Don's Blog
“This is who we are”
Last Thursday afternoon Esme and Geoff Blyth, Kay and I spent an enjoyable afternoon visiting Stelley and Greg Hardy at Serpentine. The Hardy name will be familiar with many of you because Joseph and John Hardy were part of the original group of Methodists who came to Western Australia and were instigators of the Wesley congregation.
As we walked in to the lounge room of Strelley Hardy’s house he had displayed a large number of historical articles, books, and newspapers, and on the wall were paintings of the original family members. It was a moving time as we listen to and read the activities of those original Methodists. They are described as a “dedicated and brave band of Yorkshire farmers” who “… took an active part in planting the Methodist cause in Western Australia.”
Joseph Hardy preached the first sermon on the beach at Fremantle and then a service was held under a jarrah tree in Perth. A plaque in the Hay Street Mall commemorates the place of that worship service to this day.
A sad part of their early life is Joseph Hardy’s awareness of the massacre of aboriginal people, including women and children at Pinjarra. He described the incident as “shocking”. We can scarcely imagine the impact this must have had on him during that time.
There were however, many positive things that were part of the early life of the Methodist Church not the least of which was there determination to establish a strong congregation and their involvement in Education.
We owe a lot to the Hardy family and other families who took the risk to settle in Perth as a worshipping and witnessing congregation.
They remind us “this is who we are”.
I believe they would also challenge us to continue the ministry and mission they began with the same dedication.
By the way, Kay and I celebrated the birth of our 13th grandchild last Tuesday. Matthew Jay weighed in 8 pounds. Mother and baby are doing extremely well. The grandparents are now awaiting the arrival of the 14th grandchild!! Watch this space.
Thanks for reading.
Don
