Michael's Church, which had not then been consecrated; it was presided over by Mr. FitzGerald, and Bishop Selwyn suggested the name of the Rev. H. J. C. Harper as the first Bishop of Christchurch. The Bishop of New Zealand spoke so warmly of the sterling character of his friend that the meeting carried resolutions praying Her Majesty the Queen to nominate a Bishop of Christchurch, and affirming that it would preserve the interests of the Church in the Province if the Rev. H. J. C. Harper (then the vicar of Mortimer, in Berkshire) were appointed to the post. At the time these resolutions reached England, the Rev. Edmund Hobhouse, a Fellow of Merton College, was in communication with Lord Lyttelton, who wished to recommend him for appointment as Bishop of Christchurch, but Mr. Hobhouse[1] immediately gave way on the declared wishes of the members of the Church of England residents in the Province of Canterbury becoming known, and Mr. Harper was appointed. He was consecrated Bishop at the Lambeth Palace Chapel, August 10, 1856, and sailed for Lyttelton in the “Egmont” on September 11.
The first person to greet Bishop Harper on his arrival (December 23) was Bishop Selwyn, who had come to meet him in his yacht, the “Southern Cross,” and came on board the “Egmont,” bringing with him Mr. Leonard Harper. The meeting of the two Bishops has been commemorated in a fine piece of sculpture, which forms the central panel of the Cathedral pulpit.
Canon Purchas, in his “Bishop Harper and the Canterbury Settlement,” has supplied a graphic account of the difficulties of transport in conveying the Bishop with his numerous family and luggage over the Bridle Track to Mr. Cookson’s house in Heathcote Valley. From thence to Christchurch, the Bishop and some members of his family were conveyed by Mr. J. E. FitzGerald in
- ↑ He was shortly afterwards appointed as the first Bishop of Nelson.
