ALL SAINTS CHURCH JUBILEE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3557, 2 November 1926, Page 1

ALL SAINTS CHURCH JUBILEE.

■■■ —u The Jubilee of Foxton All Saints Church was celebrated on Sunday ast 31st nit. The services were continued yesterday, and will •onclude this evening.

HISTORY OF CHURCH SITE.

Far back in the early sixties, when Foxton enjoyed the simple life, and the Maoris basked in the golden sunshine on the sloping banks of the Manawatu, the site on which All Saints’ now stands was the revered spot of a great pah. It appears that this portion had been set apart for the burial of the dead, and ini' common with all races, was held as sacred. As, far as can be gathered only one grave was dug, which is still in existence and may be seen at the back of the Church, surrounded by a wooden fence. In this grave lies the remains of a native, a young man who is said to have been a Christian. This young native came from a family of very high rank, and was the son of the famous chief, Taratoa. The name of this son of Taratoa was Pationa, who died at the early age of nineteen, smitten down by the deadly disease of consumption, and was interred in this spot on a date at present not obtainable. One of the first European settlers in this district was Captain Francis Robinson, of Herrington. The old homestead, known for many years as Herrington, was pulled down a few years ago, but a portion of it still exists in a woolshed on the estate. Perhaps it is not generally known that three distniguished churchmen visited Herrington when Foxton was a very different place from what it is now, and were the guests of Captain Robinson. One was the then Lord Robert Cecil, who afterwads became Lord Salisbury and Prime Minister of England; another the illustrious Gorge Augustus Sehvyn, first Bishop of New Zealand, and afterwards Lord Bishop of Lichfield, in England} and Sir Charles Dilke, an author of some considerable note. Captain Robinson with a good deal of foresight, endeavoured to purchase from the Maoris the present site of All Saints’ Church. After a good deal of trouble, he came to terns with the natives and paid what was then a big price, £IOO in gold. This land he handed over to the Bishop of Wellington and his successors for all time. The Maoris agreed to sell the land only on) two conditions being faithfully carried out: —

1. That the land should be used for the erection of a Church. ( 2. That the site of the grave of Pationa be respected and kept in order. . On these conditions Captain Robinson gave the land which is i now the property of the Province of the Church of New Zealand, commonly called the Church of England—and a property which can never’ be sold or used for any other purpose. This is how the parish of All Saints’ came into possession of its Church site, which is now very valuable as it stands in the centre of the town. The memory of the generous donor is perpetuated in the shape of a stained glass window above the altar, which represents the Good Shepherd. This window was erected by his family and bears the following inscription: “To the glory-of God, and the memory of Francis Robinson, who died 15th September, 1888.” The Consecration. —The contract of building All Saints’ Church was let to Mr Marley in March, 1876, but was not completed until November of tha| year, owing to the difficulty of obtaining timber. At that time it was considered a handsome and substantial building, with chancel and pentagonal apse. The new church was open- ; ed°for Divine worship on the 23rd Sunday after Trinity, being the - 19th of November, 1876. An old record gives us an account of the consecration: “On Wednesday, December 13th, 1876, a large congregation assembled to witness the ceremony of the conscration of the Church under the title of All Saints’, by the Bishop of the Diocese. After the petition bad been read at the door by Mr J. ’ N. Flower, vicar’s warden, the Bishop, attended by his chaplain, the Rev. James McWilliam, and the Rev. F. Sheriff, curate of All Saints’, the Rev. H. H. Te Ilerekau, Moutoa, Mi- J. N. Flower, and Mr Charles Hulke (churchwarden) proceeded up the church, where the consecration service was commenced by the Bishop and people reading the 24th Psalm. The prayers were read by the Rev. James McWilliam, and the lessons by the curate of the district. Dr. I-ladfield, Bishop of Wellington, then delivered an impressive address from Hebrews X., 25. The choir rendered very efficient aid in leading the consecration! hymn, which had been kindly presented for the occasion.” Before this period the services were held in the Presbytenan Church on alternate Sundays by the generosity of the Rev. Mr Duncan. Mr Hulke, one of the Church Wardens at this time, worked very hard to collect funds for the Church, and to-day, in 1926, thanks to their labours, and to tlie faithful work put into the building, it is as sound as a bell and good for another thirty years. In 1876 the Church Wardens were Mr J. N. Flower and Mr. C. Hulke. , , Foxton was not a separate Parish, but was apparently worked from Otaki, as the records show that the services were taken chiefly by Bishop Hadfiehl, and the Rev. J. McWilliam, who was the Missionary of an extensive district. The first resident Minister was the Rev. F. Sheriff, who stayed about two years. Owing to the many changes in the Manawatu, many small towns began to increase at a quicker rate than Foxton. This necessitated changes in Parish boundaries. For some years Foxton was a part of Bulls Parochial district, although the Foxton Church is older than either Bulls, Feilding, or All Saints’, Palmerston North. The Rev. John Blackburn, Vicar of Bulls, who is still in active work, used to visit Foxton over 30 years ago. The Venerable Archdeacon Innis Jones also worked the district in 1890. An old record from the “Manawatu Herald,” of July 24th, 18SB, reads thus: — .. ~ „ . ~ “The Rev. John Blackburn stated at a meeting of Parishioners that he regretted to say that he could no longer hold services at Foxton, and he thought that with the prospect of townships springing up all around, that the time had come when Foxton should have a resident Vicar. ~ An interesting balance-sheet was read at this meeting by Mi De Ridder, which showed receipts from all sources were £B9 9/4 for that VG£ir» The following Clergy worked in the Parish, being Vicars of surrounding districts of which Foxton was a part: 1876, the records show that the Rev. F. Sheriff was in charge; in 1879, Rev. J. A. Newth; in 1881, the Rev. Lloyd Keating; then for two years the Parish had no ■nnciaoni Vin.nr. and records show that Bishop Hadfield and the Rev.

James MeWiHiam, Missionary of the Otoki District, maintained services In 1884 the Rev. J. CJ Dodwell was appointed; m 1886 the Rev. John Blackburn, Vicar of Bulls had charge of Foxton, and visited the Parish fortnightly; in 1800 Rev. A. Innis Jones, Vicar of Bulls (now Archdeacon of Rangitikei), had charge of the district; m 1803 the Rev. G. Aitken came to the Parish. On the lltli of July, 1893, the following resolution was passed at a meeting of Parishioners:“Proposed by Mr Wilson, seconded by Mr A. S. Easton That the house and property in Avenue Road be purchased for £SOO, the property consisting of house known as Dr. Rockstrow’s property, with six and a-half acres of land.’ ” This now became the Vicarage.

In January, 1897, the Rev. R. Young was appointed Vicar, and left in 1899. From 1899, the Rev. Hugh Leach was Vicar. In June of that year, the following resolution was passed:— “In view of the fact that the accommodation of All Saints’ Church is totally inadequate, efforts lie made to raise money for the purpose of enlarging the same.” The scheme was successful, and the following is recorded: Reopening of All Saints’ Church, August 16th, 1900. The Ven. Archdeacon Towgood preached at the re-opening of the Church after the enlarging of the Chancel. Ha was assisted by the Rev. H. F. Wilson, Rev. J. A. McNickle and Rev. H. Teri te Paerata, besides the Vicar, Rev. H. S. Leach. The particulars of building and opening of the Sunday School are missing, except a motion in July, 1899, that Mi- Theo. Easton’s estimate for building be accepted. No price was given in the record. The architect was Mr F. J. de Clere, Diocesan Architect. ' An interesting record at this time was a minute expressing the sympathy of Parishioners with Mrs James Coley, who had lost her husband. Mr Coley had performed many faithful services to the church. The sons of Mr Coley, Messrs Geo. and H. Coley, afterwards presented a bell to the Parish, and a brass tablet suitably inscribed, records the fact. In 1902 the Rev. 11. F. Wilson was appointed Vicar of the Parish. Amongst the names of those prominent up to this period, from 1876 to 1902, were Messrs A. S. Easton, E. Thynne, W. S. Stewart, W. Robinson, and later on, Messrs A. Fraser B. G. Gower and W. Barber. During Mr Wilson’s vicariate the following record was made: — “Burial of Maori in Church Yard.—As some doubt exists as to the Maori graves, Mr George Nye consented to make enquiries. Knowing the natives for over a good number of years, dating back to 1850 Mr Nye gave the results of his enquiry as follows: A young Christian Maori named Pationa, of very high rank, son oil a famous chief, Taratoa, was buried there. Afterwards a young child was) buried alongside. The Maoris stated that the bodies were not to be removed, and after the burial of the child the section was offered to Captain Francis Robinson by the Maoris on the conditions already stated above. Captain Robinson then presented the land to the church. The next event of note was the destruction of the Vicarage by fire at midnight on 21st June. No account could be given as to the origin of the lire. The loss was a heavy one to both Vicar and Parishioners. The rebuilding of the Vicarage was decided upon. The contract price of £350 was made with Mr Theo. Easton, and the work proceeded with. At this period, Mr C. F. England was working very hard for the purpose of obtaining an organ, and in January, 1906, the organ was ordered from England. Messrs Nicholson and Lord, of Walsall, built the organ at a cost of £l7O. It cost £7O more to erect and put in order. The organ to-day is one we may well’ be proud of, and the Parishioners owe a debt of gratitude to Mr England for his work. Such an organ to-day would cost at least £4OO to instal. In January, 1907, the Parish was divided; Rongotea, Oroua Bridge (Rangiotu), Glen Oroua and Bainesse were formed into a Parish. Foxton now included Moutoa and Oroua Downs. The Rev, H. F. Wilson moved to Rongotea. The Rev. G. Y. Woodward was appointed Vicar of Foxton. In 1914 the Rev. W. Raine was appointed Vicar. On his resignation, in June, 1920, the present Vicar, Rev. W. H. Walton, was appointed.