A Century of Light by H. Harris Wesley Historical Society (NZ)
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A Century of Light by H. Harris Wesley Historical Society (NZ) Publication #24(1&2) Page 1 A Century of Light by H. Harris Thames Methodist Church and Centre, 11.30am, Sunday, 3rd September, 1967 James Buller The minister who took up his appointment in 1870 as superintendent of the newly constituted Thames Circuit was a remarkable man. His home was at the parsonage at Hape Creek, to which a second storey was added to acccommodate his large family. This building stands today on the corner of Hape Road and The Terrace. James Buller was born at Helston, Cornwall, in December 1812 and died at St. Albans, November 6th, 1884. At an early age he was converted to God, and shortly after his conversion was admitted as a local preacher. With a loan of £80 he left for Sydney in 1835. He and his young wife, Jane, sailed in the "Platina". In "hot dusty" Port Jackson he often saw the prisoners clanking along in their chains to their daily work, with armed escort. Here no suitable employment could be found for him, so he became tutor for two years to the Rev. Nathaniel Turner's large family. Turner was leader of the New Zealand Wesleyan Mission, and the two families sailed for Hokianga Harbour. There were a church and a school-house at the mission station and Buller was given a raupo house. He was attracted to Maori work and learned the language by the end of the year, when he preached his first sermon in Maori. Wesley Historical Society (NZ) Publication #24(1&2) Page 2 A Century of Light by H. Harris REV. JAMES BULLER He was received as a probationer for the ministry and for eighteen years laboured as a missionary, chiefly among the Maoris of the Kaipara District. He was at first an assistant missionary receiving £20 per annum for mission work and tutorial labours, and with it went many interesting experiences. He met Samuel Marsden on his last visit and also "a strange character, Baron de Thierry, who claimed 40,000 acres". One day he spent two hours amid a Maori battle of revenge, "with bullets flying", trying unsuccessfully to bring peace. He took charge of his own mission stations at Newark, Hokianga and Tangiteroria. Although so much of his life was spent in remote places, he never lost interest in events, in and outside the colony. Frequently he made long journeys through other parts of the country, to promote the welfare of the entire native race. One of these trips took him by foot and canoe from the North to Wellington to procure land for church work. There he preached to the people of the first immigrant ship, "Aurora". Back in the North he actually saw the flag-pole fall in Kororareka. "I was crossing the Bay in a boat when the flag-pole fell, prelude to eight months' turmoil and bloodshed," he said. He was ordained as a minister of the Wesleyan Connexion in 1844, and transferred to the European work in 1854. The following year he went to Wellington. The church at Wesley Historical Society (NZ) Publication #24(1&2) Page 3 A Century of Light by H. Harris Manners Street was cleared of debt and in 1859 galleries were installed. Beside the outlying districts there were six native churches, so he preached twice in Maori and twice in English each Sun-day. When sent to Canterbury, he effectively organised church work in Invercargill and Timaru. He also visited the West Coast goldfields, preaching, and organising a Church Building Committee. He was elected President of the Australasian Confer-ence in 1864, and eleven years later was called upon to fill the chair of the second New Zealand Conference. From the post of Superintendent of the Auckland Circuit he became Superintendent of the new Thames Circuit and eventually spent three years there. The Rev. W. J. Williams said, "He was one of the best all-round men that ever adorned the ranks of the New Zealand Ministry." He also paid tribute to his "example of Christian courtesy, large-heartedness, courage and faithfulness in standing up for what he believed to be right." It was said that his preaching was always clear and vigorous, frequently eloquent and impressive. James Buller spent five years in England, when he wrote his book, FORTY YEARS IN NEW ZEALAND. Later he took over St. Albans Circuit again when John Richards, its minister, was drowned, and there completed forty years of outstanding-work for the Methodist Church. Through The Years The story of the Methodist Church on the Thames is a stirring one of evangelism, enterprise, re-adjustment and co-operation. On 1st August 1867 the Thames Goldfield was opened by proclamation. The only entry to the area then was by sea, but within a short time upwards of twenty thousand people had taken up residence. Only a few months passed before both branches of Methodism, Wesleyan and Primitive, had founded causes, but it is doubtful which first preached the Gospel in the new town. Tents, shanties and houses soon rubbed shoulders with business premises two stories high. Men from every walk of life and many countries tramped down the wharves with high hopes. They came from the southern goldfields, California, Cornwall and Australia. This goldfield was very rich and numerous fortunes were speedily made. In the short space of one month, the Caledonian Mine alone took out one ton of gold. Before goldmining ceased altogether, almost eight million sterling had been won from the rich earth. Wesley Historical Society (NZ) Publication #24(1&2) Page 4 A Century of Light by H. Harris Only three years after the gold discovery, two towns, Grahamstown and Shortland, grew up only a mile apart. The first was called after Mr. Robert Graham, a land-owner of that time and the second after the English name of the Maori chief, who had taken the name of the brother of Acting-Governor Shortland. The two towns were joined by a road known as Pollen Street. Methodism flourished in both areas in spite of the disadvantages of a fluctuating population. The Primitive Methodists worshipped in Mackay Street and the Wesleyans at Tararu Road (earlier known as Shellback), Grahamstown and Shortland. Later, in 1885 when the population began to decline, the Wesleyans closed three churches, worshipping together at a central one in Pollen Street. In 1913, union of the Primitive and the Wesleyan Methodists took place, with services at Pollen Street and later, at the present site in Mackay Street. Enterprise In Early Days Particularly in the first thirty years the Church was very much alive to the needs of the people. Wherever the opportunity occurred, evangelical work began. Open-air meetings and other special gatherings were held. Although the population shifted and services had to cease in some places, meetings would begin somewhere else. Homes were used for services, such as Mr. Amy's cottage at Totara and Mr. Coombe's residence at Kauaeranga Valley, where Brother Pascoe preached in 1886. Other places of worship, Kiri Kiri Sawmill, and Hauraki Mills at Kopu, remind us of the timber industry. Moanataiari Creek, Waiotahi Creek, Punga Flat, Whakatete, Waiomu and Driving Creek (the place at Coromandel where gold was first found by C. Ring in 1852) received the help of Methodism. Outlying districts were also presented with the Gospel-Eureka (in Kurunui Valley), Kaponga, Wharepoa and Omahu. Preachers were sent to Matatoki, Kopu, Kerepehi, Pipiroa and Puriri, which is still within the Thames Circuit with its own church, and before the Upper Thames Circuit was formed, they went as far as Ohinemuri, Paeroa, Te Aroha, Waiorongomai and Katikati. As early as 1870 services were held at Coromandel, where mining was also being carried on. They were at first led by local preachers sent from Thames. Often these men travelled through the night to keep their appointments, scrambling among boulders along the beach, dodging the tides and forcing their way through the tangle of bush that grew down to the water's edge. In 1871 a church to seat 80 people, costing £100 was opened free of debt, on a site given by Mr. C. McColl. A junior resident minister was appointed, so a cottage, costing the modest sum of £90 was erected for him on a site given by Mr. R. Hobbs. It Wesley Historical Society (NZ) Publication #24(1&2) Page 5 A Century of Light by H. Harris was furnished free of charge to the circuit. There is also a record that at the time two allotments, one on each side of the minister's house, were purchased. A year later the church had to be enlarged. THE PARSONAGE IN THE TERRACE, ABOUT 1870. At last one minister enjoyed his proximity to the mines. Rev. J. Pinfold was so interested in geology, he insisted in taking five large cases of specimens wherever he went—much to his wife's dismay. In 1875 Coromandel was made a separate circuit. It was 1940 before services took place at Thornton's Bay Turua and Puru. Stipends and Expenses It is interesting to note that in 1870 the Minister's stipend was £250 a year. If he had to buy his own saddle it would have cost him only three pounds. Honey was ninepence a pound and he would have had to pay from 1/9 to three shillings per pound for Indian and China teas. Mr. W. Gribble who advertised "Great Bargains" in 1881 was asking sevenpence a dozen for plaid matches, 1/- for one pound of paraffin candles, eight- pence per pound for cornflour, tenpence a tin for egg-powder and only sixpence for a cup and saucer of Blue Spray china.