A Concise History
of
Waipu Presbyterian
Parish
(New Zealand's Oldest Congregation)
Waipu'’s European Settlement
Europeans settled Waipu in 1854 as a predominately Christian Presbyterian Settlement. The people were Scots, their language was Gaelic, and they were a special group of people in New Zealand’s history. Rev Norman McLeod ably led them. He began with a small band of followers in Ullapool, Scotland, and through his self exile from the influence of the state run Church of Scotland, established a thriving community at St Ann’s, Nova Scotia in 1820. There this Gaelic Community grew and flourished until a new migration began in 1852 – destination Australia. This migration, led by a number of prominent leaders in the community including Rev Norman McLeod and his wife Mary, found Adelaide and then Melbourne harsh and uninviting, with the prospect of obtaining fertile land for settlement as a community unlikely. After loosing a number to Typhoid fever, including three of Norman McLeod’s sons, news of New Zealand attracted them.
In 1853, the first families arrived in Auckland, and as the result of scouting the land and applying to Governor Sir George Grey, the Commissioner of Crown Land’s gazetted in the Auckland Provincial Gazette on November 26, 1853 an application by Duncan McKenzie for an area bounded by Whangarei Harbour on the North, east by the sea, south by the range of hills beginning at Bream Tail, and west by the river called “Hira Atata”. After a legal challenge to the Crown by one James Busby who had purchased this block of land from the Maori, it was deemed that although local Maori were happy with his payment, Busby had broken the law by purchasing more than 2,650 acres without the special permission of the Crown. Busby was dispossessed of his land and most of it was re-purchased again from the Maori by the Crown. Busby was to receive no compensation and went to his grave bitter over his treatment. Local Maori, although questioning the government’s actions, accepted payment for three blocks in Bream Bay
asked for by the Nova Scotians. Finally, on May 30th, 1854, Duncan McKay made the first purchase of 800 acres at ten shillings per acre from the Crown.
On the 1st of September 1854, the first three families Duncan McKays, Hector McKenzies and William McKenzies landed at Waipu off the schooner Don. The small band made their way by row boat up the Waipu River into the Waihoihoi tributary, finally setting foot in their new home about 100 metres from the land now occupied by the church. Those in Auckland including Norman McLeod and his family soon followed. They in turn were joined over a period of six years with 900 folk from the St Anns community in Nova Scotia, plus a number directly from Scotland. The whole story can be seen on the Waipu Heritage Centres website (see our "Links" on the tab menu).
The Oldest Congregation in New Zealand
Waipu Presbyterian Parish, we are claiming, is the oldest continuos Christian Community in New Zealand. In Scotland Norman McLeod was in constant conflict with the clergy and institution of the Church of Scotland. It must be said that many of his battles with them were justified. As a young school teacher in his late 20s Norman began to lead services and preach in his home Parish of Assynt, where he soon gathered a large following and very quickly the opposition of the incumbent minister. Then followed six years of Ministry training in Edinburgh which Norman did not complete because of his objections to the Church of Scotland. In 1814 he accepted another position as a teacher in the Parish of Ullapool, and there he was asked to lead services and preach in the and there he was asked to lead services and preach in the ministers absence. He proved to be a powerful and popular preacher and his strong leadership skills were noted. There was a huge disruption between Norman and those who began to recognise him as their spiritual and temporal leader and the authorities of the Parish, and this was the final catalyst in Norman McLeods departure from Scotland. When Norman and his family
sailed on the Frances Ann for what was supposed to be America that little ship carried 400 people, many of whom were acquainted with him as their spiritual leader from both Assynt and Ullapool. We mark the beginning of our congregation as the summer of 1814 in the Parish of Ullapool, Scotland, because of the unbroken leadership of Norman McLeod to Waipu and the families that recognised him as their leader and whose descendents still worship with us. This makes our Congregations continuos life to be 195 years in 2009.
Rev Norman McLeod
A man of legend. This man was a very complex, yet a black and white person. He was a powerful leader of people; he was a dynamic spiritual leader. He was strong mentally and physically. He was known by most as generous, loving and protective. To others, he was a tyrant, bully and if your family ran foul of him, it seems a generational enemy.
The truth is that at different stages in his life he was all these things. He was honed as a young man by social conditions and ideals that are foreign to us. Socially, he grew up in Sutherland shire that in his generation witnessed some of the most callous and unjust acts of any government against its own people. Abject poverty, starvation, sickness, state sponsored murder, loss of cultural rights, all culminate in a people who grew up hard and were tough and resilient in the face of adversity. In the big picture Norman McLeod was one of many strong leaders of like manner who came out of Scotland at this time.
Norman McLeods spiritual journey is interesting. His father, Daniel McLeod, was a member of the Church of Scotland. His mother, Margaret, began as a member of the Church of England, but left this church to become an Independent. This means that husband and wife had very different views on the Church. She is described as having a keen and independent mind. It is most likely it was her
influence that set Normans values and outlook on the Christian faith and the Church he finally rejected, and the Church he established and guided.
Although brought up in a Christian home, Norman spent his early years up to his mid 20s on what he described himself as his lonely search. He was very intelligent and hungered for knowledge. He read from an early age whatever he could. He had a keen interest in theology. His reading first led him into Roman Catholicism and he was for a time a Papist. He left Catholicism to explore Universalism and for eighteen months he suffered great mental suffering. He spent another two years delving into Deism and finally Atheism. Coming out of that he entertained the Quaker way and although he says he esteemed the presence of the Holy Spirit, he experienced a lingering decay in the inward man. Then it was on to an exploration of Arminianism which left him under the deep desertion of my wonted spiritual peace and joy. Finally, he read the theology of John Calvin and in his words believed and fully accepted the tremendous responsibility of being one of Gods elect. He was aged about 25 at this time. If you are at all familiar with the isms of his quest, you will agree that it was an interesting journey into the Christian faith he would preach. [quotes from The Present Church of Scotland and a Tint of Normanism in a Dialogue, by Norman McLeod himself. Halifax. Nova Scotia. 1843. cited in Watchman Against the World by Flora McPherson. Trinity Press. 1962. pages 24-25].
Norman McLeod led the Waipu community for nearly 12 years before his death in 14th March 1866. His wife of 45 years, Mary, had died in 1857. In the Waipu years Normans leadership had changed, because in reality he was but one of the leading men in the community. Nevertheless, in spiritual matters his word was law. Nearing death, he encouraged his congregation to join with the Auckland Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, which they eventually did.
The Church is people. These people were bonded together by their Christian faith. Their style of Christianity was orthodox in belief; their practice of the faith was cultural and theological. Culturally Scottish and theologically Calvinist.
Until the late 1890s services were almost exclusively in Gaelic but with English becoming predominant in the community, the last Gaelic service as a normal part of church life was held about 1907. In worship they stood for prayer and sat for singing. The sermon was the highlight. They celebrated Communion once a year just before New Year. The reason being biblical (share the Lords Supper whenever you meet) and the practice culturally understood (they only met as a full community once a year). They then celebrated community on New Years Day with the Highland Games. As a rule they did not celebrate Christmas as there was a universal protestant Scottish belief that December 25 was the wrong date imposed by English Catholics. They were correct about the date!
Visitors to Gaelic Waipu made some interesting observation. They kept many of the Highland customs. Land was passed down to the youngest daughter whose responsibility it was to look after elderly parents. Young men were expected to find work outside the area when it was scarce at home and send money back to support the community. Everyone pitched in to build neighbours houses and barns and bring in the harvest. During the life time of Norman McLeod they did not follow English Law, but a hybrid Highland/Christian lore that was based on restorative justice. On one occasion in Australia the two codes clashed as the community dealt with a young thief. The punishment decided by a council of men was to knick the boys ear with a knife rather than allow the local magistrate to deal with it under a harsher law. Someone complained and Norman McLeod himself ended up before the magistrate on behalf of the community. Once explained the case was dismissed.
In Waipu, a young unmarried woman killed her new born baby by drowning it in a stream. The community dealt with it by confining the woman at her parents home until she was well, having discerned that she had a mental illness of some description. With care and support she recovered and was restored fully to the community where she married. The alternative was a judge under English Law in Auckland and inevitable prison and possibly gallows. This true story was the subject of a fictional play by award winning playwright James McNeish called The Rocking Cave which gave a fictional spin to the truth. This account was conveyed to Rev Peter Dunn by two elderly members of the congregation, one who knew the woman concerned when she was young, and the other a relative.
Visitors to Waipu in the 1860s described the community as joyful, hospitable, hardworking and industrious.
Ministries after Rev Norman McLeod
Including the incumbent, there have been nineteen ministers since Rev McLeod. Each one contributed greatly to the life of the parish over the years. To mention a few. Rev McRae was the first to follow Rev McLeod. A fluent Gaelic speaker, he still found it a difficult job to follow in the footsteps of McLeod. Rev Griffith Jones (1881-1901) was a non Gaelic speaking Welshman. During his ministry the 300 seat church was packed to overflowing with it being recorded that 200 plus horses were tied up in the glebe. However, there were strong under currents at work and a major split took place over language and culture with a large section of the congregation leaving to form a Gaelic speaking church that was eventually formed into the North River Parish. Griffith Jones faced an empty church some Sundays. He died at home in the Manse in 1901. The parish was reunited a few years later.
Reading the history, some of the most difficult years of ministry were 1914-18 during World War I. Many of the church young men went to war and a number did not return. The minister at the time, Rev Angus McDonald (1912-1920), became an army chaplain and served overseas. A lay supply minister from the Presbyterian Church of NZ, Mr. S Boat, had the unenviable task of ministering in these times of upheaval and grief. There are records of him delivering the bad news of a death of a loved son to a shocked family.
Again, the period of World War II seemed particularly difficulty. However, Rev D McFarlane (1937-1942) who had a strong pastoral gift was equal to the task. He was also instrumental in helping establish Waipu District High School to the area. The story goes that the locals could not decide what Clan tartan should be the schools tartan. In the end the McFarlane tartan was chosen. By way of coincidence, the first headmaster of Waipu District High, Mr Stanley Dunn, was a great uncle of the present minister, Rev Peter Dunn.
Rev Willie Levak (1952-1964) was a Gaelic speaker and great orator and became greatly respected in the community. He led the Church and community during the 1953 Centennial Celebrations. However, times were changing both in New Zealand and in the Church. Through the 1960s into the 1980s there was a huge shift in culture and custom similar to the experience of the 1890s with the old ways giving way to the new. Rev Paul Norrish (1984-1989) was instrumental in leading the parish through a necessary time of change. The ministry of the Holy Spirit and new music in particular were points of friction. These were not easy times, but the change took root that has allowed the parish to continue its life.
The Waipu Presbyterian Church building
The present Church building was built in stages. It replaced the first Church building which stood on exactly the same place but was much smaller. The site was chosen by the very first settlers. According to one source the site is the high point geographically of The Centre,
and also it was covered by bracken fern rather than Kanuka Trees so easier to build on. We found pile holes of the first Church when the underfloor timbers were repaired in 2002. The main part was built in 1871. It is made of Kauri. The Kauri was milled from trees from near Millbridge Road. Every bit of timber was cut and finished using hand saws and hand planes. You can see the hand plane marks on the inside walls of the Church. The nails were made by hand. Everything was made by the builders. The roof has a very steep pitch just as the buildings the Nova Scotians had back in Canada to keep the snow from building up! It is interesting that the summer of 1870 was a disaster for crops and harvest due to incessant rainfall. The community faced a year of particular hardship but proceeded to build the church. In 1880 the wings were added because so many were coming to Church taking the seating to 320. Again, everything was made by hand.
In 1922 the entrance was built and the bell tower added and war memorial plaques dedicated. In 1952-53, in preparation for the Centennial celebration, lead light windows plus two feature stain glass windows were installed replacing the original windows. In the 1980s the vestry rebuilt as the old one was too small. The design of the building is described as neo-gothic meaning the Church is built in the shape of a cross. In 2002 a major renovation of the inside took place in preparation for the Sesquicentennial celebration in 2003 with some of the Kauri pews being replace by new seating. A new feature stain glass window was also installed to mark the occasion. In recent years the building has been upgraded with the best in terms of modern technology with computers and data projector and sound system.
As you come into the church building, reflect that for the first 30 years of its life the language of worship was Gaelic. There were no musical instruments allowed until the early 1900s. There was no electricity until the 1920s. However, it is also good to reflect that a Church is a living building and not a museum. It will always be able to change to meet the needs of the people who meet there.
The meaning of the Church Building in Waipu Society
The Church building means different things to different people. For the Christians who worship there it is their spiritual home and when you think that it has been used by people since 1871 it is an impressive fact. For many people who dont go to Church it is an important symbol of God being in the community which they seem to like and want. For many people it is a symbol of Waipu's history. The settlers were a Christian community and the Church was the centre of their lives. It is one of the two or three buildings in Waipu still used from the time of the settlers. For a few people, they dont care or even notice the building.
The significance of the Church People in Waipu Society
The Church as a worshipping community is a prominent reminder to the community that Waipu has Christian roots. For those descended from the first settlers the Church is a very significant symbol that links them with the past. Whenever there are community celebrations and milestones the Church is always asked to take a lead and be part of them. The Church still has influence in forming peoples opinions.
