The Anglican Parish of
Gore and Districts
~ where faith and life meet ~
The History of Holy Trinity Gore
The Rev'd Canon Hoani Parata.
Vicar of Gore
The first official recognition of Gore’s need for an Anglican priest seems to be in January 1880, when the Bishop visited Gore and planned that the Rev H.J.C. Gilbert of Tapanui should provide services at Gore. The Rev. Gilbert found the situation impossible. The Bishop then proposed that Gore should be served by a missionary service. The next step was to build a Church. The original Holy Trinity Church was tendered for by Messrs. Duncan and McLean for £268.10.0. It was opened by the Rev. C.J. Byng of Dunedin on the 22 May 1881.
In 1890 it was decided to move the Church building from its site in Stratford Street, to the present site, as Gore was expanding. This was achieved with the use of a traction engine. In 1945 the old Church was burnt down by an arsonist and within a fortnight the same fate had befallen the Church Hall. The Church building was temporarily replaced by a new Church Hall dedicated in 1948 and used, until replaced by the present building.The present Church building was started in 1953, the foundation stone being laid by the Bishop of Dunedin, the Rt. Rev Allen Howard Johnston on Saturday 20 March 1954.
All Saints Anglican Church, Tapanui
St Phillip and St James Anglican Church, Waikaka
THE LATTER YEARS OF ST. SAVIOUR's MATAURA
In September of 1998 Synod passed a motion making St Saviour's a local church in the parish of Gore and districts and on 7 November of the same year this event was celebrated. On the weekend of the 22nd of May 2010 a "busy and enjoyable service, celebrating the church's 125th anniversary was celebrated. On 28 November 2013 the final service, marking the closure of the church, was held followed by lunch at the Country Cottage Cafe in Mataura. Bishop Kelvin attended this service as well as the anniversary service.
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Bishop Steve officiated at the de-consecration service on 15 April 2018 followed by afternoon tea at the 'Thomas Green' in Gore. Despite the sadness of the occasion the fellowship with former parishioners and clergy was much enjoyed. Four days later the church and hall were sold at auction and is now the Mataura Masjid (mosque).
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The numbers of parishioners had been declining for some years,
along with the town's population, until only a handful of the
congregation regularly attended. Rev'd Jill Fisher (now Favell)
had started a weekly Bible study home group which was
followed by a shared lunch and was enjoyed for a number of
years. People from Gore joined the locals for these meetings
and they continued until the closure of the church. For several
years the parish hosted the single, elderly folk in the town
providing them with a tasty lunch. Originally this was held
at the New Year but was subsequently changed to Waitangi Day.
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Sunday services were taken by the Gore Clergy and local lay-readers. The church was represented by local people on the Gore Vestry while Gore people attended the Mataura committee meetings. Although the church and hall maintenance was being looked after by locals it was a lot of work for fewer and fewer people. When the decision was finally made to close the church the locals had become much closer to Holy Trinity, Gore and the end, when it came, was not such an abrupt change.
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For the last few years the congregation enjoyed morning tea after the service and got into the habit of staying on into the afternoon. They often enjoyed a video, discussed news events or worked on putting the world to rights. On theses occasions those looking for their mother or grandmother knew exactly where she may be found.
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Mataura Anglicans were made to feel very welcome at Holy Trinity Gore, where they are still to be found.
A SHORT HISTORY OF SAINT MARK'S RIVERSDALE
In the beginning, the first Anglican services in Riversdale were held in the billiard room of Gee’s Hotel, and later, in the school.
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In June, 1894, a meeting of Anglican members was held to discuss building a church. 140 pound was promised and the building commenced in October of that year. Rev. T L Stanley was the architect and John Currie the successful contractor.
The dedication of St Mark’s was in April 1895, conducted by Rev. T.L. Stanley and the sermon preached by Bishop Neville, to a crowded church. At 7.30pm 130 people assembled for Evensong.
The church thrived for many years and on 16th April 1945. St Mark’s celebrated their Golden Jubilee
During the years, many changes have taken place. The stables, hedges and picket fence have gone and trees were planted where once the vicars’ and worshippers’ horses grazed.
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In 1954 a porch and vestry room were added and the church was roughcast.
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In 1961, a group of young Anglicans formed a Social Group with the intention of raising funds to build a Sunday School Hall. These funds were raised through card evenings, dances, street stalls, potatoes were grown and sold, lambs fattened, and weddings and birthdays were catered for. The new hall was built by Mr L. Peat and dedicated on 6th December 1969.
St Mark’s Centenary celebration was held in April 1995, with 130 attending.
Over the next 25 years, numbers of Anglican parishioners have sadly dwindled, due to many families moving away and many older stalwarts of the church passing away.
The Church of Holy Trinity, in Gore, has greatly supported St Mark’s, by allowing Rev Gary Griffith-Smith, Rev Bruce Cavanagh and Rev Maud Milligan to take services in Riversdale regularly. However, as congregation numbers dwindled further, it became too uneconomical and necessitated the closing of the church in Riversdale.
Bishop Steven Benford de-consecrated St Mark’s Church at an 11am service on 7th November 2022. A large crowd attended the service and light lunch, which followed.
St Mark’s buildings have since been sold. However, the two large memorial stained glass windows, from St Mark’s, now reside in Parata Care Home’s Chapel, in Gore . . . A very fitting location for St Mark’s much loved picturesque windows.
