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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]

[introduction]

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There has been provision for religion in Otago from the earliest days of settlement. Presbyteianism has predominated from the outset, but other religious bodies also have the freest possible scope in the province. The delicately-pointed spires of First Church and Knox Church, the ivy-enclustered Anglican Cathedral of St. Paul's, the magnificent Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph's, with its stately pile of conventual buildings, and the various other more or less ornamental city churches, bear witness to a varied denominationalism. About four years before the arrival of the “John Wycliffe” and “Philip Laing,” Bishop Selwyn visited Otago, and the Europeans and Maoris at Moeraki, Waikouaiti, the Otago Heads, Ruapuke, and Stewart Island. As he himself stated, “he married the Europeans to their native wives, and baptised about seventy children.” Bishop Selwyn again visited Otago in June, 1848, when he was well received by the newly-arrived settlers. On the 1st of January, 1852, the Rev. J. A. Fenton arrived in Dunedin, with the Bishop's authority to organise a church. The foundation of Presbyterianism in Otago is contemporaneous with the settlement of the province, and the Rev. Thomas Burns, the first minister, arrived with the early settlers on the 15th of April, 1848. Until the early sixties the Roman Catholies had made little progress, though Bishop Pompallier had visited Dunedin as early as 1840, and during the fifties Father Petitjean periodically ministered to the Catholies of Otago. In 1840 the Wesleyans began a mission to the Maoris at Waikouaiti, where the Rev. James Watkin was the first minister. A meeting to form a Congregational church in the province was held in Dunedin on the 14th of October, 1862, and the Baptist denomination date their inauguration from a meeting held on the 10th of June, 1863. Other religious bodies have established themselves in the city during later years.

Armstrong, photo.Unveiling Dr. Stuart's Statue: The late Mr. E. B. Cargill Speaking.

Armstrong, photo.
Unveiling Dr. Stuart's Statue: The late Mr. E. B. Cargill Speaking.