St Chad History Page See also following sites for a history of Chad A VERY BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ST CHAD'S CHURCH NEW PLYMOUTH
From 1843 to 1956 the area of the present parish of West New Plymouth was a part of St Mary's Anglican Parish. The first settlers of the New Zealand Company arrived in early 1841 on the William Bryan. Bishop Selwyn visited the settlement in 1842 and arranged for the first clergyman to come, the Rev William Bolland [1843].
When the last chartered ship, The Essex, arrived in 1843 there were a total of 1049 Europeans in New Plymouth, 430 of whom were under 14 years of age. The Omata Block of 1200 acres was bought in 1847 for 400 pounds and the first Omata Church was built on Waireka Road in 1848 In 1860 22 "Omata" settlers built St Bride's Church at Burton's Hill. The church was spared in the land wars of the 1860s and was moved in 1888 to Barrett Rd/Pheny Rd and was in use until the 1950s.
"Parson Brown"[ 1813-93] arrived in New Plymouth in 1859 and bought land at Omata. He travelled large distances on his horse in the western area of Taranaki regularly taking services as far as Rahotu, finally retiring in 1889.
A new St John's Church was opened at its present site 14th Feb 1875. In 1894 a gale flattened the building during renovations but it was quickly restored. In 1902 land was bought in the Whiteley township for a church building [St Augustine's] and public worship began in the Mission Room/Hall in 1904. Worship continued there until 1984 when it was sold to further develop St Chad's.
The first record of public Anglican worship in Westown appears in 1885 [offertory reports], services being conducted in the Westown School room.
The first curate with responsibility for Westown was the Rev H M Bradbury in 1905. By 1920 there were regular twice-monthly services in the school room and in 1922 land was purchased from Mr E Marfell with the intention of building a church. In 1933 the decision was made to build St Chad's Church and the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Cherrington on the 4th December 1933.
The church was consecrated by Bishop Cherrington on the 3rd February 1935. The cost of the building was 855 pounds and the furnishings 160 pounds. The West New Plymouth Parochial District was formed in 1956 with the Rev Tom Sadlier the first vicar.
The vicars since then have been: - Rev Alan Pywell 1958 - 1960
- Rev Canon Weldon Whelan Feb 1960 - Aug 1968
- Rev Reginald Nicholson 1969 - 1973
- Rev Rex Caudwell 1973 - 1978
- Rev John Hall 1978 - 1983
- Rev Ron Sinclair 1983 - 1988
- Rev Stephen Brooker 1988 - 1992
- Rev Brendon Gibbs 1993 - 1999
- Rev Michael and Rev Carole Hughes 2000 - 2003 [Co-Vicars]
- Rev Deborah Garrett 2003 -
When the parochial district was formed the vicarage was at 585 South Road and there were worship centres at St John's, Omata, St Augustine's, Moturoa and at St Chad's, Westown. Those years, in the words of Canon Whelan, "were years of progress to be one parish when at first there seemed to be three parishes in one." Buildings, of course, are not "the church" yet development does seem to give a tangible sense of progress and purpose, and does bring parishioners and the community into a living unity.
Real celebrations have occurred in the periods around 1963 when St Chad's hall was dedicated, the first extension to St Chad's Church [on the south side] around 1969, the new vicarage in Tukapa St in 1973, the second extension to St Chad's Church [north and east] in 1978 and major alterations to the church [going back to the original roofline], west side [brick] in 1992. Regular renovations have continued at St John's, Omata, as well.
Throughout the years the primary tasks of the church have been faithfully and energetically continued. Perhaps that is best expressed by our mission statement prominently displayed in our church:
We of this parish exist to share the faith through worshipping, encouraging fellowship, nurturing all, and in serving faithfully in the community in response to human need as Christ has taught us. Share this mission!
We believe our parish continues to be in good heart. We claim to be a welcoming, friendly church. Our Lord is at our centre in our worshipping communities chiefly on Sunday and moving in our parish and beyond through the rest of the week.
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