Year by Year

YEAR BY YEAR.

1850 - December: The First Four Ships arrive at Lyttelton.

1851 - The Rev. Thomas Jackson, M.A., D.D., the Bishop-designate, arrives but declines the bishopric before his consecration. The Rev. Henry Jacobs conducts the first church service in Christchurch.

1853 - The Rev. J. P. Gell of Tasmania is selected as the first Bishop, but the collapse of the Can­terbury Association prevents the completion of his appointment.

1855 - A meeting of churchmen selects the Rev. Henry Harper as Bishop.

1856 - Bishop Harper is enthroned.

1858 - A meeting of churchmen decides on the immediate erection of the Cathedral. A sum of £1000 is set aside as a nucleus of a building fund.

1859 - The Cathedral Commission is appointed.

1861 - Mr G. G. Scott is commissioned to draw plans

1862 - A meeting of churchmen decides on immediate work being begun. The Cathedral Commission issues its first appeal for funds.

1864 - Mr Robert Speechley, the superintending architect, arrives. The foundation stone is laid, 16th December.

1865 - The foundations are completed. Synod re­fuses to sell the site.

1866 -  The Commission suspends building operations. The Capitular Body is created.

1871 - Synod re-affirms its refusal to sell the site.

1872 - Synod rejects the Provincial Council's offer for the Cathedral site.

1873 - Synod again refuses the Provincial Council's offer and decides to raise £5000 for the work. B. W. Mountfort is appointed superintending architect.

1874 - Synod recommends a further grant of £5000. The first service is held within the walls on 16th December.

1876 - The walls of the nave are as high as the clerestory, the western wall to the base of the rose window.

1878 - The architect is instructed to proceed with the clerestory and the rose window.
 

1879 - The Barker column is offered. Synod authorises a loan of £8000.

1880 - Bishop Harper signs the contract for the completion of the nave. Eight hundred chairs are ordered. The Society of Bell-ringers is formed.

1881 - A Cathedral Chapter is formed. The Rev. W. H. Elton is appointed precentor. The Cathedral School is opened. The Cathedral School is opened. On Sep­tember 7th, the Cathedral Commission ceases to function and formally hands over to the Chapter. The spire is damaged by earth­quake. The Cathedral is consecrated, 1st November. November 26th the first baptism takes place - the infant daughter of Dr. James Irving. The first ordination service is on December 18th. On November 13th, Dean Jacobs begins a series of lectures on "The Prayer Book," delivered weekly until March 18th, 1883.

1882 - The first stained glass window, the Hawdon Memorial, is placed in position. The organ is dedicated on the 25th of April. The first Confirmation  Service is held on December 10th.

1883 - The Christchurch Musical Society and the Orchestral Society give a performance of "The Messiah" in the Cathedral. On June 3rd, Dean Jacobs commences a catechising service in the afternoon, a service maintained until 27th April, 1890.

1885 - Mr Wells, the organist, is succeeded by Mr Tendall.

1886 - The Rev. W. Dunkley is appointed assistant precentor.

1887 - Bishop Harper announces his retirement. A special service of thanksgiving is held for the Queen's Jubilee. Dean Jacobs and Mr Tendall compose a hymn for the occasion, "For Fifty Years of Ampler Peace," dedicated to Queen Victoria, who graciously acknowledged the copy she received. On 22nd September, Bishop Harper solemnises the first marriage in the Cathedral, Mr G. H. Rhodes to Miss A. H. Thieiens.

1888 - Daily Choral Matins are discontinued. The spire is damaged by an earthquake. The Cathedral is closed, Sunday, 1st September, on this account. The Choir gives a perform­ance of Stainer's cantata, "The Daughter of Jairus." The Rev. W. H. Elton resigns the office of precentor.

1907 - A Mosaic on behalf of the Hon. Spencer Lyttelton is placed over the western door. The arcading of the south wall receives its first inscription in memory of Dean Jacobs. Minor Canon Dunkley is succeeded by Minor Canon Haggitt.

1909 - Minor Canon Haggitt is succeeded by Minor Canon Jones.

1913 - Dean Harper resigns and Canon Carrington is installed as Dean on April 16th. Minor Canon Jones resigns. The first service in the south chapel is held on November 3rd.

1914 - The stone kerbing round the grounds is given by Mr (now Sir) Henry Wigram. On August 9th is commenced a daily Intercession Service, continued throughout the War period. On September 7th a daily celebration of Holy Communion is commenced.

1915 - On May 1st, Bishop Julius receives from the clergy a light pastoral staff to mark the com­pletion of his twenty-fifth year as the Bishop of Christchurch.

1918 - At the 11 o'clock service on 21st July, the congregation numbered fifteen and the choir twenty. A heavy snowstorm was raging. The evening service was attended by nine­teen. On Sunday, November 17th, 24th and December 1st, the services were held at 11 a.m. only, outside the north porch, as all indoor services were prohibited on account of the influenza epidemic.

1919 - On September 7th, the White Ensign flown by "H.M.S.New Zealand" at the surrender of the German fleet is presented by Admiral Jellicoe.

1920 - The Rev. Hubert Jones is again appointed precentor. On May 16th, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales attends Divine Service. On Decem­ber 2nd, the daily celebration of Holy Com­munion ceases. On December 7th, the colours of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Canterbury Regiment are deposited in the Cathedral.

1922 - The Cathedral is lighted by electricity. (The old gas lamps had taken one hour on each occasion to light.) Bishop Julius is appointed Primate and the first Archbishop of New Zealand.

1923 - On May 13th, the jubilee service of Canter­bury College is held. On May 22nd the first New Zealand Church Congress meets at the Cathedral. The Cathedral School is re­opened. On November 27th, Mr James Hickson conducts a Spiritual Healing Mission.

1924 - The chancel screen is dedicated. Synod grants £9000 for the rebuilding of the organ. Archbishop Julius announces his resignation to Synod.

1925 - On April 25th, the War Memorial is dedicated.

1926 - The Right Reverend Campbell West-Watson is enthroned, March 25th. The Rev. F. R. Rawle succeeds Minor Canon Jones.

1927 - On March 13th, H.R.H. the Duke of York attends Divine Service.  The evening service of that date is the first Cathedral service to be broadcasted. Dr. Winnington Ingram, the Bishop of London, is the preacher. On August 1st, daily Matins resumed. On 16th December, the Ven. J. A. Julius is installed as Dean in succession to Dean Carrington, who had resigned. The choir and sanctuary floors are tiled with mosaic pattern. The new organ is dedicated, and Dr. Bradshaw completes twenty-five years as Cathedral organist.

1928 - On May 27th, a Civic Service at 3 p.m. commemorates the Diamond Jubilee of Christ­church as a City. The sermon is preached by the Mayor, the Rev. J. K. Archer, a Baptist clergyman.

1929 - On May 26th, the Right Reverend F. A. Bennett, the first Bishop of Aotearoa, and the first Maori to be consecrated, preaches the Sermon. On April 25th the Toc. H. lamp is dedicated by Dean Julius.

1930 - On October 19th, the United Sunday Schools of Christchurch hold a commemoration service at 3 p.m. to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Sunday Schools by Robert Raikes.

1931 - On March 8th, Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell, the World Chief Scout, deposits a flag from the London Cenotaph on behalf of the Boy Scouts of New Zealand. On November 1st, the Cathedral celebrates the jubilee of its Consecration.