A Christmas Treat at Old St Paul's

Just behind the shop area at Old St Paul's is the Clergy Vestry, it's quite hidden away from sight.
But we ventured through the door from the shop and had a lovely surprise.
Christmas trees greeted us in this lovely little area which lead into the Vestry proper.

Through another open door was more Christmas trees and lots of lovely decorations all with a very vintage feel.
There were decorations and lots of old fashioned games and presents that were all for sale.
Absolutely lovely and it felt very magical in this lovely little room.

The Clergy Vestery was built in 1876 and was used by the Dean or Vicar to prepare for the church services.
It is all wood just like the rest of the church and has such a homely and warm feeling to it.

Salem just loved this little room and would love to have it as his own bedroom.
The windows were very cute and let in just the right amount of light.
He imagined himself tucked up in a bed in one corner and looking at all the decorations in this magical little room.

Wonderful Wood at Old St Paul's

Standing by the pipe organ

On our last visit to Old St Paul's we were able to have a more leisurely wander around.
It always fills us with awe that a building as beautiful as this is made of such beautiful wood that just glows with warmth.

The impressive pipes

The organ that is in the church now was purchased in 1977 to replace the original one.
It is made in the classical tradition and it's front is made of heart rimu.
It has 1316 pipes which are divided into 19 different voice ranges.

The Seddon Memorial Pulpit

The Seddon Memorial Pulpit is a memorial to New Zealand's last Premier Richard John Seddon.
New Zealand became the first country to give woman the vote while he was Premier.
The pulpit is a hexagonal shape and it was carved in England.
The wood is oak.
It is so impressive in "real life".

Having a sit down

Salem had a sit down to take in everything.
The wooden pews used to be reserved for people who had paid an annual subscription.

The brass lectern

The lectern is so beautiful!!!
It was made in London and then was gifted to Old St Paul's in 1881.
It was gifted in the memory of William Barnard Rhodes who was a New Zealand business man, pastoralist and politician .
He was born in England and Died in Wellington on the 11th February 1878.
He was one of the richest people in New Zealand at that time.

One of the plaques

There are lots of plaques on the walls that are always interesting to read.

In the shop

We had a good look in the little shop.
There are some really nice things in there.
Lots of good little gifts that would be good for xmas presents.
Salem bought a large piece of slate which was from the roof.
The church roof had been replaced and they kept a lot of the larger slate pieces.
The slate had originally come from Wales.

The Cathedra or Bishops chair

The Cathedra was presented to Bishop Wallis in 1896 by the congregation.
It is made from rimu and made to a Glastonbury design.
"Cathedra" means seat of a teacher or authority figure.
It is quite small by today's standards, more like a child's chair.
Peoples bottoms are definitely bigger these days :^)

Stained Glass Windows at Old St Paul's

We paid another visit a few weeks ago to have a more relaxed visit and to really explore Old St Paul's.

Old St Paul's is a lovely example of 19th century Gothic Revival architecture which was adapted to colonial conditions and materials. It was designed by the Reverend Frederick Thatcher, who was the vicar of St Paul's parish in Thorndon,Wellington. 

Old St Paul's is constructed entirely from native timbers which really glow and radiates a real warmth.  This is enhanced by all the stunning stained glass windows.  It is absolutely beautiful.

We spent a lot of time just looking up at the beautiful windows and it's amazing to think of all the people who have done the same in the past since it's consecration on the 6th June 1866.

The stained glass windows depict scenes from the bible and commemorates former parishioners.

Old St Paul's was the first Anglican cathedral of Wellington (but the second Anglican church in Wellington) and is considered to be his finest work.

Such a beautiful place to visit.
I will be doing a couple more posts on this wonderful historic treasure over the next couple of days.
We can't wait to visit again.

Old St Paul's - Thorndon, Wellington

Old St Paul's

After a day of walking around on another of our expeditions, we had a bit of time to kill before we had to catch the train that we wanted.
We had just been to Hobson Street Park so were walking down Thorndon to get to the Railway Station.
So we thought it would be nice to sit in the grounds of Old St Paul's and have some afternoon tea.

One of the many majestic Pohutakawa trees surrounding the church 

Even though I have lived in Wellington most of my life, I had never been into the grounds of this church.
We have walked past here many, many times.

Another great tree to climb

So while I was having a sit down and a snack, Salem was exploring all the trees.
He loves his tree climbing!!!!
There are some very large old Pohutakawa trees around the church, I was glad of their shade and Salem had climbed a couple of them.
He didn't go very high up though.
Too tired I think.

At the front doors of Old St Paul's

So since we were here, the church was open to the public and we still had a bit of time before we had to wander off to the station, we decided it was about time to go and have a look inside.

The bell tower

Old St Paul's is one of Wellington's, well really New Zealand's, greatest heritage places.
It is one of the finest examples of timber Gothic Revival styled architecture in the world.

Looking up at the bells

It was the parish church for Thorndon and was the Cathedral church for Wellington from 1866 until 1964.
While it is no longer a parish church, it is still consecrated.

Flag of the 2nd Division of the US Marine Corps

It is open to the public and there are lovely volunteers there who will give you an informal tour if you would like.
Unfortunately we didn't have the time for that so had a look around ourselves.

Looking towards the Sanctuary

It is such a lovely church.
All the wood was polished and it had that delicious lemony smell of wood polish.
I have not been in any building that had that much timber.
It was impressive and absolutely beautiful.
Unfortunately the flash on my camera is not that great so these photos just don't do it justice.

Stunning stained glass windows

Salem and I were just stunned with the beauty of it all.
And the amount of stained glass windows was impressive as it was beautiful.
There was so much to take in but not enough time for us to look at everything.
There was an information area too, which was very interesting.
We will take a more detailed look next time.

Yes, we will be back again and have a real good look, have a tour and take our time.
I really wonder why I hadn't been here before.
Another place to add to our "Favourite Places" list.

Boulton Street Memorial Park - Upper Trail

We are continuing from where we left off from yesterdays post.

Going up the steep pathway on the upper trail is a lovely display of spring flowers mingling on and surround the grave stones.  The perfume follows us as we walk.

It is really a beautiful day and we are surrounded by beautiful scenery.  Even with the motorway right next to us, you forget that it is even there.  We don't even hear the cars driving by.

In this cemetery only 1334 of the gravestones are still visible since having the motorway built and due to old age.  Also some of the oldest graves were just simple wooden markers used mainly by the poorest settlers.  Later, even cast iron was used as markers.

This grave is in the Jewish part of the cemetery.  It is planted with lovely blue flowers with a rosemary bush in the middle.
It is situated on the edge of the Hort Lawn which is part of the Jewish Cemetery and was still vacant when the cemetery was closed in 1892.

Less than half of the 1334 gravestones are in their original positions.  You can easily recognise the reinstated gravestones as they are grouped close together and are without fences or bases.

It will be nice to come back later when all the roses are in bloom as the cemetery has a large collection of heritage roses which are of national significance.

This memorial was dedicated to Henry Edmund Holland who was a New Zealand politician and unionist. He was the first leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. 

He was also one of the founding members, although his opinions about the direction of the party were not the same as some of the party's other leaders. Holland had believed that the Labour Party would lay the foundations for socialism.  More moderate members of the party simply wanted to improve the wages and conditions of workers.

Henry "Harry" Holland

During the Great Depression, he believed that it marked the beginning of the end for capitalism.  But the economic problems continued with many workers cast into poverty, he then began to question whether his theories were capable of solving this crisis. Holland started to suffer from depression, exhaustion, and ill health, and began to withdraw from the activities of leadership.

In 1933 he died suddenly of a heart attack at the funeral of  Te Rata Mahuta.  He was given a State Funeral and was succeeded by the more moderate Michael Joseph Savage who lead the Labour Party to victory in the 1935 elections.

It's great exploring the old gravestones and seeing Wellington's history.  Looking closer, they all have stories to tell.

For example, this one pictured above, is in the memory of William Heighton who was in the New Zealand Torpedo Corps and died in an accidental explosion at Shelly Bay here in Wellington.

And Henry Gardiner and his wife Lucy.  They must have met and married over her in New Zealand as they had arrived on different ships and years.  He arrived on the H.M. Survey Ship Acheron in 1947, and Lucy arrived in 1841 on the Lady Nugent.

Tune in tomorrow for another installment of our Spring Expedition...........

Bolton Street Memorial Park - Lower Trail

After catching the train into Wellington on Saturday morning, we made our way up Bowen Street to start our expedition.  From Bowen Street we were able to enter the Bolton Street Memorial Park and go along some of the Lower Trail.  This is on the east side of the motorway which was built during 1968 to 1971.

While it was being built, the cemetery was closed and around 3700 burials were exhumed and then they were re-interred in a vault which is under the lower cemetery lawn.  The headstones have been relocated as close to their original sites as was possible.

Looking down from the start of the bridge.

This divided the cemetery into two parts which is joined by a foot bridge going over the motorway.
Its quite a steep bridge, great for running down though.
It did look lovely on Saturday, the sun was just beaming and the spring flowers were lovely and vibrant.
In the photo above, at the top right side you can see a kowhai tree in bloom.  Lovely yellow flowers, a favorite with the Tui, one of our cheeky native birds.

A Tui

We did get to see a few tuis' further up the trail.  They were very vocal and flitting from one tree to the next.
We could have spent ages watching them but we had to carry on our way.

The motorway going trough the lower and upper parts of the cemetery

The photo of the motorway above was taken from another bridge on our way back to the railway station.  The lower part of the cemetery is to the left where the traffic signs are.  The upper part is to the right, you can see some of the gravestones in the trees.

I will post the next part of our expedition tomorrow........

A Botanical Break

On the 25th August, Salem and I had a well earned break between the ballet shows Salem was performing in.  It was early evening and after being around a theatre most of the day, it was really nice to "stop and smell the flowers".
We went to the Lady Norwood Gardens at the Wellington Botanical Gardens and then walked through the Bolton Street Memorial Park.  It was so nice and it definitely blew the cobwebs away.

There were no roses at this time of year but the plantings of beautiful bright poppies more than made up for that.  They were beautiful!!!!
Salem had fun buzzing from one flower to the next pretending to be a bee.  It was a great way for him to un-wind.
Then we slowly walked back into the city through the Boulton Street Park and the smell of the early spring flowers was just devine.  We had a little time to explore and look at some of the very old gravestone which were surrounded by the flowers.
It was a pity we didn't have a lot of time but we were well refreshed to face the rest of the evening.
Just Lovely......

Spring flowers growing on the graves

The Bolton Street Memorial Park

The Bolton Street Memorial Park in central Wellington, right next to the motorway.  It contains the city's original burial ground commonly known previously as Bolton Street Cemetery. It commemorates many early pioneers (1840 - 1892) and important historical figures from the 19th Century.
The Bolton Street Memorial Park, was newly named in 1978, is an excellent example of a colonial cemetery, using imported and local stone, iron and wood. Its iron memorials, wooden tablets, picket fences and wrought iron surrounds are particularly significant and comparatively rare in New Zealand.

It is a peaceful sanctuary of cultivated and forested open space. There are over 1,300 carved and worn monuments are distributed throughout the Park that straddles the motorway. A nationally important collection of heritage roses, some dating from the colonial era, inter-twine with other early plantings amongst picket fences and wrought iron surrounds. It's walkways offer a unique stroll between the city centre and the formal Rose Garden of the Botanic Gardens.

The old chapel there contains exhibits and has a full burial list of the 8,679 people interred in the cemetery. It is situated alongside is the Sexton's Cottage which is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Wellington.

Taking time to smell the flowers

The Wellington Botanic Gardens

At the Wellington Botanic Gardens there is over 26 hectares of unsurpassed views, unique landscape, exotic forests, native bush, colourful floral displays and gorgeous specialist gardens.

You can visit the Duck Pond, Begonia House, award-winning Lady Norwood Rose Garden,  the Treehouse Visitor Information Centre, Sundial of Human Involvement, Children’s Play Area and the historic Bolton Street Memorial Park which is where many of the city's pioneers are buried.

The gardens are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Entry is free and Garden tours are available by prior booking or prior request.

Pretty Poppies

Some history about the Gardens

The Wellington Botanic Gardens are classed as a Garden of National Significance by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture and is an Historic Places Trust Heritage Area.

In 1844, the New Zealand Company set aside a 5.26 hectare strip of land for a Botanic Garden reserve.  At that time the land was covered in dense podocarp forest including rimu, totara and matai.  The Garden was established in 1868 and managed by the New Zealand Institute. 

Trees growing today on Druid Hill and Magpie Spur grew from seedlings planted at this time, and are some of the oldest exotic trees in New Zealand.

In the 1870s the fledgling garden was boosted with a further 21.85 hectares of reserve.

Wellington City Council has managed the Botanic Garden since 1891.

At the Lady Norwood Rose Garden

Some more history of the Gardens

James Hector was the first director of the Garden, he also held many significant positions from his arrival in Wellington in 1865 including keeper of time, director of the Dominion Museum, founder of the NZ Geological Survey (forerunner of the DSIR)and NZ Institute (forerunner of the Royal Society of NZ).

Albert Kellog was the first to describe the giant Sequoya from America, a number of specimens which are found in the Garden.
He supplied most of the North West American plants imported by James Hector, that became such a feature of this garden, including the commercially important Pinus radiata.

George Vernon Hudson was a teenager when he first came to Wellington, he was the first to describe the life cycle of the native glow worn from specimens found in this Garden. His extensive insect collection eventually became the founding collecton of the Dominion Museum, subsequently Te Papa.
With an interest in astronomy, he wrote many articles on his star gazing in local papers, discovered a star, and was the first proponent of daylight saving. He used the observatory telescopes in the Garden in addition to his own.

Bright cheerful colour while the roses are dormant

The Lady Norwood Rose Garden

The Lady Norwood Rose Garden is one of the most popular features of the Wellington Botanic Garden. 
A rose garden has been a feature of the Garden for a long time. The original occupied the site now featuring the Sound Shell in the Main Garden. In the late 1940's the possibility of establishing a new area featuring roses was suggested, and with the assistance of the Norwood Family, work commenced in 1950, the garden named after Lady Norwood. The area opened in 1953.

The Garden contains some 3200 roses covering over 300 varieties. It includes all main types.
There is also a heritage rose collection of roses from Regency and Victorian times in the adjoining Bollton Street Memorial Park, containing some 300 heritage specimens covering over 80 varieties.

The surrounding pergola was added in 1961. Lady Norwood donated the original fountain in the centre, although the Norwood children gave a replacement in 1977. This is an antique bronze structure, imported from Australia, although originally came from outside a bank in London. It is over 100 years old.

The design of the garden has basically not changed since it was constructed. There are 106 beds, although recently the 4 central beds have been divided into two to allow easier access, so there are now 110 main beds. The Rose Garden Brochure, available in the Begonia House, gives the garden layout, and lists the individual roses in their appropriate beds. # to 4 rose beds are replaced each year, the new roses previously trialed in the test beds located at the rear right of the garden for several years before being selected. Few of the original roses remain; Buccaneer, located in the centre close to the fountain in the north east quadrant, is one of the remaining original specimens.

The main flowering season commences in November and continues until early autumn. The plants are continually 'deadheaded through the flowering season to promote new growth and flowering. Pruning starts in May, and a pruning demonstration in conjunction with the Rose Society is held each year.