EARLY DAYS RECALLED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 43, 12 February 1946, Page 5

EARLY DAYS RECALLED

THE LATE BRENDA SOUTAR

Pi ONEER CLERGYMAN’S DAUGHTER

Many old-established. Bay oi' Plenty families were represented at the funeral at Whakatane on Saturday of daughter ol‘ the late Rev, and Mrs A. C. Soil tar who settled at Opotiki in 1874 and removed to Whakatane in 1889. The deceased ladv who was’aged (11) had been in failing for some, years. Her passing will be regretted by a large circle of friends, particularly among the older generation of. Whakatane people. An enthusiastic grower of dowers and a talented she was one of the most loved and retspected of the now much-reduced band of early residents. Few people now living had been resident in the district as long as deceased, who could remember Whakatane as an isolated village in" the nineties and in the early years of this century. In recent years she had resided with her sister Mrs E. Gaitt.

He father the Rev. Mr Soutar was a pioneer clergyman of both the Opotiki and Whakatane parishes. He came from the West Coast of the South Island to become vicar of. the frontier outpost of Opotiki only eight years after the pioneer missionary t the Rev. Carl who built the historic church of St. had met a martyr’s death at the. hands of the Hauliaus during the Maori war period. Opotiki was then garrisoned by a strong force of Armed Constabulary because Te Kooti and his followers were still a menace to frontier settlements. With the older members of. the family Mr and Mrs Soutar landed at Ohiwa 7,4 years ago and proceeded in a cart to Opotiki. St. Stephen’s Church had not -had a vicar since Mr Volliner’s death. Mr Soutar’s parish included the little settlement of Whakatane, and he used to ride from Opotiki once a month to take services and also to officate at wed;dings? christenings and funerals. His route was across Ohiwa along the. beach and through what is now Hillcrest and down the little valley behind ' what is now Hamill Bros’ Garage. Whakatane in 1889

Like other pioneer clergymen the Rev. M. Soutar maintained a farm for the support of his family both at-Opotiki and Whakatane. When he removed to Whakatane in 1889 the family resided at the Old Mill Farm on Valley Road, later known as Black's Farm, where a Frenchman who had established a watermill had been killed during the Te Kooti disturbances. Later the Soutar family made their homestead on the l'aijpi that is now the Strathmore Dairj' property with frontages to Valley Road and Bridge Street. Mr Soutar died in 1905. Soutar Avenue, one of the new residential streets, was named after him.

St. George’s Parish Church was built during Mr Soutar’s term as the first vicar. It was Whakhtane’s only church for many years, and Mr Soutar ministered to the handful of settlers of all creeds who attended services there. Kauri timber for the church came in scows from Mercury Bay, as did most of the timber for the’early buildings of Whakatane. Mr Soutar secured donations from England towards the cost of the church and the alter cloth now in use is one of the church furnishings sent out from the Old Country. The church is indeed a memorial to a cultured and talented clergyman who passed by opportunities to reside in tow T n parishes and devoted, the lasjt. 80 years of his life to caring for the first settlers of the Bay of Plenty. Mrs Soutar who so w r ell supported her husband in his parish work and reared a large family., was a cousin of the Bronte Sisters*, of literary fame, and her daughter Brenda was considered, in her youth to-bear a striking resemblance to the novelist, Charlotte Bronte.

Pianist at OSd’-time Dances

During "World War T and again during the recent war the deceased lady sent numerous, gift parcels to men from the Whakatane district, serving overseas. This was typical of her generosity throughout a life time devoted in a quet way to the welfare of others. In her younger days she played the piano at countless dances in Whakatane, and also at dances in the Matata School which young people from Whakatane. used to attend riding along the beach. She was a most capable pianist, playing with expression the waltzes

so popular a generation or more ago. The family, of the Rev. and Mrs A. C. Soutar consisted of four sons and four daughters. The deceased is survived by her daughter, Mrs F. Perkins of Auckland, and by one brother, Mr Edwin Soutar, of Auck-* land, and two sisters Mrs E. Gaittv of Whakatane, and Mrs G. Witcbell % . of Hamilton. - The Funeral The Vicar of St. George’s, the* Rev. .T. C. J. Wilson, officiat'd at the services held in the church arid

at the graveside on Saturday afternoon. The interment took place at Hillcrest Cemetery. The pall bearers were Messrs Walter Thompson, Alan Stewart. C. H. Ghistenson and. A. .1. Sheat. Many beautiful wreaths were appropriate tributes to ■ one who had always shared the blooms from her garden and had given practical aid and sympathy to mans families in their times of sornvsy.