NEW DIOCESE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4961, 12 April 1926, Page 2

NEW DIOCESE.

A FOR WAIKATO;

PARISHIONERS’ FORWARD MOVE.

An historic occasion arises in connection with the creation of a new diocese and the election of an Anglican Bishop, to be known as the Bishop of Waikato. A brief history of the progress of .the Church of England, so far as New Zealand is concerned, will no doubt be of interest. Previous to 1841 New Zealand formed a portion of the diocese of Sydney, which then included the whole of Australia and New Zealand. Towards the close of the same year the diocese of New Zealand was constituted, and in the yea,r following Bishop Selwyn was consecrated its first bishop. He had supervision of the whole of the country until 1856, when the provinces of Canterbury, Otago, and Southland were placed under the control of the Bishop of Chpstchurch. Two years later the area under the supervision of the Bishop of New Zealand was still further reduced by the constitution of the Diocese of Waiapu, Wellington, and Nelson, and ten years later, in 1868, the Diocesp of Christchurch wa,s divided and that of Dunedin -formed. Since then no further subdivision has taken place until the constitution of the Diocese of Waikato on the. first of this month. This new diocese includes the Archdeaconry of Waikato, with its 17 parishes or parochial districts, and the Archdeaconry of Taranaki, With its eight parochial, districts'. From the first of this month Paeroa, Waihi, Katikaii, and Te Araha are portions of the new diocese. ThameJ, Coromandel, and Haura,ki Plains still remafh in the parent Diocese of Auckland, the Auckland diocese having .taken that name at the consecration of Bishop Cowie, who succeeded Bishop Selwyn.

The Archbishop of 'New Zealand has appointed his Commissary, Archdeacon Mac Murray, to take charge of the new’ diocese, until a bishop has been appointed.', Ta this end the Commissary has given instructions that meetings, of parishioners shall be held to appoint lay representatives to attend synod this evening, and is also calling together the representatives who will be then appointed, together with all the clergy' in the new diocese, to meet at Hamilton on April 26 for the first synod meeting, when it will be their duty and privilege to elect the first bishop, standing committee, and trust board for the Waikato diocese. The election .of the bishop has to be confirmed by the standing committees: in all the other dioceses in the Dominion, and, later, notice of his election and consecration sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and all other primates and archbishops in communion with the Church of England.. The new diocese has been very fortunate in the matter of endowments, having received considerable sums from the parent Diocese of Auckland, from the Archdeaconry of Tarepaki, and from the Parish of Hamilton. To place the diocese on a Tenlly good footing considerably more is yet required, and the finance committee, which was appointed some time ago, has sent its; org'anfser, Mr Meredith, to assist the different vestries to raise further amounts, for the endowment funds. Mr Meredith was in Pa©roa and the district during the last -week, and has received generous assistance from the liberally minded people.