FOREWORD The following pages give to us the story of Methodism in Waimate over the past 100 years. From its pages we are reminded of many people who have given leadership in their respective spheres. We are also mindful of the number of people whose names are not mentioned, people who through their loyalty and devotion have enriched the fellowship, and without whom there would be no history to write. This history is dedicated to all those who in the past have worshipped and served Jesus Christ through the fellowship of the Waimate Methodist Church. Our thanks are due to the Rev. J. Haslam for the time and care he has devoted to the preparation of this history. This centennial year is a time when we remember the heritage that has been given to us, and it is a challenge to accept the opportunities of the future. I. J. CLUCAS. September, 1963. IN THE BEGINNING. The beginnings of Methodism in Waimate can be traced back to the year 1863 with the arrival and settlement in the town of Messrs John and George Manchester, accredited local preachers from the Grantham Circuit in England. They were accompanied by Mr and Mrs S. W. Goldsmith. On reaching Timaru in the ship Strathallan in January. 1859, the Manchester Brothers reported themselves to Rev. John Aldred from whom they received their quarterly ticket of membership. Unable to secure employment in Timaru they went to the Hunter Hill Station and worked there for four years. In the last year of their stay at the Station, Mr and Mrs S. W. Goldsmith arrived there. Both were then unconverted, but being fond of singing they united with the Manchester Brothers for the purpose, and by their prayer and example were led to Christ. In 1863 the three men removed to Waimate and entered into business as the trading firm of Manchester Brothers & Goldsmith. Though keen men of business, they were likewise fervent in spirit, and soon set to work to establish a Methodist society. In June, 1863, the three partners went to Timaru to hear the Rev James Buller, then chairman of the extensive Canterbury district. He visited Waimate and appointed Mr John Manchester a class leader. The original members of the class were John, George and William Manchester, S. W. and Mrs Goldsmith, W. Day, B. and M. Tregoning and J. W. Freeman. Others were added during the following year. Other classes were formed under the leadership of George Manchester and S. W. Goldsmith. Mr Goldsmith’s class was soon handed over to Mrs Pain, and for many years the three classes met regularly. Very soon public services were started, the first sermon being preached by John Manchester who took as his text Isaiah 3, verses 11 and 12. In 1865 the Rev. J. B. Richardson was appointed to the Timaru circuit. Soon after his arrival he found his way to Waimate, and afterwards paid regular visits. Waimate was then a small town of less than 300 inhabitants, and among them Mr Richardson discovered a number of families who had Methodist connections in England, several of them being of Cornish extraction. A church site was given, and a small building, 25 feet by 18 feet, was erected at a cost of £110. The opening service was conducted by the Rev. Wm. Cannell, then stationed at Oamaru. Into this tiny structure the worshippers were called to service by a bell. The original trustees were Samuel W. Goldsmith, Bennet Tregoning, Benjamin Fox, Richard Champion, Henry Butcher, Joseph Maberley, Robert Stevenson and John Blackmore. The name of George Manchester appears from the beginning as church steward and trust secretary, though his election as a trustee is dated October 8th, 1870, when George H. Graham, John Opie and John Manchester also became trustees. Soon after the little church was opened, a Sunday School was started, Mr S. W. Goldsmith being the first superintendent, a position he held to within a year of the end of his life in 1895. For the first ten years the congregation had to depend upon a precentor to lead the singing, and this office usually fell upon Mr Goldsmith. From what can be gathered from the old minutes the congregational singing of those days left much to be desired. Meanwhile, Mr Goldsmith was asked to organise a singing class (with a view to improving the singing in connection with our services in Waimate). At the same time Mr George Manchester was asked to assist Bro. Goldsmith by allowing Miss Pain to practice on his harmonium, and if possible, that the harmonium be used in the church. Misunderstandings arose, and the singing class failed to materialise. The trustees then appointed John Opie and S. W. Goldsmith to take steps to organise a singing class (with a view to improving the congregational singing as much as possible, and to practice with Miss Pain at the harmonium at least once a week to prepare for the Sabbath services). ENLARGEMENT During the ministry of the Rev. R. Bavin (1867-1871) the church was enlarged by 15 feet, the enlargement costing £60. In 1875 a more prominent site was acquired in Queen street for £60, and on it in the following year there was built a church of wood capable of seating 300 persons. It cost £1100, of which £571 was raised before the opening services which were conducted by the Rev. Wm. Lee. Contributions were evidently made on a generous scale, for the debt was paid off by the end of the year. LINKS WITH TIMARU For several years it was the practice of the Timaru minister to spend the third Sunday of the month in Waimate, taking the services, doing pastoral work on the Saturday preceding and on the Monday following, presiding at trustee meetings on the Saturday evening if there were any matters requiring attention, and preaching again on the Monday evening. Additional ministerial assistance was forthcoming in 1871 by the appointment of a second minister to the circuit. Two of these, Mr Hewlitt in 1872, and Mr Dewsbury in 1873, resided in Waimate, after which the residence of the second minister was changed to Temuka. For the first 12 years, however, on nine Sundays of the quarter the services were taken by local preachers. One of these, Mr E. Holdgate, rode down from Timaru regularly once a quarter, but the other services were conducted by John and George Manchester and W. J. Sercombe, this last named gentleman being one of the earliest school teachers in Waimate. After a period away from the town he returned to take charge of the school at Hunter. A SEPARATE CIRCUIT Waimate remained part of the Timaru circuit for 12 years. The growth of the cause, and the need for more constant pastoral supervision led in 1877 to the establishment of Waimate as a separate circuit, the first minister being the Rev. Henry Ellis who presided over his first quarterly meeting on April 9th of that year, 12 officials being present. Messrs George Manchester and Joseph Martin were appointed circuit stewards, Henry Ross society steward, and James Nind door steward. It is interesting to note that Joseph Martin was the father of the late Hon. Lee Martin who was once a boy in the Sunday school, and later in life, Minister of Agriculture in the Cabinets of Michael Joseph Savage and Peter Fraser. The Rev. J. F. Martin, a younger son, became one of the ministers of our New Zealand Methodist Connexion. CIRCUIT MINISTERS 1877-1896 1. Ellis; 2. Fee; 3. Lewis; 4. Griffin; 5. Gray; 6. Rowse; 7. Thomas; 8. Smalley; 9. Murray; 10. Dukes. At the June quarterly meeting, 1877, it was reported that the number of members within the bounds of the circuit was 45, but the number was doubled in 1878 during the ministry of the Rev. Thos. Fee as the result of a successful mission conducted by the Rev J. S. Smalley and Mrs Smalley. With the appointment of the Rev. J. J. Lewis, in 1880 the circuit was faced with the necessity of providing a parsonage, and in January, 1881, Mr John Manchester was instructed “to buy Mrs Pain’s property on behalf of the trustees at auction on Saturday next at any sum below £125 for equity of redemption.” The house was bought and furnished, and was occupied as a parsonage until 1881, when a brick building in Exeter street was bought and remodelled during the ministry of the Rev. W. G. Thomas. In 1881 a new American organ was purchased for use in the church, and the harmonium was handed over to the Sunday school. The circuit debt which in 1884 amounted to £100 caused the circuit officials some anxiety, and during May of the following year a campaign for funds was set in motion with the result that the whole of the debt was wiped out. DISASTER In April, 1886, disaster overtook the circuit; a fire which originated in a hotel nearby got out of control and destroyed both church and Sunday school. Fortunately there was an insurance of £900 on the buildings, and immediate steps were taken to secure the Temperance Hall in Shearman Street which had been erected in 1870. The purchase price was £120, and the building, being 60 feet by 40 feet, was large enough to seat 150 people, and in it public worship was conducted for a time. A new church was felt to be needed, but differences of opinion respecting a site led to some delay. In May, 1887, however, the offer of the Manchester Brothers of the site of the present church was agreed upon, and a brick church with Oamaru stone facings, 55 feet by 36 feet with seating accommodation for 300 people, was decided upon.