Church marks 50th with new build

On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday last the Waitahuna Presbyterian Church celebrated its jubilee. The present church was opened for public worship on June 30, 1874, when the late Rev James Skinner, who had just arrived from Scotland, was ordained and inducted. The jubilee functions had been somewhat postponed so that they might synchronise with the laying of the foundation of the new church, and thus the occasion was made doubly memorable. Many former residents of the district who had been associated with the earlier life of the church gathered to take part in the celebrations, which were exceedingly hearty and successful. The Sunday morning service was conducted in the old Presbyterian style — the congregation sitting during the singing and standing during prayer. Communion was dispensed, the old-fashioned communion cup being used (in addition to the individual cup now in vogue). There was no instrumental music, the singing of the hymns and psalms being conducted by a precentor in the true old style. The foundation stone of the new church was laid on Monday afternoon in the presence of some 300 people by Mrs Skinner, the widow of the first minister of the parish. The new church is being built in brick with a handsome spire, and will comfortably accommodate a congregation of 220. The cost will be approximately £3000. The architect is Mr J.L. Salmond and the builder Mr John L. Hamilton.

 

The diamond jubilee of the Dunedin Savings Bank might be termed a jubilee of thrifty enterprise. For sixty years the Dunedin Savings Bank has served as a beacon, so to speak, signalling people of all classes, especially those in moderate circumstances, to make forward-looking provision for economic independence. The social influence for good thus exercised cannot be estimated in terms of statistics, though, the recorded figures tell their own eloquent tale. The Bank has had its non-progressive seasons, corresponding with periods of general depression; but it is satisfactory to note the remarkable advance in the transactions of the last decade. The Bank’s record from 1914 has been marked by unparalleled prosperity. The number of depositors has actually been more than trebled. The sum total of all the deposits for the previous half-century was exceeded in ten years by more than 100 percent — a truly astonishing development. There was an increase of 800 percent in the deposits in comparison with those of the preceding decade. Money-making has never been a primary concern of the Dunedin Savings Bank, and the history of the distribution of the profits forms an inspiring chapter in commercial and social annals. It may well be claimed that the philanthropic side of the sixty years’ operations represents a substantial asset to the community, more than £27,000 having been allocated to public institutions furthering general welfare and advancement. It must be remembered, too, that this wise largesse has not been bestowed to the detriment of the depositors, who from the beginning have received interest at a rate higher than that granted by the Government through the Post Office Savings Bank. It is to be trusted that an institution in which Dunedin takes a just pride, having passed this significant milestone, will pursue a career of unchequered prosperity, and be instrumental in a further, and not unnecessary, development of the genius of thrift. — editorial

 

At the ordinary meeting of the Otago Hospital Board on the 25th of this month the following motion, notice of which had been given by Dr Newlands, will come up for consideration: "That the resolution of the board that Miss Mabel Thurston be appointed matron of the Dunedin Hospital be rescinded." In the event of the above motion being carried Dr Newlands will move: "That Miss Thurston be appointed matron of the Dunedin Hospital, subject to her furnishing the board with a medical certificate of satisfactory health, and with a certificate that her age is, as stated in her letter of application — namely, 49 years." — ODT, 13.9.1924