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Band of Hope in the First Dunsandel Hall/Library
Description
TitleBand of Hope in the First Dunsandel Hall/Library
DescriptionThe Band of Hope was first proposed by Rev Jazeb Tunnicliff, who was a Baptist minister in Leeds, following the death in June 1847 of a young man whose life was cut short by alcohol.
While working in Leeds, Tunnicliff had become an advocate for total abstinence from alcohol.
In the autumn of 1847, with the help of other temperance workers, the Band of Hope was founded.
Its objective was to teach children the importance and principles of sobriety and teetotalism.
In 1855, a national organisation was formed amidst an explosion of Band of Hope work.
Meetings were held in churches throughout the UK and included Christian teaching. (Wikipedia.org [1])
It would appear from a report of a gathering of Temperance Groups from Ellesmere that Dunsandel had a Band of Hope by 1880 [2] looked after by the I.O.G.T. (Good Templars Lodge)
A public tea and meeting [3] took place in the Dunsandel Hall in October 1887.
The young people were allowed to eat first at heavily laden tables. Then parents and friends were provided for in a similar manner, the hall again being well filled.
After the meal, Mr Simpson took the chair, and the Presbyterian choir sang several very nice selections during the evening. The speech by T. W. Glover, of the New Zealand Alliance, focused mainly on the question of compensation for the hotel keepers if alcohol was restricted.
By 1897, the Band of Hope seems to have been administered by the Presbyterians [4].
Certainly, in 1879 the Leeston Band of Hope group had been formed in connection with the Presbyterian Sunday School [5].
The hall was crowded, and a “most excellent programme” was given at the 1899 meeting on July 6.
While the well-prepared songs and recitations by the children were “most excellently rendered” and songs by young ladies of the district were a highlight, the feature of the evening was a number of selections from a graphophone brought from Christchurch.
The graphophone was the name and trademark of an improved version of the phonograph, invented at the laboratories established by Alexander Graham Bell in the USA. (Wikipedia.org [7]).
In 1905 the Dunsandel Band of Hope began its winter meetings on June 21 [8].
Samuel Sherrard presided, and there was a large attendance.
Songs and dialogues were presented during the evening.
Later that month there was a more enthusiastic report of the second meeting in the hall with the Rev Grant in the chair [9].
There was a large attendance, and the meeting was opened with praise and prayer, after which songs were sung by several little girls.
Recitations were given by children with well-known surnames, Amy Lochhead, Ruby Jamieson, Maggie and Bella Burgess, Esther, Eva and Olive Hill, Ruby Gemmel, Emily Skinner, May Walker, Annie and Rosey Brown, Aggie Gibson, Charles and Bert Sheat, Arthur Adams, Robert and Gordon Gemmel, J Lochhead, Stanley McKenzie, John Burgess, Charley Sherrard and Percy Upson.
The Rev Grant announced that Mr Woolley, the great American no-license speaker, would lecture at Dunsandel in August and that Mrs Harrison Lee would also be there in September.
The meeting then closed with the singing of the Doxology.
The opening meeting [10] of the 1906 year, held in July in the hall followed a familiar pattern.
All the performers were children or members of the Endeavour Society.
Great credit was given to Miss Aldridge and Miss M. Sherrard for training the children. The report summed up the meeting thus, “To give details of the programme would occupy, too much space, suffice it to say that all the items were made the medium of conveying excellent advice in a pleasant fashion”.
Reports of the second [11], fourth[12] and final [13] meetings for 1914, all held in the hall, were found.
Attendance ranged from “good” to “large and appreciative”.
The Rev J S Reid had replaced the Rev Grant. The program varied from addresses to instrumental and vocal items from locals.
The Band of Hope was still strong in 1925 when a meeting [14] took place in the hall in July under the auspices of the United Guild. There was a packed attendance and a collection in aid of the funds of the guild realised close on £5.
As in the past, recitations, choruses and dialogues by the children from both schools, were reported in detail in the Ellesmere Guardian.
The children were trained by Misses Thomas, Laishley (2), Kime, Walker and Mrs H. A. Brown.
Mr J. H. Skinner, president of the guild, presided, and at the close of the meeting Mr F. Smith moved a hearty vote of thanks to the performers and their trainers.
Mike Noonan
Dunsandel Historic Society
Date1880-1925SourcePapers PastLocationDunsandel
DescriptionThe Band of Hope was first proposed by Rev Jazeb Tunnicliff, who was a Baptist minister in Leeds, following the death in June 1847 of a young man whose life was cut short by alcohol. While working in Leeds, Tunnicliff had become an advocate for total abstinence from alcohol.
In the autumn of 1847, with the help of other temperance workers, the Band of Hope was founded.
Its objective was to teach children the importance and principles of sobriety and teetotalism.
In 1855, a national organisation was formed amidst an explosion of Band of Hope work.
Meetings were held in churches throughout the UK and included Christian teaching. (Wikipedia.org [1])
It would appear from a report of a gathering of Temperance Groups from Ellesmere that Dunsandel had a Band of Hope by 1880 [2] looked after by the I.O.G.T. (Good Templars Lodge)
A public tea and meeting [3] took place in the Dunsandel Hall in October 1887.
The young people were allowed to eat first at heavily laden tables. Then parents and friends were provided for in a similar manner, the hall again being well filled.
After the meal, Mr Simpson took the chair, and the Presbyterian choir sang several very nice selections during the evening. The speech by T. W. Glover, of the New Zealand Alliance, focused mainly on the question of compensation for the hotel keepers if alcohol was restricted.
By 1897, the Band of Hope seems to have been administered by the Presbyterians [4].
Certainly, in 1879 the Leeston Band of Hope group had been formed in connection with the Presbyterian Sunday School [5].
The hall was crowded, and a “most excellent programme” was given at the 1899 meeting on July 6.
While the well-prepared songs and recitations by the children were “most excellently rendered” and songs by young ladies of the district were a highlight, the feature of the evening was a number of selections from a graphophone brought from Christchurch.
The graphophone was the name and trademark of an improved version of the phonograph, invented at the laboratories established by Alexander Graham Bell in the USA. (Wikipedia.org [7]).
In 1905 the Dunsandel Band of Hope began its winter meetings on June 21 [8].
Samuel Sherrard presided, and there was a large attendance.
Songs and dialogues were presented during the evening.
Later that month there was a more enthusiastic report of the second meeting in the hall with the Rev Grant in the chair [9].
There was a large attendance, and the meeting was opened with praise and prayer, after which songs were sung by several little girls.
Recitations were given by children with well-known surnames, Amy Lochhead, Ruby Jamieson, Maggie and Bella Burgess, Esther, Eva and Olive Hill, Ruby Gemmel, Emily Skinner, May Walker, Annie and Rosey Brown, Aggie Gibson, Charles and Bert Sheat, Arthur Adams, Robert and Gordon Gemmel, J Lochhead, Stanley McKenzie, John Burgess, Charley Sherrard and Percy Upson.
The Rev Grant announced that Mr Woolley, the great American no-license speaker, would lecture at Dunsandel in August and that Mrs Harrison Lee would also be there in September.
The meeting then closed with the singing of the Doxology.
The opening meeting [10] of the 1906 year, held in July in the hall followed a familiar pattern.
All the performers were children or members of the Endeavour Society.
Great credit was given to Miss Aldridge and Miss M. Sherrard for training the children. The report summed up the meeting thus, “To give details of the programme would occupy, too much space, suffice it to say that all the items were made the medium of conveying excellent advice in a pleasant fashion”.
Reports of the second [11], fourth[12] and final [13] meetings for 1914, all held in the hall, were found.
Attendance ranged from “good” to “large and appreciative”.
The Rev J S Reid had replaced the Rev Grant. The program varied from addresses to instrumental and vocal items from locals.
The Band of Hope was still strong in 1925 when a meeting [14] took place in the hall in July under the auspices of the United Guild. There was a packed attendance and a collection in aid of the funds of the guild realised close on £5.
As in the past, recitations, choruses and dialogues by the children from both schools, were reported in detail in the Ellesmere Guardian.
The children were trained by Misses Thomas, Laishley (2), Kime, Walker and Mrs H. A. Brown.
Mr J. H. Skinner, president of the guild, presided, and at the close of the meeting Mr F. Smith moved a hearty vote of thanks to the performers and their trainers.
Mike Noonan
Dunsandel Historic Society
Date1880-1925SourcePapers PastLocationDunsandelClick on the image to add
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Band of Hope in the First Dunsandel Hall/Library (1880-1925). Selwyn Stories, accessed 06/04/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/5470
