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President's Report - Issue 28, June 2004Newsletter of the Christ Church Preservation Society (Inc.)PO Box 28-098 Wellington Upcoming EventsCarol Service Wednesday 8 December, 7.30 pm President's ReportHappy 150th Anniversary to us. And it was a good one too. I know the committee enjoyed the weekend - particularly the Sunday - and hopefully all those that attended did too. Certainly from all the reports we received it was a great success and your committee took great pleasure in watching the various groups of families heading off to the graves of their respective ancestors to have photographs taken, many with relations they had not met till that day. Re-Enactment at Petone ForeshoreDespite the dreadful weather on the Saturday, or perhaps because of it, the re-enactment was highly memorable. Those who went on the ship say it was an event they will not forget in a hurry! Luckily all made it safely ashore to be greeted by local Maori and welcomed by Hutt City's Mayor John Terris. We are most grateful to the Mayor for initiating the landing arrangements and for Hutt City's funding support. This set the stage for a great weekend. Steam Train and Transport Parade Many from the re-enactment joined the parade of 150 Years of Transport from Petone to Christ Church. The Vintage Car club was extremely supportive of this parade. Others came to the festivities on the Saturday on one of the two return steam train trips from Wellington to the church. Getting the steam train on track was not only expensive but a huge amount of work and we are very appreciative of committee member Roy Savage for providing this novel attraction ? thanks Roy. Antique Road Show The audio visual system in the marquee was a real winner. With a little imagination one could think the weekly Saturday night TV programme was being held at Christ Church! Certainly the four highly competent appraisers made it possible for all present to hear what was being said about the many items which were brought to the Road Show. Our thanks to Diana Fulton, Joy Dommett, Peter Wedde and Jane Bellhouse for providing such excellent appraisals and for the long time they spent in the marquee - particularly in such adverse weather conditions. Sunday Service The weather on Saturday was the worst we could imagine but it smiled on us the following day. To be perfectly honest I doubt the Sunday could have gone off better than it did. The sun shone on us and the service, with the Right Reverend Dr Thomas J. Brown, Bishop of Wellington as officiate and the Governor General Dame Silvia Cartwright in attendance, was just lovely. The Bishop is extremely supportive of Christ Church and it was an honour to have him and Dame Silvia attend. As ever we greatly appreciate the help and support Archdeacon Judy Hardie provides ? particularly for this noteworthy service. It was wonderful to see so many members. The lunch after the service was a time to catch up with long lost, or never met, relations and resembled a series of family reunions. Christ Church looked beautiful. The Lower Hutt Floral Art Group excelled themselves. They have always done a wonderful job decorating the church but for the 150th they provided an absolute celebration of flowers. In fact it was so beautiful the Governor General mentioned to me, as we entered the church, that she felt like a bride again! The group even decorated the porch and we do appreciate their time and effort. Website This is a great resource and we are visited regularly. The website provides the potential for regional branches of the Christ Church Preservation Society to be set up and keep in contact with the main branch. The idea of an Auckland or Wairarapa branch being set up has been mentioned a few times and if anyone was interested in doing this in their area please contact me. Video / DVD We are currently looking into the cost of having the highlights of the anniversary weekend put onto a DVD or video. Anyone interested should let us know as this would help to work out the cost of production. Membership Interest in joining the Society has increased since the celebrations. It has been most satisfying to note the large numbers who have taken up life membership at the specially capped price of $150 for the 150th year. A special life membership certificate is sent to every life member. This offer will be available for the rest of 2004 so if anyone is considering life membership, please do so soon. Most of our new members have become life members. Annual membership is now due and we would appreciate a prompt response to the subscription notice. If anyone knows of family who are not members please let them know about the Society or send us their contact details and we will write to them alerting them to the benefits we can offer. Membership subscriptions, and fees received from weddings held at Christ Church, are the basis of our income which is used for the upkeep of the church and grounds. Libby Miles The exciting events of this anniversary year were sadly marred by the death of our Secretary, Libby Miles, shortly after Christmas. Libby had been Secretary since 1997 and was a huge support to me, an enthusiastic and efficient Secretary and great fun to work with. She was very dedicated to Christ Church and keen to raise awareness of it. Libby had organised so many services in Christ Church and I was saddened she was not with us for the celebrations and personally missed her greatly at the service. Our condolences go to her husband Nick and their three daughters and to her sister Mary Daysh who is on the committee. Libby instigated the laying of a new carpet in the church last year and was delighted with the result as I am sure are most of you. The deep red colour has warmed the building. Grounds Preparing for the sesquicentennial has been the focus of the committee for the past couple of years. Apart from registrations, event planning and funding applications we put a great deal of time and effort into making sure the church and its grounds were looking their best for the celebrations. Under the supervision of Committee member Mary Stevens, the workers doing community work for the Department of Corrections have worked tirelessly each week to clear and beautify the grounds. They worked most days in the period leading up to the celebrations and have taken great pride in transforming the grounds. A rose and perennial border was established inside the stone wall at the entrance. Other roses have been planted among the grave sites and young natives around the boundary to fill the gaps as the older trees grow taller. Beds of azaleas near the porch are coming into flower and camellias have been planted by the new northern fence. The Brown family generously donated the timber for this fence. We are most grateful for the support of Living Earth Limited, who donated seven cubic metres of biodegradable, non-human waste compost in the middle of last year and the same amount again shortly before Christmas. Needless to say all the plants have thrived. Matthews Nursery was most generous with the discount they gave on the many roses Maryplanted. A watering system was also installed for the long summer months. Another exciting project Mary managed with supervisor Tua and the community workers from the Department of Corrections, was the erection of a stone wall on the southern boundary of the Church near the railway line. Stones for this came form the graves which over the past 150 years had deteriorated or been damaged. TransRail generously erected a wire fence behind the trees on the western boundary and Mary has planted hydrangeas on our side of this fence. Hopefully this will stop people wandering onto the train tracks. Bob!=s Bins have continuously provided skips for the tidy up for the celebrations and we are very appreciative of their on-going support. The grounds are a real tribute to the enormous amount of time and planning Mary has put in and with the dedicated help from Corrections Department I feel this area is now a haven of peace of tranquillity. A year ago we extended the original path back towards the railway line and installed a garden seat at the end of the path. Committee member Roy Savage provided flood lighting for the trees along this path and installed lamp posts at the rear of the graveyard. Lottery Grants Board provided financial assistance and many people now visit in the evenings when the grounds look just magical. Graves With funding support from the New Zealand Community Trust the Society has repaired and tidied all the damaged headstones and graves It is a great relief to have these historical grave stones looking their best. Street Signs This has been an exciting project culminating in several streets, named after the settlers, having new signs put up ? naming the settlers and the year of their arrival. With funding from Hutt City Heritage Advisory Group we have been able to draw attention to the original settler families in area. Getting to Christ Church was often a challenge. Nestled close to the hills, amongst industrial buildings, the Church has often been overlooked as many people, unfamiliar with the area, had difficulty finding it. For the celebrations Transit NZ kindly erected two large brown signs on Western Hutt Road indicating where to turn off for Œhistoric Christ Church!=. Hutt City followed the trail to the church with signs at the Daysh Street and High Street intersection, on High Street by the Wingate Bridge, on Eastern Hutt Road and opposite the Church. These signs have made it so much easier to find the church. Thanks to Transit NZ and Hutt City. Guardian of the Valley - The Story of Wellington's Oldest Church Written by Miles Erwin and edited by Malcolm McKinnon the Society published a comprehensive history of Christ Church - which was successfully launched in January at a function jointly hosted with, and at, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. The setting was particularly apt as the fight to save Christ Church on its original site was the catalyst for the establishment of the NZHPT 50 years ago. Working with the Trust was a pleasure and we greatly appreciate and enjoy their support. Publisher Roger Steele did an excellent job and this hard cover book has sold very well. The Guardian of the Valley has received some very good reviews, as well as great feed back from members. The most recent review was by Andrew Leach in the Listener (May 22 - 28 page 64). The book has been very popular and there are only about 30 books unsold so if any members still want a copy I suggest you order one quickly. Congratulations to Miles for an excellent book. However, he could not have written it without the photographs and information so many of you provided. Brochure We printed a very attractive new brochure for the celebrations and hope it will encourage people to consider Christ Church as a wedding venue. If members know of anyone planning a wedding, please mention the church as a venue. Ashes Wall We are frequently asked by Society members if they can purchase an ashes plot at the church. Until now we have had virtually no space left and it is not pleasant to turn people away. In an effort to oblige, and also to raise some extra money, we are erecting a stone wall on the southern boundary near Eastern Hutt Road. If the demand is great we can extend this and it will provide a pleasant boundary wall ? similar in design to the present stone wall beside the lych-gate. My thanks go to Ex-president Guy Protheroe, who is in charge of this project. We have not finalised the price but if anyone would like to purchase an ashes plot we would require a written application. Funding We thank the following funding organisations and sponsors who so generously contributed to the celebrations. Pub Charity The Lion Foundation New Zealand Lottery Grants Board The Quinn's Post Charitable Trust Community Grants Foundation (Inc.) New Zealand Community Trust Hutt City Council Hutt City Heritage Advisory Group Hutt City Mayor John Terris Lower Hutt Floral Art Group The Department of Corrections Bob's Bins Living Earth Limited Greater Wellington - The Regional Council The Goods Shed Garden Supplies Matthews Roses Moore Wilson & Co Limited Committee It has been my great pleasure to be President of Christ Church Preservation Society (Inc.) during this eventful and important year. In my endeavours I have been very fortunate in having a hugely enthusiastic and supportive committee and my thanks go to them for all we have achieved. Janice Henson managed all the registrations for the Anniversary Celebrations. This was a massive exercise which she fulfilled with enthusiasm and efficiency. Her work enabled the celebrations to be held in a smooth and organised manner - a great effort. After Libby Miles' death we employed Margaret Carruthers to help with secretarial work, banking and registration. She was a tower of strength and a joy to work with. I look forward to seeing many new members at the AGM to be held at the Church on Wednesday 30 June at 7.00pm. We welcome new members to the committee so please consider joining us - new blood would be great and the work will not be onerous now the celebrations are behind us. Anne Erwin President Copyright © Christ Church ~ Taita | Site by baby-e
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