St. Luke's Anglican Church is erected on a section of about three quarters of an acre in extent at the corner of Tees and Itchen Streets in Oamaru. The Anglican Church has been represented in Oamaru since the arrival of the Rev. Algernon Gifford in July, 1862, and the first public meeting in connection with the Church was held on the 19th of October of that year. St. Luke's Church is a handsome structure built of Oamaru stone, and consists of a nave and aisles, with seating accommodation for 350 worshippers; the chancel and the spire have still to be added. Though the building was opened for divine worship on the 29th of October, 1865, the consecration did not take place till the 30th of May of the following year. The congregation averages about 250, and there are about 300 communicants. A convenient schoolroom was erected in 1897. It adjoins the church, and a Sunday school, with 250 scholars and twenty-five teachers, is conducted in this building. The vicarage in connection with St. Luke's Church is known as “The Glebe, and is occupied by the Rev. Algarnon Gifford, who was for many years in charge of St. Luke's parish; the Ven. H. G. Gould, Vicar of St. Luke's and Archdeacon of Oamaru, resides in Hull Street.

The Ven. Henry George Gould , Vicar of St. Luke's Church and Archdeacon of Oamaru, was born in Wolverhampton, England, in 1851, and was educated at Maidstone Grammar school. He arrived in Lyttelton in 1873, by the ship “Cardigan Castle,” studied theology at Christ's College, and was ordained deacon in 1874 and priest in 1877. His first charge was at Malvern, and he was appointed to Oamaru in 1890, He was married in 1878 to a daughter of Mr. Thomas Cane, of Christchurch.

The Rev. Algernon Gifford , retired Anglican clergyman, who has resided at the Glebe, Oamaru, since 1862, was born in 1825 at Fulham, London, and is the third son of the late Mr. Edward Gifford, civil engineer. He was educated at St. Mark's College, Chelsea, as a student, and afterwards became junior master. He studied Divinity at St. John's Theological College, Newfoundland, was ordained deacon in 1849, and priest in 1850. Mr. Gifford was appointed the first resident Anglican missionary (S.P.G.) at Labrador, where he served for ten years, after which he returned to Newfoundland, where he continued his ministry for a further three years. In May, 1862, Mr. Gifford arrived in Lyttelton, by the ship “Zelandia,” having been appointed incumbent of Oamaru by the Commissioner in England for the diocese of Christchurch, in New Zealand. In the early days of settlement in Oamaru, Mr. Gifford did a great deal of laborious work and was for a large portion of his time engaged in travelling from settlement to settlement throughout North Otago. He witnessed the gradual growth of the district during his long period of service, which extended to the year 1890, and has had reason to be gratified at the results of his work and ministry. The beautiful church of St. Luke's was commenced and carried to its present state during his term of office, and under his guidance other valuable work was done by and for the parish. Mr. Gifford was appointed Rural Dean of Otago, in 1876, an assessor of the Bishop's Court in 1873, member of the first Cathedral Commission in 1887, and elected clerical representative for the Diocese of Dunedin at the General Synod of 1868 and 1886, both held in Auckland.

Rev. A. Gifford.

St. Paul's is the oldest Presbyterian church in Oamaru. As early as February, 1864, a meeting of the congregation was held in the schoolhouse, and it was decided to erect a church capable of seating 500 persons. The foundation stone was laid on the 10th of November, 1864, and the original building, situated in Coquet Street, was opened early in 1865. The present building, which was erected from plans prepared by Mr. T. Forrester on the model of Salisbury Cathedral, was completed in 1875, and the foundation walls of the first building were utilised, as far as practicable. The building is of fine Oamaru stone; it cost between £4000 and £500, and has seating accommodation for nearly 800 persons. The congregation varies from 400 on Sunday morning to 600 in the evening. In connection with the church, there is a fine Sunday school, with 300 scholars and twenty-six teachers. The manse is ahandsome two-storied building in wood, and stands on a site not far from the church. There is a glebe of about an acre and a half.

The Rev. Robert James Porter , Minister in charge of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Oamaru, was born in County Down in the north of Ireland, in 1856. He was educated at Belfast and Londonderry, and studied theology at the Assembly Hall, Belfast, and at Magee College, Derry, and was ordained in Ireland early in 1882, when he was set apart for work in the Colonies. Mr. Porter arrived in Wellington, in 1882, and was appointed to supply at St. Andrew's Church, Christchurch, for three month. He was subsequently for three years and three months in the Prebbleton and Lincoln charge, Canterbury, and afterwards at Mornington, Dunedin, till July, 1898, when he was inducted to the charge of St. Paul's Church, Oamaru. Mr. Porter was married in 1882, in Ireland, to a daughter of Mr. R. Beatty, of Lurgan, and has one daughter.

Rev. R. J. Porter.

Columba Presbyterian Church , which occupies an elevated position at the corner of Wansbeck and Ure Streets, is named after a renowned Irish evangelist of the sixth century. It is an off-shoot of St. Paul's congregation, and began as a mission in the year 1874. Services were held in the local school-room until the completion of the fine church in which the congregation now worships. Columba Church is a handsome structure, built in Oamaru stone, and has seating accommodation for 650 persons. There are over 250 members connected with the church, which was opened on the 15th of July, 1883. The cost of the site and building, including the manse, was about £5000. Attached to the church there is an excellent Sunday school, with 234 scholars and twenty-five teachers. There is also a Christian Endeavour Society, with a strength of about fifty.

The Rev. William Wright , Minister in charge of Columba Church, was born in 1848, in Elgin, Scotland, and was partly educated in his native land. He arrived in Port Chalmers by the ship “Gala,” in 1860. Mr. Wright went through a course of training at the Otago University, and afterwards was three years at Theological Hall, Dunedin. He was ordained in 1883. His first charge was at Knapdale, near Gore, where he remained for about seven years, and he was subsequently for six years and a half at Otepopo. Mr. Wright was inducted as page 518 minister of Columba Church in February. 1895, and has since then been closely identified with Oamaru. He has taken special interest in “The Bible in Schools” question, and generally in any movement for the spiritual and moral advancement of the district. Mr. Wright was married in 1882 to a daughter of the late Mr. J. Christie, an old settler of Saddle Hill, East Taieri, and has four daughters.

Mahan and Muir, photo.
The Basilica, Oamaru.

Rev. W. Wright.

The Basilica , at Oamaru, is the name given to the large building used for the purpose of worship by the Roman Catholics. It occupies a fine section of land fronting Reed Street; the original church, used in the early days, and now occupied as a school, is situated in Usk Street. Built of Oamaru stone, the basilica is a large building, with a handsomely finished interior. The ceiling is composed of deep panels of embossed zinc, and beautifully decorated, and the superstructure is supported on thirty-three magnificent pillars in the Corinthian style of architecture, and of stone from the Weston quarries. The nave and aisles measure 90 feet by 50 feet, and have seating accommodation for from eight to nine hundred persons. It was in May, 1893, that the foundation stone of this fine edifice was laid, and the building was opened in the following year by the Right Rev. Dr. Grimes, Bishop of Christchurch. The usual parish schools are largely attended; church services are held at Georgetown, Duntroon, Kurow, Ngapara, Livingstone, Windsor, Enfield, Alma, and Maheno, and the adherents in the district, including children, number from sixteen to seventeen hundred.

The Rev. Father James O'Reilly , Assistant Priest in the Oamaru district, was born in County Meath, Ireland, in 1876. He was educated at Clonliffe College, Dublin, and afterwards at Maynooth, where he was ordained in 1900. In the following year he came to New Zealand, and was stationed at Oamaru in 1902.

Wesley Church , Eden Street, Oamaru, which was erected about 1875, is built of Oamaru stone, and has seating accommodation for about 300 worshippers. At the back of the main building there is a convenient schoolroom, with accommodation for 120 children, and adjoining the church, there is a convenient and handsome two-storey parsonage, also erected in local limestone. The premises occupy a section of about half an acre in extent. The number of scholars attending the Sunday school is 117, and there are eighteen teachers. There are also two active Christian Endeavour Societies, and a vigorous Temperance Society. The number of members in communion with Wesley Church is one hundred and twenty, and there is an average attendance of over 200 at the evening service. From this centre services are conducted at Kakanui, Totara, Enfield, and Pukeuri.

The Rev. David Mcnicoll , Minister in charge at Oamaru, was born in Liverpool, England, in August, 1843. He came to Lyttelton, in 1862, by the ship “Queen of the Mersey,” and was for some years in mercantile life in Christchurch as a book-keeper. Mr. McNicoll became a local preacher in 1866, a probationer in 1868, and was ordained in 1872. He has been stationed successively at Lawrence, Dunedin, Waikouaiti, Greytown (Wairarapa), Greymouth, Invercargill, New Plymouth, Blenheim, Ashburton, Napier, Thames, Auckland (Grafton Road), Christchurch (Durham Street), and Lyttelton, and was appointed to Oamaru in April. 1902. Mr. McNicoll was married, in 1872, to a daughter of the late Mr. W. Randall, of Port Chalmers; and has four daughters and two sons.

The Baptist Church , Oamaru, which is situated on a section in Severn Street, was founded in 1883, and before the erection of the church, the services were conducted in the Athenæum Hall. The building, which is of Oamaru stone, and has seating accommodation for three hundred persons, was built in 1889. Services are held morning and evening each Sunday, and a Sunday school is held in connection with the church.

The Rev. Arthur Dewdney , formerly Minister in charge at the Oamaru Baptist Church, and now (1904) stationed at Wanganui, was born in Surrey, England, in 1864. He received his theological education at Spurgeon's College, in London, and his first charge was at Spreydon, Canterbury, where he commenced to minister on the 1st of May, 1887, having come to Wellington in the s.s. “Aorangi.” Five years later to a day, Mr. Dewdney took up his duties in Oamaru. He has been prominently engaged in the prohibition movement, and was president of the Oamaru branch of the Prohibition League. Mr. Dewdney was married, in 1888, to a daughter of Mr. J. Sayers, of Dorking, Surrey.

Emmanuel Congregational Church , Wansbeck Street, Oamaru; was founded about 1878, when the first services were conducted in the Tees Street Hall, by the Rev. Edward Walker. The church is now (1904) closed.

Mr. David Mckee Wright , sometime Pastor in charge of Emmanuel Congregational Church, Oamaru, and now (1904) of Nelson, was born in 1869, in County Down, Ireland, and was educated at private schools in London. His father, the late Rev. Dr. Wright, was well known as an author and as the editorial superintendent of the British and Foreign Bible Society in London. Mr Wright came to New Zealand in 1887, and became pastor of Emmanuel Church in 1898. He is best known through his literary work, and is the author of many stories published in Colonial journals. In 1897 he wrote the first Otago University prize poem, and in the same year his book, “Station Ballads,” was published in Dunedin. Under Mr. Wright's pastorate Emmanuel Church prospered considerably, and his sermon-stories on the lines of Sheldon proved very successful. While at Oamaru Mr. Wright was president of the North Otago Christian Endeavour Union and chairman of the local branch of the Bible Society and London Missionary Society.

Baptist Church, Oamaru.

The Church Of Christ in Oamaru holds its services in the City Temple, Thames Street, a building that is rented from the Athenæum committee, but a plot of two acres, known as the old mill site in Severn Street, has been bought with a view to the erection of a new church. It was in 1880 that members of the Church of Christ first began to organise themselves in Oamaru; regular services have been held since 1886. and in the present building since 1897. The City Temple is a stone building with seating accommodation for 200 worshippers, and in 1903 there were 110 members, who had doubled in number since the preceding year. A Sunday school is regularly held; there are over a hundred scholars on the roll, with an average attendance of eighty and there is a teaching staff of twelve.

The Salvation Army Barracks at Oamaru are situated in Thames Street, and were erected in 1887. The building is of stone, and has sitting room for 300 persons. The site is half an acre in extent. Behind the main building there is another in wood, for junior members of the corps, and with seats for 100 persons. The officers' quarters are situated further back on the section. The corps numbers sixty, and there is a good band. The district is in charge of Adjutant Charles Davies, who was appointed in January, 1903.