Plea to Preserve Selwyn Churches

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 189, 31 October 1927, Page 1

Plea to Preserve Selwyn Churches

HOWICK’S CELEBRATION CHURCH’S 80TH BIRTHDAY “To destroy these churches, or so alter them that the original designs of Bishop Selwyn, their founder, would in any way be departed from, would be a thousand pities!’* Addressing the Howick c ogre gat ion in its historic church of All faints at yesterday mornings service Canon Grant- Cowe n appealed for the preservation of the Selwyn churches in the vicinity of Auckland. Tribute was also paid to Bishop Selwyn, first Bishop of New Zealand, their founder, who had planted the seeds of Christianity at Howick. by the preacher, and who was responsible for the erection of the church 80 years ago. Canon Mason, the vicar of All Saints, one of the few links with the pioneer bishop, whom he met the year before his death at Lichfield, was also present. The preacher at the evening service was Archdeacon Simkin. chaplain to the Archbishop, Dr. Averill. A commemoration service will be conducted to-morrow, All Saints’ Day, by the Archbishop. There will also be a procession of clergy. A public meeting will be held in the Howick Hall in the afternoon. Thursday and Friday will be devoted to a special fair in aid of parish funds. ROMAN CATHOLICS CELEBRATE Howick Roman Catholics are likewise celebrating the 80th anniversary of the erection of their church. The Bishop of Auckland, Dr. Cleary, will preside at a Requiem Mass In the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, on All Souls’ Day, Wednesday. Erected in 1847. All Saints is still in a well-preserved condition. Bishop Selwyn himself carried part of the material from the beach to the site. The framework of this quaint church was built in the yard of St. John's College. West Tamaki, and was transhipped in the vessels Undine and Marian, which belonged to the college. The distinction of being the first building erected in Howick, or Owairoa, as the settlement was known in those days, belongs tc AH Saints. At that time there were no parishioners in the district. The arrival of military settlors by the Minerva, found the church awaiting them. OLD MURDER RECALLED Prominent in the churchyard is a memorial to the Trust brothers, who were killed at Whitford by the Maoris in 1868. Mr. Ambrose Trust, of Howick. another brother, was severely wounded and showed great courage in his escape to Howick. The school building next the church was erected in 184 S, at a cost of £32 13s Bd. The subscription list still shows the sums cortributed by the rank and file. There are two residents of Howick still living who were at St. John’s College during the period that Howick was founded. Mrs. Rhoda White, who is in her 90th year, was visited by Bishop Selwyn in the house in which she still resides. Mr. Andrew is still farming his property at Howick. He was brought up at the college until he was 11 years old. FIRST WHITE CHILD Mr. W. Bailey, who was the first' white child born in the settlement, yas also the first infant to be baptised in All Saints Church. He now resides at Mount Eden. A memorial, in the form of a lych gate, is shortly to be erected in the h 4 - toric cemetery, which is the resting place of many veterans, including one who saw service at Waterloo.