Plaque commemorating first Canterbury rural parish missing

The plaque disappeared from a cairn near the corner of Boundary and Shands Roads sometime before July 18.

“If you’ve seen this plaque, or can assist in our enquiries, we’d love to get it back onto its memorial boulder where it belongs,” Police said in a statement.

The plaque states that it stands on the site of the first Catholic rural parish which extended from the Conway to the Rangitata Rivers.

The plaque is dated 2/11/1987.

According to the history page of the Our Lady of the Plains parish website, the Christchurch Country Mission was established in 1862 with a church built at New Headford on Shand’s Track in 1871, on land donated by Patrick Henley.

This was under the responsibility of the then Wellington diocese and Bishop Viard.

A large presbytery that doubled as a school was also built beside the Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament.  This country parish covered the area outside of the city, up to the Conway River in North Canterbury. 

Fr Jean Claude Chervier, SM, was the first parish priest until 1896.  From this base, separate parishes were established by Fr Chervier, with the remaining area becoming the Lincoln Parish.

Anyone with information concerning the missing plaque can call 105 or contact Police online at 105.police.govt.nz, click ‘Update Report’, and use the reference number 250721/7184.

FULL STORY

Unique brass plaque goes missing in Rolleston | Star News (Star News/ODT)

History – Selwyn Catholic Parish (Our Lady of the Plains Parish)