 In
1996 the Christchurch City Council purchased an inner city site
bounded by Worcester Boulevard, Montreal and Gloucester Streets.
This issue will focus on the Montreal Street, Worcester Boulevard
corner.
Beginnings
The earliest occupants, as with the rest of inner Christchurch
west of the Avon River, were Maori. For centuries kainga had been
established and much of the land in the vicinity was utilised
for food gathering. With the arrival of European settlers, however,
the nature of what were no more than rough dunes was to change.
Early in 1851 the Canterbury Association began the subdivision
of Christchurch into town sections. This corner of Montreal St
and Worcester Boulevard was one of the five allotments made to
Mr Robert Chapman. But for two decades the corner remained as
unoccupied, fenced, rough ground. In 1872, it was sold to the
German Benefit Association as a site for a church.
Deutsche Kirche
By 1870 a number of German and Scandinavian settlers had arrived
in Canterbury, and more were to follow in 1872 on board the ship
'Friedelburg'.
In 1871 the German Benefit Association was formed with the objective
of assisting settlers of German nationality who were finding it
difficult to assimilate into the Canterbury community.
The Association was keen to provide a church in which services
could be conducted in the German language. As a result of an appeal
£550 was secured by subscription, and, as it was anticipated
that many more German settlers would soon arrive in Canterbury,
the Provincial Government also voted a grant of £250.
On 29 April 1872 the real estate firm of A.E. Alport negotiated
the purchase of the corner site for £230. The Architect
J.S.M. Jacobsen was approached and quickly drew up plans for a
wooden church that would hold 230 people.
Tenders were soon called to erect the church and that of £725
by the builder John Greig was accepted. On 6 November 1872 a foundation
stone was laid by the superintendent of the Provincial Government,
William Rolleston.
Over 400 people attended this ceremony including the Primate
of New Zealand and other clergy from a number of denominations.
Among the others gathered were the Mayor of Christchurch Henry
Sawtell. The German Consul T.M. Hassall, and the Chancellor of
the University of New Zealand H.J. Tancred.
Items were placed underneath the foundation stone with a parchment
which stated;"German Protestant Church. Established and built
by German colonists in the province of Canterbury New Zealand
by voluntary contributions given by them and their English fellows
and also by the aid of a liberal grant from the Provincial Government
for the purpose of having the word of God preached in the German
language."The wooden church that was built was a distinctive
design with an equally distinctive bell tower, but no bells.
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Deutsche Kirche c1890. Bradley &
Co.
Pphotograph
courtesy of Canterbury Museum
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Church Bells
In 1873 the German residents held a meeting at which it was
decided to write to the German Chancellor Otto von Bismark asking
if the
German Government could assist.
The response was positive and
Bismark stated that the German Government would present a peal
of bells which he recommended
should be cast
from French gun metal captured during the Franco-Prussian war. On 21 December of that year J.G. Ruddenklau a prominent figure
in the local German community, and later, from 1882-1883 the Mayor
of Christchurch, whilst on a visit to Germany took delivery of
three bells. They had been cast by Collier and Co. in Berlin and
together weighed more than a tonne.
Ruddenklau immediately arranged for the shipment of the bells
to New Zealand and in May of 1874 they duly arrived. By December
they had been set in the bell tower, and on Christmas Eve 1874
a ceremony was held at which the bells were dedicated and their
chimes were heard in Christchurch for the first time when "On
earth peace and goodwill to all men" was rung out.
At that time the tower was incomplete and substantial fund raising
occurred over the following three years to finish it.
The first pastor of the German Church was the Reverend L. Lohr.
He remained until 1878 when he decided to return to Germany.
His successor was Pastor P.G. Jacobsen who was quite strict in
Lutheran practice. Unfortunately as the church had been founded
under the doctrine of the state church of Germany, this was not
acceptable to all, and some dissension developed resulting in
a sudden decline in the numbers of the congregation. By 1883 they
had dwindled to such small numbers that Pastor Jacobson left to
live in California.
Services ceased and over the following decade the church was
leased to the 'Canterbury Free Thinkers Society' and for a time
it became known as the 'Free Thought Hall'.
However in the early 1890s there was a keenness for the church
to continue, and in 1892 the Reverend T.A. Meyer, who also held
a curacy of the Anglican Church, was able to take services in
German. He remained with the church until 1904.
With his departure there was no pastor and services lapsed. The
church was again rented, this time to the Spiritualist Society
for their meetings. For some years earlier this century it was
called the 'Spiritualist Hall'.
In 1914 on the outbreak of war with Germany, the church was confiscated
by the New Zealand Government, although it continued to be used
for Spiritualist meetings.
Destruction of the Bells
As the war with Germany continued so too did objections to German
Church bells as they had been presented by the German Government.
The bells had always been a source of irritation to Canterbury
people of French descent, but by 1918, feelings were running
high
against what they saw as symbols expressive of German nationalism.
There were demands from an extremist faction in the community
that the bells be torn down as they were an 'affront to the allies'.
A
group of young Christchurch men formed a plan to take the bells
down, but were eventually persuaded not to act as representations
were being made to members of Parliament. The decision to remove
the bells was finally given ministerial blessing, and, on 17
July
1918, they were taken down in the name of cultural sensitivity
and carted to a local foundry where they were ceremonially broken
up. The metal was later sold for £116.
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The breaking up of the German Church
bells in W H Price & Sons yard in 1918. Press photograph
courtesy of Canterbury Museum
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Up to that time these bells were considered to have the best
peal in the city. Unfortunately when they were melted down, it
was found that the metal would not have come from captured French
cannon as it had been thought.
The fervour for their wanton destruction had been totally misguided.
As
the belfry had no further use it was decided after a few years
that it should be removed.
The Lutheran Church
Despite the vicissitudes that the church had gone through it
still had its followers, and in 1922 they successfully petitioned
the New Zealand Government to hand over the property to the Evangelical
Lutheran Concordia Conference of New Zealand.
The Concordia had been formed in 1907 when the many Lutheran
congregations throughout New Zealand (with the exception of Canterbury)
joined together. However, the Concordia still retained its original
identity as a German State Church.
A new pastor, the Reverand R.H. Altus was appointed to minister
what had become St Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Worcester
Street and he resumed services there from Easter, 1923. The congregation
comprised mostly new members, as few from the old church wanted
to be associated with it.
In due course the government refunded rent money received from
the Spiritualist Society and eventually compensation was also
paid for the destruction of the bells.
A New Church
In 1930 the Reverand H. Treager became pastor and began to revitalise
the church and its congregation increased.
By May of 1932 it had been proposed that, as the old German church
was no longer meeting the needs of the new congregation, it and
the site should be sold. It was felt that the site on the corner
of Worcester and Montreal Streets was unsuitable for the church
to do its work. Tenders were called for the church's removal,
but they aroused little interest. So the decision to relocate
was reversed and plans for a new church on the site were drawn
up.
On 17 April 1933, the foundation stone for the new building for
St Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church was laid. At the time the
rear of the old church had been demolished to make way for the
new, more simple, single storey brick structure. More modest than
its predecessor, this church was dedicated on 11 June 1933. It
remained on the site, serving its congregation, until 1987 when
it was acquired with other properties for redevelopment as a site
for a major tourist hotel.
Of all the early structures which stood on the new art galley
site, the two churches were the most public. It is fitting perhaps
that the new art gallery entrance will probably be very near where
these once stood.
Neil Roberts
Senior Curator
References
- Cyclopedia of New Zealand
Vol.3 Canterbury p205
- The Press, 19 May, 1932 p6
- The Christchurch
Times, 24 May, 1932 p3
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