Family History 4.23

Robinson Story

Joshua's diary

Joining a Church

I have already related our disappointment at the failure of the agreement I had entered into. I don't think I would have come to New Zealand but for that favourable offer, but I believe I would have emigrated to America or Canada, but by the providence of our Heavenly Father here we are, and I mean briefly to relate some of the leading events of that Providence.

As a Christian in more than name I felt the need of association and communion with those that love the Lord Jesus. I never sought to advance or improve my worldly circumstances by such associations. The loaves and fishes in connection therewith never entered my thoughts. I know the promise is they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing, and Godliness is profitable both for the present life and that which is to come, but the favour of God is not to be bought.

All we receive at God's name is a free gift of grace, not of debt. The motive I had in joining such associations was a sense of need and obligation, and so I found a people fearing God under the name Wesleyans. I told them I belonged to a people called Baptists. I could not give up the doctrine of Beloved Baptism. They said that would be no hindrance to my worshipping with them, so I united with them so far as attending all the services they had instituted, and found it to my spiritual profit.

Having a good voice I was of some service in the singing, and teaching in the Sunday School. The services were conducted in a small weatherboard house at the back of where Clark and Sons warehouse now stands. Some time after a chapel was erected, then enlarged, and then a large brick building was erected, all on the same site of what is now the Courthouse. Among these people I continued till the year ----.

Previous to this all who were dissenters from  the Church of England met with the Wesleyans, that being the only organised body of Christians, excepting a small congregation of Scotch Presbyterian. Their preacher was a Mr Cornby. They met for public worship in the Court House in Queen St, next the Jail, at the foot of Victoria Street.

 

Shortland Street

First Houses

After the completion of our first contract, before the commencement of our second, we got a pretty general knowledge of the people and place. While at work at Parnell we became acquainted with a gentleman named Beverage. He was from Sydney. He had freighted a vessel with cattle and horses and before the sale had put up a large shed to house them in. This was built of sawn kauri.

The timber was little the worse for the use that had been made of it, so min making enquiries if he was disposed to sell it, we learned he had bought a section of land near where the shed was built and had it surveyed and cut into allotments for sale. In our interview we arranged to buy the timber at half the selling price, and the allotments of land at 15 pounds each allotment of 40 x 100 feet on easy terms [=350 square meters].

So we set to work and put up two small houses, having the timber on the ground to hand which was a great advantage at that time. So that within three months of our arrival we were land proprietors and owners of our own dwellings, not very grand, for at first they only consisted of one room fitted up with bunks as on shipboard.

We had to be very economical in all things, housing, eating, drinking, wearing no luxuries,  very plain food but enough, and by God's blessing, our health was never better. For the first three years we rarely tasted butter, our fare generally was potatoes and pork, varied with bread and occasionally some other vegetables all bought off the natives, except the bread. Buying the pigs alive, eating it for as long as it would keep, salting down the remainder. The pigs reared by the natives had no disagreeable effect when killed and cooked. They were mostly fed upon fern root and other vegetables.