The parish of St Mark, Wellington: its origin and development, 1876-1940

Abstract

The Church of England is an historical church, rich in traditions, customs, and literature, which facilitate the study of its past and acquaintance with the modes of thought of former churchmen. The colonial church, as a transplanted limb of the mother church, directly inherits much of this former history as a base on which to build its own, but as yet its literature is slight, and in many cases its traditions are still warm with the glow of the departed pioneers. Hence the history of the colonial church still lies mainly within the bounds of separate parishes, where it remains localized in the various parish records. With the absence of outside sources, the present thesis is therefore an attempt to survey the history of one of these parishes as revealed in its own particular registers, minute books and publications, which constitute the original documentary sources of historical data. My indebtedness is due to Mr G.W. Barltrop for his historical foresight in amassing that extensive collection of parish records which has made the present monograph possible. It is now seven years since he first began that systematic search for past material from which this thesis, as the fruit of his labours, has been drawn. In addition his kindly helpful information has enabled some light to be thrown on matters which were otherwise obscure.