ARTICLE FROM NEW ZEALAND
I was Susan Veasey. I lived in the parish from age 3, attending St. Ippolyts school from 1961-7. I was married in St. Ippolyts Church and both my children were baptised there. Soon after this we moved to New Zealand where I still live but my daughter and her family now live in Hitchin.
St. James’ Church, Kerikeri
The first Anglican service in New Zealand was held on Christmas Day, 1814, at Oihi Bay in the Bay of Islands. It was conducted by Samuel Marsden, a Yorkshireman, who as a member of the Church Missionary Society was originally based in New South Wales. The site is now in the Rangihoua Heritage Park and is marked by a stone cross.
Marsden moved to New Zealand in 1814 with some others to engage in missionary work with the Māori people. Their first mission station was established in Rangihoua Bay, and then moved to Kerikeri where the first mission house and the Stone Store can still be seen. For the first decade the mission was in competition with the Wesleyan and Catholic missionaries, but they converted some Māori chiefs and began to establish the Anglican Church there.
The first chapel was built close to the Stone Store in 1823, and a second replaced it on the current site in 1829. This later fell into disrepair and a new church was built of kauri weatherboards in 1878, with a vestry extension added in 1963. The Church is dedicated to St. James the Greater of Compostela, whose symbol is the scallop shell, and who is associated with the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain.
The Church is a grade 1 heritage listed building and the graveyard is a listed heritage site as well. The Church is kept open during the day and boasts some interesting stained-glass windows and a pipe organ. There are several weekly services, including a family service, and other groups that meet regularly. Music is a feature of the services, there are currently 5 organists and a church choir that sings at Christmas, Easter, and the Patronal festival in July.
The Kerikeri basin is a tourist site, and many people travel here to see where the European settlement of New Zealand began. Visitors are always welcome at St. James’, there is a booklet about the Church and a graveyard tour available at a small cost for those who are interested.
Sue Hunt
