Christ Church Brunswick

Christ Church and Papua New Guinea

Aerial view of Dogura, Papua New Guinea

Compared with the parish of Christ Church Brunswick, the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea is relatively young. Formerly a diocese of the Province of Queensland, it became a province in its own right in 1977. The first Anglican missionaries landed near Dogura much earlier, in 1891, by which time the Reverend Charles Bardin was coming to the end of his 41 year tenure as vicar of Christ Church.

Not much is remembered of the parish’s earlier involvement with the church in Papua and New Guinea, but it was during Father Walter Green’s time as vicar in the 1930s that the parish became a strong supporter of the work of the Church of England missions, particularly for the church’s work in Papua. Both Father and Mrs Green were passionate about this work and encouraged the parish to be interested and to support missionaries.

Support for the church and the missionaries took many forms. Miss Kempson organised the distribution and collection of moneyboxes for the Australian Board of Missions whose major focus was the Papuan Church. Each year a “Garden Party in the aid of the Mission of the Church” was held in the vicarage garden. These garden parties continued well into the 1960s. In 1935, the admission fee to the garden party was a shilling, which included afternoon tea.

For a long time the parish gave particular support to “Our Own Missionary”. Our Missionary was not always the same missionary – for example, in 1933, our missionary was the Reverend Dr Cecil Gill who was serving at Kikiri, while by 1935, it was the Reverend John Bodger at Dogura. Canon Bodger was at Dogura for many years, and was given direct support by Christ Church for much of that time. Signs of his church and practical work are still very visible at Dogura. Many Papua New Guinean Anglicans have been baptised “Bodger” over the years as a tribute to his work and influence. An emphasis of the financial support to “Our Own Missionary” was the Christmas Box. The October 1935 edition of the parish paper Via Christi urges parishioners to get their “Gifts for Our Own Missionary’s Christmas Box in as soon as possible”.

It was not, however, all one way traffic – some remember that during Father Green’s time that the Palm Sunday crosses were sent down from the Anglican Missions in Papua.

During World War II, many of the young men of the parish served in the armed forces around the world including New Guinea. News of these men appeared regularly in the parish paper, as did news of the movement, capture and martyrdom of a number of Anglican Missionaries.

The booklet produced for Christ Church Brunswick’s centenary, Christ Church Brunswick 1857-1957, records that

Dr Blanche Biggs resided in the parish for some years until she had completed her studies. She then went to the New Guinea Mission where she continues to render splendid service at the hospital at Eroro, Papua.

In the late 1970s, the parish starting receiving regular visits form Lance Taylor and Chris Martin both of whom were teaching at Sogeri National High School, not far from Port Moresby. Sogeri, a government school, was Papua New Guinea’s first National High School catering for years 11 and 12 students from all parts of the country. Lance and Chris are contemporaries of former Christ Church vicar Father David Farrer, and through regular visits to the Farrer household, became regular parishioners of Christ Church at the time. Lance’s cartoons of Fathers Farrer, Harvie and Bird, of rascal choirboys and servers, and of general parish life provided much amusement.

The parish had further contact with Papua New Guinea when Rowan Callick came to Australia after 12 years working for the Anglican Church in PNG; he also become a regular parishioner at the time. Rowan spoke frankly from the pulpit about his work in communications and media for the Church and about his life in Port Moresby.

For some time in the 1980s, anyone entering Christ Church’s Bardin Centre would have seen on the notice board a large poster with the outline of a mini-bus on it. Gradually the mini-bus was coloured in as the parish raised money for Bishop Paul Richardson to purchase a bus for his Diocese of Aipo Rongo. Bishop Paul worked in Papua New Guinea for many years, in remote and difficult conditions. Many will remember hearing of him working on his manual typewriter while sitting on the end of his bed. Eventually, Christ Church raised the money required and a bus was acquired. Soon after that, the bus was stolen, but luckily it was insured and replaced.

The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Dogura

Window in Dogura Cathedral

In 1995, Bishop Tevita Talanoa of the Diocese of Dogura preached an entertaining sermon at a service during which parishioner Damien Farrer was commissioned as a mission volunteer at Dogura for the Anglican Board of Mission. Although Damien originally went for six months, he ended up staying at Dogura for three years, starting off as a teacher of English and Religious Education and then as Bursar at Holy Name School, one of three Anglican High Schools in Papua New Guinea. During Damien’s time there, Christ Church provided generous financial and material support, including a refrigerator, as well as prayerful and emotional support in the form of many, many letters. At the same time, the parish provided considerable support to the school. A ciborium was given the school for the new chapel as a memorial to six Holy Name students killed in a plane crash on their way back to school after holidays.

Many Holy Name students are unable to finish their schooling because they cannot pay their school fees. In recent years, Christ Church has supported a number of these students who would not otherwise have been able to gain their High School Certificates which are so necessary for gaining employment.

Damien Farrer and Cricket Club friends

Damien Farrer teaching