St. Mary's Sunday School.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7836, 31 May 1905, Page 3

St. Mary's Sunday School.

\.N iMTßrsu\o iiriKospiiCT. Since St Man s iunda\ bthool »«'■ hist o>l thiishel in 1811 h\ Mrs Hollaid such a gitut change has taken place in New Plymouth and the adjoining pßiccs that even those who are intimately acquainted 'with the growth of the church work in this district may be excused from bearing in miml the.various people, anil incidents connected with the school (rOiif that time until the present. Moreover the'- rapid, expansion of the low.\ (luring the last decade, and the influx of so new ,resident!! iijcco.uii't-s for the tacit, that aniongsUlhose who now form the congregation of St. Mary's cojnjKU'ativcly few!Sha\o ' the faintest idea of the grandJ-work done in the past by that devoted hand of teachers whose services deserve to be l.cld iff remembrance. It was therefore ■ a very happy thought which I rompted' Mr W. 11. Skinner to give .\ history of the school to the large gathering of teachers and others int.'restcrl in church.work, at St. Mary's Hall on Monday night, nssjmbled. to bid him an official farewell on h'is resigning the •Superinlcndeatcy of the Sunday School. As already stated, the school w'as' established in 1844, and according to Mi.iS Janet Allen, one of the first icJichcrs, it was held' on Mt. Eliot,

, though" Mrs Leath'am, senior, says it was opened and continued in the Hospital buildings depot, below the Kawau Pa, abutting, on the present site of the septic tank; The first superintendent was Mr Marchant, a Quaker and a schoolmaster, and ho had for assistants Miss Wright (a sister of Mrs Holland, and subsequently married-to thoßev. Thatcher, the architect or-St. Mary's Church), Miss Allen, Miss Newland (Mrs Lcalham senior), and for a • time Miss Patton (Miss Watson). The work was carried on in the Hospital building until the original part of the present school was jwilt and opened in 1845 or 1846. This is now the central room of the present schools, and, said Mr Skinner, around its walls can now plainly be seen the marks left by well oiled heads of hair as they rested, probacy in peaceful slumber, overcome by the heat of a summer Sunday afteitnoon in the close and ill-ventilated room'. Both morning and afternoon school was held from the connnenctfment, nod this has been continued to the present day, but the old custom of marching the scholars to church after the morning service had fallen into disuse long before Mr Skinner took charge of, the. school in 1888, being probably duo to fche complete change in the habits of the wholo settlement caused -by the Maori war. The annual school tear, were, in the

very early days, invariably Held in the parsonage grounds at Te Honui, Mr and Mrs Bol'land extending their hospitality to all connected with the school. Subsequontlly it was at Brooklands, then in possession of Mr George. Cutfield, that the annual gatherings were held. While on this subject Mr Skinner the facjt that the first Sunday-school tea held in New Plymouth was organised by the Wesleyan ;Cqmmittee in 184,2, being) hsl.d-fc'-life.'raupo chapel that stood in; Brougham Street opposite to the present, barracks of the Salvation Army. As' contrast to the profusion of. cakes, etc.,.,.prdwded for consumption at' these gatherings at the-present'day, it is interesting to learn that '''butter, cakes, bun's and a small n'llowar.c? of plain c.aWo, together with tea, biit, no miik ~ the whole settlement at only) .boasting ,i>f. one goat— constituted tho feast a* provided by Mr Black. It is said that some of the visitors pocketed most liberally the West Indian loaf sugar that .was meant for sweetening the tea. it,must be remembered, however, that luxuries were rare •in .New Plymouth in those days, so there was some excuse, if no Justificaition, for the "sugar sifting."- Butl it is '■ time to return to Sfa, Mary's. School. Tho superintendents who succeeded Mi- Merchant were :—Sir -Harry Atkinson, Messrs Reeling, Northcroft, Ellis, Thorns, Caldwell, and W. H>. Skinner, the latter occupying the post for rather less than a third of the period of the school's existence. Referring to the teachers, Mr Skinner said :—''The "teachers of r>o years ago were, amongst others, Mis Devenish, Mrs 1,. H. Hnmmertqn, Airs Marshall, Mis Cooper, Mrs Rorigersori',' Mr John Mediant), Mr Savage, and Mr 11. A. Atkinson. Later we

find' Misses 10. and G. Kyngdon, Mrs Govc'.t, Mr Golding, Mr R. C. Hughes, Mr 11. Medland, Misses Parris (2) (Mis Moi-shead and Mrs 11.. 11. Richmond), Misses Golding (2), Miss Northcroft (Mrs Chu£. Brown)|„ Mrs Leach, Mrs Wm. Messenger, Misses Brown (A) (Mesdames Tomfinson, Russell, Slandish, "and McKellar), | Mrs Hy. Drown, Mrs George George, Mrs Fookes, Mr C. W. Govett, Miss Webster (Mis Stapp), with her wonderful voice for leading the children in their hymns'. Miss Hunter, of saintly memory, whose teaching and Work in the school • has left a greater impression than any other single worker that we can recall. Coming down to our time, the list is a long one, but one cannot but look back with pleasure in having been associated in the work with such godly helpers as tho.laic Mrs Bosworth, and jny sister, both of whom may bo said to have died in harness. The former laid well the foundations of the work now developing so strongly at Fitzroy, under the guidance of Miss

Hoswortih, Another most faithful worker—my adviser and friend in my early days of superintendcmcy—l found in Mrs Phillips. Her whole interest, Sundays and week days, was centred in the well-being of the school, during the week preparing the rooms to he meet and lit for the work of the Sunday. Mrs Pcvenish was, I believe, the longest in harness of all the many teachers connected with the school since its foundation. Mr (J. F. Hobinson gave his hard won Sunday's rest ungrudgingly. My wife, during the early years of my ollice, gave her best energies towards raising the funds for the completion of the new room, and it was through her efforts that we were enabled to do this, and also to pay off the original debt on the school. I have purposely avoided mentioning Ihc present teachers, but knowing as I do the inner working of the school, there are ccrtui,n names amongst tho teachers that 1 cannot pass over Mrs Evans, with her long and loving service,.; Miss Devenish, that omnivorous church worker ; anil Mrs Dockrill, who is always willing to take on nc\# responsibilities, the AdjutantGeneral, the organiser of all extraneous school work, a host in herself where organisation and hard work are required. But above all I feel the soverance of the work most keenly as regards- my faithful co-worker and close friend, Mr Stanley Sh a \v. No cloud ihns ever aniscn between us in ■the long years we have been associated together in this school. Surely no superintendent ever had a more faithful deputy and adviser than 1 have had during my term of management of St. Mary's Sunday School.