St Andrew's Hands Over Oral History Recordings

MEDIA RELEASE For immediate release 16 April 2007

St Andrew's Hands Over Oral History Recordings to the Turnbull Library

St Andrew's on The Terrace is a distinctive progressive Presbyterian congregation in the heart of Wellington. Its history goes back to the arrival of the first ships of European settlers in Wellington in 1840.

On Wednesday 18 April, a set of 12 oral history interviews with ministers and people of St Andrew's will be handed over to the Alexander Turnbull Library. The interviews are with members and former members of the congregation, including the Very Rev John Murray, the Rev Dr James Stuart, the Rev Margaret Reid Martin, Professor Lloyd Geering, Hugh Templeton, and hymn writer Shirley Murray.

A grant from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage funded the interviews, which have been undertaken over the past 12 months by three interviewers from the St Andrew's History Group. The interviews include both life history information and the interviewees' perspectives on St Andrew's and the wider church from 1920 onwards.

'St Andrew's is a forward-looking congregation, where some very 21st century conversations about life and faith happen, but we also honour our history', said the Rev Dr Margaret Mayman, current minister of St Andrew's on the Terrace. 'I am delighted that some of the stories of our congregation have been told in the oral history project and that they will be preserved for future generations of people who, like us, search for meaning while honouring mystery.'

Chris Szekely, Chief Librarian of the Turnbull Library, welcomed the donation to the Library's oral history collection and acknowledged the work of the St Andrew's History Group. 'These interviews with key members of the St Andrew's congregation will be invaluable for research into many aspects of New Zealand's social and religious history,' he said.

ENDS

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