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Available Now |
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Organ music from Holy Trinity Cathedral,
played by
Eugene Lavery,
Assistant Organist |
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Building the CathedralBishop Selwyn's Contribution
 In
1841, before the Rt Rev'd G.A. Selwyn left England to become the Bishop of New Zealand, he spoke at Lichfield Cathedral (to which he would return as Bishop in 1868) of the "Cathedral of the Holy Trinity" which he proposed to build in this new colony of New Zealand.
He purchased at auction 2.5 ha (6 acres) of prime land on a ridge overlooking the gulf in 1843 for £56/7/5
(fifty six pounds seven shillings and five pence; $112.74), a premium price
in its day.
On 3rd June 1843 Bishop Selwyn, returning from a 1600 km trek with Rota Waitoa (the first Maori priest, ordained 1866) to Wellington via Hawke's Bay, Gisborne and Tauranga, wrote in his diary: ". . I reached the Judge's House (close friend, Sir William Martin, first Attorney-General of N.Z.) by a path, avoiding the town, and passed over land which I have bought for the site of the Cathedral . . ."
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Patteson entrance viewed through some of
Selwyn's oaks.
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Bishop Selwyn and his successor as Primate, The Rt Rev'd Dr William Garden Cowie, (first Bishop of Auckland) established a fund for the purpose of building the Cathedral. However, the funds grew very slowly, and with other amounts added from time to time by the Church, amounted to only $12,000 when building commenced in 1959.
Between 1843 and 1867
Selwyn planted on the
Cathedral site acorns brought from Windsor Great Park in England. The many oaks which he grew now bring summer shade and beauty to the grounds of both Cathedral and Deanery. This particular link with England was strengthened in 1998 when Queen Elizabeth II presented a commemorative oak plaque made from trees of Windsor Great Park at the Service of Thanksgiving for the completion of the Cathedral.
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Funding the Building >>> |