Birch, Rev. William

- bn – d. 1900. Pastor. Churches: (U.K.) Manchester; (N.Z.) Auckland Tabernacle 1889-91; Union Free, Auckland 1891-92; Oxford Tce 1892-93; New Central Mission, Christchurch 1893-95. Appointed for the Tabernacle by Charles Spurgeon, Birch came from a celebrated ministry in Manchester. His career in N.Z., however, was riven by dispute and controversy. He was active in Labour causes but it was his apparent arrogance in personal relationships which eventually alienated the bulk of his members. After leaving the Auckland Tabernacle he set up the Union Free Church in Auckland. In Christchurch he promptly had Oxford Tce renamed the ‘Christchurch Tabernacle’. A similar pattern unfolded, resulting in Birch’s resignation in 1893 and the brief existence of the New Central Mission. Birch left N.Z. for the U.S.A. in 1895 or 96. Refs: Obituary: Lyttelton Times 26 March 1900; M.P. Sutherland ‘"Downgrade with a vengeance": New Light on a Tabernacle Controversy,’ NZJBR, Vol. 2, October 1997, 79-96.