Henley levelled the ground), and three non- Catholics (the builder and his two men). The building was completed on September ;28, but much was still to be done in the vicinity in preparation for the opening on the Sunday following.- The approaches were in a bad state, and again-; Mr / Henley's good offices were enlisted. Procuring broken pipes, bricks, etc., from the pottery works near at hand, he eventually got a fairly ,dry and clean pathway, laid. An altar was also improvised by Mr Henley. It might be here mentioned that Mr Henley stood by the infant church in Canterbury, and has' ever" since- been one of its most generous benefactors. .. Rosary Sunday, October 18, 1860, was date of opening the first Catholic' church' in Canterbury. The part completed and opened formed the centre of the building, according to the design.. The wings were added towards the end of the year and beginning of the next, forming living, rooms for the clergy. (To be continued.)