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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]
Ecclesiastical
Ecclesiastical.
As other sections of this work show, the Otago settlement was established under the auspices of the Free Church of Scotland. The Rev. Thomas Burns, the first minister, was one of the leaders in the famous secession which divided the Presbyterian Church in two. For some years he conducted the church of the little settlement alone, but by 1853 the district required services of two more minister; and the Rev. William Bannerman came out from Scotland to take up the work. In 1860 the Southland district was severed from the Otago Presbytery and placed under a separate minister, the Rev. Andrew Stobo. Meantime other branches of the Presbyterian Church had been established in other parts of New Zealand, and in 1861 and 1862 attempts were made, by special conference, to unite these in one church. But after long discussion the differences of opinon proved insuperable, and the Church of Otago remained independent. But this union, so long delayed, was finally consummated on the 31st of October, 1901, chiefly through the exertions of the Rev. Dr. Gibb, formerly of First Church, Dunedin, and now of St. Paul's, Wellington. For many years the character of the colony of Otago as a Presbyterian settlement was rigidly preserved. Occasionally a certain amount of sectarian bitterness was shown, as in the controversy mentioned elsewhere between Captain Cargill and the Wesleyan missionary, the Rev. Charles Creed. But the natural grwoth of the colony rendered inevitable a steady influx of other demonistations; and when, with the discovery of gold, thousands of strangers from Australia and American poured into Otago, the old distinctions were soon lost.
Long before the “John Wycliffe” reached Port Chamlers Bishop Selwyn had extended his pastoral visitations to Otago (Otakou). As early as 1843 he had travelled as far south as Foveaux Strait and endeavoured to provide for the propagation of Christianity among the natives. In 1848 he visted the settlement; but it was not till 1852 that the first organised attempt was made to found in Otago a branch of the Anglican Church. Mr (later Archdeacon) Fenton was the first elergyman appointed to the new charge. There were then 285 Episcopalians and 1317 Presbyterians in the settlement; and the unfortunate suggestion that the new English church should be built in the Octagon, a city reserve, caused a very heated controversy. About 1865 it was thought advisable to separate Otago from Canterbury as an episcopal see. But trouble arose over the endowments, and more especially as the Rev. H. L. Jenner, who was nominated to the see, had the reputation of being an extreme Ritualist. Eventually Otago remained under the authority of Bishop harper till 1871, when Bishop Nevill was chosen and consecrated to the see.
The Roman Catholic Church was not established in otago till some years after the founding of the settlement. Bishop Pompallier, the missionary bishop of Oceania, visited the harbour as early as 1840; and Father Moreau, a Marist missionary, did good service among the natives and diggers between 1850 and 1860. By 1859 there were only ninety Roman Catholics in Otago; but in 1871 there were nearly 6500; in 1886 there were 18,140, and in 1891, 22,000. In 1971 the Church of Otago was separated from that of Wellington, and Bishop Moran was appointed to the new see. He died in 1896, and was succeeded by Bishop Verdon.
The Methodist Church had the distinction of sending to Otago the first missionary who preached Christianity to the Maoris of that portion of the colony. The Rev. James Watkin delivered his first sermon at Waikouaiti in 1840. He was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Creed. in 1844. Among the colonists who arrived by the “John Wycliffe” were two Methodist—Mr. Monson and Mr. Thomas Ferens, a Methodist lay preacher — who both helped to promote the growth of the church, to which they were attached. A notable figure in the history of Otago Methodism is that of the Rev. Isaac Harding, who, during the “gold days,” travelled all over Otago, organising the church and establishing local breanches. By 1897 there were in Otaho thirty-one Methodist churches and sixty-eight preaching places, fourteen ministers and fifty-seven local preachers; 1742 church members and over 11,000 adherents.
The first gathering of Baptists took place in Dunedin in 1863 under the presidency of Mr. Thomas Dick, to whom the Baptist Church of Otago is indebted for much of the success that it has attained. In 1862 the Congregationalists had already established themselves in Dunedin, and have ever since played an active part in the religious life of the settlement. The name of Dr. Roseby, who was in charge of the church from 1871 to 1885, is well known to all familiar with Dunedin during that period.
According to the census of 1901 the chief religious bodies were then represented in Otago as follows:
| Episcopalians | 41,993 |
| Presbyterians | 77,976 |
| Methodists | 12,081 |
| Baptists | 4,701 |
| Congregationalists | 1,843 |
| Roman Catholics | 21,633 |
From these figures it is evident that, in spite of all the changes through which the colony has passed since its foundation, Otago still retains to a very large degree its original character as a Presbyterian settlement. The Roman Catholies, Episcopalians, and Methodists of all branches combined do not number as many adherents as the Presbyterian Church of Otago, which, now happily united into one compact and harmonious body, can fairly claim to be considered one of the most influential branches of the Protestant Church in the Australasian colonies. It is noticeable that the movement in favour of the amalgamation of the Methodist with the Presbyterian churches throughout New Zealand was started in Dunedin; and the Presbyterians of Otago have thus given strong proof that the sectarian exclusiveness which was once brought as a reproach against them has now finally disappeared.
page 20Of minor sects it may be sufficient to say that there are 26 Unitarians, 40 Quakers, 1007 Buddhists or Confucians, 311 Jews, 28 Mormons, 112 Spiritualists, 1698 members of the Salvation Army, 29 Seventh Day Adventists, 399 Free Thinkers, 168 of “no religion,” and 3011 who object to state what faith, if any, they accept.