OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 September 1941, Page 4

OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

LOCAL CHURCH HISTORY (To the Editor.) Sir. —The Patronal Festival of St. Matthew’s Church tomorrow presents an opportunity of briefly recalling to mind the worthies among its pioneer clergy who blazed the trail, as it were, to its present outstanding importance in community life. First of four churches in the Wairarapa district Apostolically named by the late Rev. Amos Knell. St. Matthew’s has in all other respects maintained leadership as well. Bishop Selwyn not only chose the Rev. William Ronaldson to act as Anglican Missioner to the Maori, ns well as European pioneers of Wairarapa. but baptised two of its first-won converts as well, in the persons of infants William Watcrson (of Greytown) and Thomas Adams (of Te Ore Ore), on June 6 and 7 respectively, 1856. As one searches, as I have been privileged to do by its present Vicar (the Ven. Archdeacon Rich), the pages of names of Wairarapa district children baptised, as future adherents of the Anglican faith, which follow these two historically named, and in their thousands before coming to beyond the half-century mark, it seemed but proper to compile the same in chronological order with a view to such compilation eventually finding its way into the archives of the new Cathedral at Wellington. The work of the late Revs. William Ronaldson and Amos Knell, among the pioneer settlers and Maori people ol Wairarapa alone should afford some young generation cleric for preference inspiration for a volume of autobiographical reminiscences, redolent with all the adventures of wilderness-tra-verse and as much coveted by young New Zealanders as those so fairly plentiful and of lesser local interest, on library shelves today. The real pioneer section of Anglican history in the Wairarapa may be said to have been brought to its long close when the Rev. J. F. Teakle was farewelled by members of St. Matthew's congregation at the end of the year 1880, after which year the new era of restricted parochial ministrations —to meet increasing local population needs—-took its proper place. Hoping space may again be afforded me shortly for a further epitome of a similar kind, — I am, etc., N.J.B. Masterton, September 19.