HONORING ARCHDEACON WALSH

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 66, 14 April 1909, Page 3

HONORING ARCHDEACON WALSH

SOCUL AT ST. JURY'S HAL/.

Hie \cnorablc Archdeacon WaMi who painted the who!,, of ,i„, sevcntc-n' hatchments now installed i„ St \li,v< Church, Now Plymouth, wa s entertained 1 L,t • If 1 I ' ,slllon .''« of the eiiurol, last i Slit in 1,. parish. lia |,. Tl „ n , w , "irattendancc, the chairman ,i !l!V ~-. , U. Kvans) explaining that owing to tinI wet weather ami tin- i,npossihi|i tv „ f advertising the social mam- „f those who would have liked to he present did not kl'OW the funetioi, was l( , ~;'" AlH.lop.os were received .Von, several of those mtorestcd j„ the hatchments, inhelHl'f^f 0 ':. T-"" &,I ' ti,in 5t, " ,,1U11 "" belmlt of the \ derails' Association |„ "s leuev he stated that the veterans Mt very grateful to Archdeacon Walsh for the very great trouble lie lin.l take,, to commemorate the service of their old regiments and their comrades. \„ apology was also received from the "Uav»r (Mr. Tiscl.l. 'file chairman spoke with very warm gratitude of the lit howhich the Archdeacon had imposed on himself m the preparation of*the hatchments, which had made the church unique perhaps in the world. lhe church itself was most beautiful, and the appearance of its walls had been greatly enhanced hv the splendid works of art which the Archdeacon, in his brief moments of respite from arduous parochial work and the supervision of a very wide, and difficult archdeaconry, had created. (Applause). He had no ließtation in saying that the work which {the Archdeacon had done would be remembered with gratitude long after the survivors of the regiment commemorated had passed away. (Applause.) Ifr. E. B. Kingdonl on behalf of the vestry, read the following address:— "To the Ven.. Arehdeaon Walsh Venerable and Dear Sir—l have great pleasure in informing vo.. that at a meeting of the vestry'of St,' Mary's [ Parish, held on Monday, 12th inet., the following resolution was passed: • Thai the thanks of this vestry, on beta II of the parishioners of St.' Marv's Parish, be conveyed to the Ven. Arch deacon Walsh, for the interest and generosity displayed by him in design ing and painting the series of beautiful memorial hatchments to the various branches of the British Army and Kivy who served during the Tarn naki wars 1800-70.' These memorials numbering seventeen, have not only been the means of giving additiona beauty to the interior of the church, but have added greatly to its historic interest, visitors from all parts of tin Dominion and outside testifying tc this. Your first effort in this direc tion, made at the request of the lati Captain Rowan, to perpetuate tlie me mory of his old regiment, the 43rc Light Infantry, was unveiled without ceremony in the early seventies. Thei followed the one of the 65th liegiment dedicated by the late Primate, Bisho) Cowie; and after, at varying intervals have been unveiled and dedicated witl striking ceremony the memorials t< H.M.S. Niger, the Royal Artillery Royal Engineers, Royal Marines, Ta ranaki Militia and Volunteers, and tin following regiments of the line: 12t'n 14th, 18tii, 40th, 50th, 57th, 58th, 08th and 70tli, and one to our Nativi allies, the whole forming a unique se of memorials to the various arms tak ing part in the above-mentioned war It also gives us -groat pleasure ti know that you have been able to tak' part in the final unveiling ceremony and we sincerely trust that we s'.lal often have the pleasure of seeing yoi in our midst, and hearing you fron the pulpit of St, Mary's in the future. Signed by f. G. Evans, chairman; Ed ward B. Kyngdon and Stephen tusii

churchwardens. Mr. W. H. Skinner detailed the interesting history of the hatchments, one movement beginning as long ago as 1878. The Archdeacon promised that if he (the speaker) would procure all the (details he (the Archdeacon) would prepare the hatchments. (Applause.) Mr. Skinner had written to the various regiments and got full details of the colours .of the corps as they were at the time

of the war,, and the Archdeacon had then entered on the great work now so splendidly completed. He could say that no church that he knew contained so many hatchments, and it certainly was unique in Australasia. Mr. Skinner also made allusion to the keen interest that Lord Ranfurly had taken in the hatchments, to show that the desire thus to preserve the memory of the forces was not merely local.

Mr. Skinner then called upon Mrs. Evans (wife of the vicar) to present to the Archdeacon the valuable Maori curio (a magnificent tiki) which had been subscribed for by those who were grateful for the Arhcdcaone's work. Mrs. Evans did so amidst prolonged applause.

Mr. Dockrill added his praise to the Archdeacon for the great work lie had done, and pointed out that the present Governor took a warm interest in the work. He recalled how Lady Plunkct had visited the church and had eulogised the efforts made to commemorate, the services rendered by the Imperial forces. (Applause.) The Archdeacon, on rising to reply, was received with prolonged and loud applause. In a very interesting and humorous speech he recalled how he had first landed in a surf boat at New Plymouth as a "pale young curate" (the paleness being probably tine to tne rough passage!). He had the warmest recollections of the welcome he had received from the veteran settlers of that jay, and he remembered the friends of Mb early days, especially Archdeacon JGovett, with "feelings of deepest pleasure and gratitude. It had been £. labour of Jove with iiiiu to enter upon the work of commemorating ttie men who had laid dawn and hazarded their lives for the Empire. He was a man of, P ea ce, and he worked for peace; but when men in the, cause of the nation, in pursuance off their duty and for the protection of human life, endangered or gave up their own lives, it was but right that they should give them all the honour thev could. It was a fitting thing that they should thus enduringly preserve the memory of the men who had acted so bravely as the defenders of the settlers. (Applause.) As to the material of the hatchments bases (which Mr. .Skinner had said was a cause of concern to Lord Kanfurly. who wanted the memorials to be everlasting), he could soy there was no need of concern—it was as good as could lie wished.. The first hatchment had been made under his supervision of the best seasoned kauri, but the second, not supervised by him, had been formed of unseasoned kauri. This had warped slightly, but so immaterially as to be almost unobservant. He had next tried Califoniian redwood, which was good, but, from his point of view, unsuitable, because it showed the grain. Four hundred and ninety-nine out of five hundred would not 'notice the difference, however. (Laughter.) He had finally decided to use a material "made in Germany"— a composition known as " conipo. board.This was for its purpose perfection, and it could not warp nor be attacked by the borer, nor suffer any of the ills of wood. The Archdeacon took occasion to thank the local Press for its sup-" port and cordial sympathy in the efforts made to popularise the movement. The ceremonies connected with the unveiling of the hatchments had been very faitlifnllv and admirably reported, and those interested were very grateful. Concluding, he said that he was very grateful for the generous present made to him—nothing he might have received could have given him greater pleasure than this valuable curio. The Archdeacon's excellent reply was received with much warm approbation. Musical contributions to the programme were made by Missis Arthur and Teuton and Messrs Rcnaud and If. linker. An enjoyable evening was concluded with the National Anthem.