The Church of the Holy Innocents

Canterbury University Library, Christchurch
J.B.A. Acland Diaries - The Acland Papers
1858-60 voyage account pg9 to 43.   /mb_44_b2_1.pdf
1863 1865-67 1867 1869     /mb_44_b2_2.pdf                      /mb_44_b2_3_3.pdf          /mb_44_b2_4_1.pdf       /mb_44_b2_4_2.pdf
1870 1877 1876-78  1878-79     /mb_44_b2_5.pdf               /mb_44_b2_7.pdf               /mb_44_b2_8.pdf            /mb_44_b2_9.pdf
1880-81 1881-82 1883-85 1885-86     /mb_44_b2_9aa.pdf       /mb_44_b2_9a.pdf              /mb_44_b2_9b.pdf         /mb_44_b2_10.pdf
1889-90 1893-98 Vol. 1     mb_44_b2_12.pdf   /mb_44_b2_13.pdf
Acland family remembered

Acland papers - 2005 was the 150th anniversary of the founding of Mt Peel Station by John Barton Arundel Acland, whose descendants still live there. To mark this the University Library displayed manuscripts, photographs, watercolours and architectural drawings. The selected items on display were taken from the Acland Papers, held in the Macmillan Brown Library and given to the University by Kit, Lady Acland in 1981. The display filled 6 display cases and provides a fascinating insight into life among the Canterbury gentry in the colonial period. The full collection of Acland Papers occupies about 15 metres of shelf space in the Macmillan Brown Library Archives Collection and is a frequently consulted source of research material in several disciplines. The Acland Papers are one of the richest and largest collections of 19th century family papers in New Zealand.

Henry John Chitty Harper, D.D. born c1804 died 28 Dec 1893;
Came to New Zealand to serve as the first Anglican Bishop of Canterbury Province 1856 - 1890
Baptized 09 Jan 1804 Holy Trinity Gosport Hampshire
Died 28 Dec. 1893, Christchurch buried 01 Jan. 1894 Barbadoes Street Cemetery, Christchurch

The Star December 30 1893 page 1
Bishop Harper was born at Gasport Hampshire, in 1804. Appointed Bishop of Christchurch in 1856. Resigned May 3 1890. Died at his residence, Bishopcourt. He was always amongst the first to welcome the immigrant, and to extend a helping hand to those in need. It is mainly due to his exertions that Christchurch now possesses a handsome cathedral, the foundation stone laid on the fourteen anniversary of the province. Appointed Primate of New Zealand in 1869. His Lordship arrived in Lyttelton "Egmont" with Mrs Harper and their numerous family on the Christmas Eve of 1856. There they were meet by Bishop Selwyn and Mrs Selwyn, and coming over the hill at once, the new Bishop was enthroned on the following day - that is - Christmas - day, afterwards the Church of St Michael and All Angels, which henceforth became the pro-Cathedral. The Bishop's first care was to visit and organise his diocese. It extended northwards no farther at that time than the river Waipara, and included not only Otago, but Southland and Stewart Island. Nearly every subsequent year until separation of the diocese of Dunedin from that of Christchurch in 1871 Bishop Harper visited systematically the southern division. Visits to this remote portion of his pastorate were often not only accompanied by much discomfort, but were also meet with considerable danger on account of the number of rivers to be crossed and the bad state of the roads. The greater part of these journeys had to be accomplished on horseback, and it was no uncommon thing for the bishop to have to camp out with nothing but his saddle for a pillow and his overcoat for a covering. Some of his visits to the West Coast in the early days of the diggings were also of an exciting, not to say dangerous nature; but nothing daunted, the visits were made as regularly in those primitive days as in the more civilised times of stage coaches and railways, and the care of the flock which had been committed to his charge was always his first consideration. During his episcopate he twice visited England - in 1867 and 1878 - each time to take part in ecclesiastical conferences at Lambeth Place. H. J. C. Harper, first  bishop of Christchurch and First Primate of New Zealand -1867 - 1890

29 Dec 1893 obituary
13 June 1888 obituary for HARPER Emily W
Feb. 1894 funeral report and obituary
Mar. 1894 p487 obituary
07 June 1930 p15 obituary
11 Dec. 1981 article on his life
memorial altar carved by  F Guernsey for chapel at Bishopscourt

Revd George Harper, a brother of the first bishop of Christchurch Henry John Chitty Harper; George Harper became a Jesuit priest. Reverend George Harper curate Dorchester, (1851) a Roman Catholic.

Harper, Henry William born 04 May 1833 Eton Berkshire died 20 Jan 1922 London eldest son (of fifteen children) of Henry John Chitty HARPER (bishop). Venerable Henry W. Harper M.A. Archdeacon and Vicar of St Mary's during the past 36 years 1875-1911.

Hawera & Normanby Star, 24 July 1905, Page 3
CHRISTCHURCH, July 24. Obituary: Mrs Acland, widow of the late Hon. J. B. Acland, aged 75. Deceased was the eldest daughter of the late Bishop Harper, and mother of Mrs F. V. Lysaght, of Hawera.

West Coast Times, 10 January 1880, Page 2
We are glad to be able to supply some particulars of the remarkable Celebration or the Golden Wedding, of the Primate and Mrs Harper, which took place on December 12th, at Christchurch. In the body of the chapel seats were allotted to Mrs Harper, with her sons and daughters, and their families. Of these, we believe, no less than 75 were present, out of a total number of 82, the youngest son and eldest grandchild being absent in England. The Bishop on his arrival in Canterbury 23 years ago.The Primate's family,, which is as follows: —
Hon. J. S. Acland, M.L.C., Mrs Acland, and 9 children;
C.R. Blakiston,. Esq., Mrs Blakiston, and 7 children ;
Ven. Archdeacon Harper, M.A., Oxford ;
C.G. Tripp, Esq., Mrs Tripp, and 8 children ,
T. Maling, Esq., Mrs Maling, and 8 children;
L Harper, Esq., barrister at-law, Mrs Harper, and 8 children ;
Charles J. Harper, Esq., Mrs Harper, and 2 children ;
Percy Cox, Esq., Mrs Cox, and 8 children;
G. Harper, Esq., barrister at-law, Mrs Harper, and 5 children ;
T. Douglas, Esq,, Mrs Douglas, and 3 children ;
Rev. Walter Harper, M.A.,. Oxford, Mrs Harper, and 2 children ;
Gerald Harper, M.D., M.R.C.S.

MARRIAGES:

HOPE - TRIPP. On the 25th July, at St. Thomas' Church, Woodbury, by the Most Rev. the Primate (grandfather of the bride), assisted by the Ven. Archdeacon Harper and the Rev. Walter Harper (uncles of the bride), and the Rev. James Preston, Arthur, third son of T. A. Hope, Esq., of Stanton Bebington, Cheshire, to Frances Emily, eldest daughter of C.G. Tripp, Esq., of Orari Gorge, Canterbury, N.Z.

The Times: Wednesday, Oct 16, 1907; pg. 1
Ormsby : Hope - On the 20th Aug. at St David's Church, Raincliff, Pleasant Point, South Canterbury, New Zealand, by the Venerable Archdeacon Harper, great uncle of the bride, and the Rev. Stanley Hinson, Charles Montague, only son of the late Arthur Ormsby, of Timaru, New Zealand, to Edith Mary, eldest Mary of Arthur Hope, of Raincliff, and grandaughter of the late Thomas Arthur Hope, J.P., of Kensington (London) and Liverpool.

Otago Witness, 9 September 1897, Page 29
Cox— Fox — On the 1st September, at All Saints' Church, Sumner, by the Rev. Canon Harper (uncle of the bridegroom), assisted by the Rev. Henry Purchas, Percy Harper Cox, manager Bank of Auetialasia. Ashburton, to Alice Emily, second daughter of W. Bowman Fox, Ashburton.

Wanganui Herald, 30 October 1909, Page 7
Mr Percy H. Cox, who has been manager of the Bank of Australia at Ashburton for 19 years, has received notice of his transfer to the management of the Christchurch branch.

John Barton Arundel Dyke Acland,  son of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 6th Bt. and Lydia Elizabeth Hoare, married Emily Weddell Harper, daughter of Rt. Rev. Henry John Chitty Harper and Emily Weddell Wooldridge (1805/08 died 10 June 1888 Christchurch), on 17 January 1860. Mrs J.B.A. Acland, Emily died on 23 July 1905.
1 Agnes Dyke Acland
2 Emily Dyke Acland
3 Mary Emily Dyke Acland
4 Harriet Dyke Acland
5 Lucy Alice Dyke Acland
6 Elizabeth Dyke Acland
7 Emily Rose Dyke Acland
8 Dorothy Acland
9 Parton Dyke Acland
10 John Dyke Acland
11 Henry Dyke Acland
12 Hugh Thomas Dyke Acland

Theodore’s father, Leonard Harper, a lawyer, was the first president of the New Zealand Alpine Club. Theodore’s mother was Joanna Dorothea Dyke Acland, thus the source of his middle name. Theodore Acland Harper was born December 17, 1871, in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was born into a prominent New Zealand family of nine children. After attending Christ College Grammar School in 1895 he proceeded to the School of Mines at New Zealand University where he graduated in 1897. His schooling in mining provided the means for his many adventures. Soon after graduating, Mr. Harper began his travels as a sailor before the mast. His travels aboard ship as a deckhand only lasted about six months, he arrived in London with only $17 in his pocket. Theodore Acland Harper died in Portland, at Good Samaritan Hospital, on May 6, 1942. Became involved with Camp Fire, USA as a storyteller.

Bishops of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch 1856-1890 Henry John Chitty Harper

Griffiths, Barbara. Do Nought Without a Bishop: life of Henry John Chitty Harper. Timaru, Timaru Herald, 1956

Purchas, H.T. Bishop Harper and the Canterbury Settlement. Christchurch, Whitcombe & Tombs, 1909. (38)

Williams, Carol A. Bishop Harper’s journeys: his visitations, consecrations, baptisms and confirmations, 1857-1890. Christchurch, Archives Committee, Anglican Diocese of Christchurch, 1997. (146)

The Church of the Holy Innocents...what a lovely wee church!
When you look beyond the monuments in the photo you can see the high bank of the Rangitata river in the background.

The Press (Christchurch) 21 October 2006 Mike Crean
There is more to Peel Forest than first meets the eye. Peering from his studio above Peel Forest, Austen Deans can see the Port Hills of Christchurch. The popular artist estimates the distance across the plains as "80 miles as the crow flies". Deans' chalet nestles among tall trees. The walls are hung with his mountain landscapes. The 90 year-old Deans loves mountains. Returning from World War 2 and establishing himself as a full-time artist, he wanted to live in the mountains. He fancied somewhere further up-country but settled for Peel Forest for the sake of his children's education. Fifty-five years later, he is still there. He explains: "I never found a nicer place to live. I found a rich and lovely community life here." Closeness of community is what he likes best about Peel Forest. It reflects his happy childhood among extended family near Darfield, his comradeship with fellow soldiers of the 20th Battalion, his sharing of privations as a prisoner of war. He adds: "I had always known Peel Forest and loved it anyway." Deans says Peel Forest has retained its charm. Some clubs have folded, the school has closed, the shop has lost its petrol pumps. But newcomers have kept population figures stable and, importantly, they have willingly joined into the community. A symbol of the district's spirit is the former school, now owned by a local trust and used for a Montessori preschool. The former principal's house provides affordable breaks for caregivers under stress. Many of Peel Forest's newcomers live in a part that the casual visitor never sees. As you enter the village, having left the Inland Scenic Route (Highway 72) between Mayfield and Geraldine, you pass a row of old houses, the shop, Musterers Cafe and Bar, the hall and tennis courts. This seems to be all but it isn't. A little further on, a road leads into the hills on the left. Up there is a side settlement dotted with new and old houses, and baches that scale the hillsides among birdsong and bush scent, as near to idyllic as you can get. Some residents come for weekends and holidays. Others call this home, many working in such tourist ventures as rafting and horse trekking. Steve and Jenny Deans run a small farm, homestay and possum-skin business at Peel Forest. Jenny came here 24 years ago, from Timaru, and married Steve, who is Austen's son. A bird table on the lawn shows their love of birdlife. Jenny says June's snowfall and the frosts that followed, killed the fantails that used to flock there. The cold weather wiped out insect life, so the fantails had no food. They would not eat anything else, Jenny says. The last fantail she saw pecked at her window, one cold day, until Steve let it in. It flew around the living room before dying. The snow also felled trees and broke branches. Some mountain walks have only just reopened, after laborious clearance jobs. The casual visitor probably thinks of Peel Forest as that large picnic area 2km past the village. With its mountain backdrop and fringe of native bush, this is a popular getaway for daytrippers from Timaru and Ashburton. From here, a dozen well-marked walking tracks lead into the native podocarp forest. They range from the 15-minute jaunt to the "big tree" -- a giant totara -- to the six-hour return tramp on Little Mount Peel. Camping is prohibited here, but a camping ground, with cabins and tent and caravan sites, is just up the road, above the Rangitata River. Bartek Wypych comes striding from the camp, his eyes on the lofty mountain he is setting out to climb. The Polish immigrant, who lives in Auckland, read about Peel Forest in the Lonely Planet Guide. He was drawn, with his wife and child, to camp here and explore one of the most accessible remnants of New Zealand's podocarp forests. The area is all that he had hoped it would be. A further 5km up the road, the homestead and farm buildings of Mount Peel Station are concealed in a copse of trees. Beyond them stands the stone Church of the Holy Innocents and its interesting graveyard. The church was a gift from the Acland family that has owned Mount Peel for 150 years. The Aclands are an integral part of the area's history. The original John Acland and his friend Charles Tripp were liberal-minded lawyers who tired of the class system in England and sailed for Lyttelton in 1855 to seek a fairer society. Acland had no experience of the high country and some scoffed when he bought Mount Peel. No-one scoffs now. Generations of Aclands have been leaders in public life. The current John Acland is a noted environmentalist. Peel Forest, saved from the pioneers' axes and saws, is an environmental treasure.

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The Christchurch Press 12 December 2003
Rosemary Acland and granddaughter Annabelle Gualter, three, of Geraldine, admire one of the Himalayan lilies at Mount Peel Station. The Acland family will open their 8ha of garden to the public on Sunday for lily day. Each year hundreds of visitors flock to the grounds of the historic South Canterbury station to see its thousands of Himalayan lilies, a giant species that flourishes beneath the tall trees of the sprawling garden. It is believed the lilies spread naturally after a conservatory blew down in the 1930s. The gardens will be open from 10am, and Simon Acland will give a lecture at 10.30am at the Church of the Holy Innocents on the church's stained-glass win-dows. A service will follow at 11am. Rosemary Acland said lily day was an opportunity for visitors to stroll through the grounds, enjoy a picnic, and admire the historic trees, some planted in the late 1800s. Admission is $5 (schoolchildren free), and all proceeds will go to the Geraldine Anglican parish. Children from the Carew-Peel Forest School will perform the legend of Mount Peel at noon, and will also put on a sausage sizzle. Devonshire teas are also available. There will also be Morris dancing and background music.

The Christchurch Press 15 December 1997
Hundreds of visitors made their way to historic Mount Peel Station in South Canterbury yesterday. The Acland family opened the grounds of the station homestead for the Day of the Lilies - a chance for visitors to see the thousands of giant Himalayan lilies growing among tall oak and beech trees. The downward-facing flowers have a heady perfume and grow from bulbs which take seven years to flower. The original bulbs are thought to have been planted by W. W Smith, an English gardener who came to work for the Acland family in the 1870s.

The Irish Times Saturday, March 14, 1970
Prince Charles and Princes Anne left their parents (in Wellington) last night and flew to the South island city of Timaru for a weekend of horse riding, swimming and fishing at the home of Sir John Acland, chairman of the New Zealand Wool Board.

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Sunday Star-Times 3 June 2001
 The World Was All Before Me : The Journals and Watercolours of Edward Ashworth 1838-1845, at the National Library Gallery, until 29 July. Reviewer William McAloon.
EDWARD ASHWORTH emigrated to New Zealand in 1842 but left less than two years later. Taking its title from Ashworth's journal, where he misquotes from John Milton's poem Paradise Lost: "The world was all before me/where to choose my place of rest", the exhibition reflects the hopes and ultimate disappointment of this early settler, offering a fascinating portrait of early colonial history. While not altogether believing the puffery circulating about the new colony, Ashworth sought to "at least do better" in New Zealand "than in overpopulated England". An architect by trade, inquiries into the prospects for his profession in the colony were met with favourable assurances from New Zealand House in London. His journals and images describe the arduous five month voyage out, one sustained for Ashworth and his fellow colonists by the "bright anticipations of the future flight of our fortunes". This was not to be. Arriving in Auckland in October 1842, he found the new capital of the fledgling colony "bare, bleak, barren, brown, burnt up", with high rents and food and labour shortages. His images of Auckland reflect his written description, and Ashworth's precise architectural line goes a long way to describing the state of the settlement. Architectural work was out of the question. Ashworth records in his journals the state of architecture in the colony, "the boarded dwelling, the rude tree bridge, the bullrush hut, or the split pale fence of a colonial property", which seemed "to mock & deride the profession of an architect". He was thus the first in a long line of critics of Auckland's built environment. Ashworth had carried with him a letter of introduction to Governor William Hobson, only to find his potential patron had died two months before his arrival. Acquiring land and building his own house, he resorted to teaching, instructing the children of the late governor and Eliza Hobson. He tried money lending as a potentially lucrative sideline, but this too was of limited success. Chasing up a bad debtor, Ashworth made a trip south in 1843, travelling as far as Te Awamutu and returning to Auckland via Raglan and the Manukau harbour. This trip provides the exhibition with some of its most memorable images, such as The settlement at Waikato Heads, New Zealand. Looking south, as well as accounts of Maori and missionary life. By January 1844 Ashworth had had enough of New Zealand - "it seemed as blank and unfriendly as the watery horizon, broken by volcanic islands" - and departed for Hong Kong, via Australia, Batavia and Macau. From his paintings of these places, which are larger and more assured than his New Zealand images, it seems they impressed him more. He returned to England late in 1844, working in Exeter as an ecclesiastical architect until his death in 1896. Ironically, Ashworth's only New Zealand building, the Church of the Holy Innocents at Mount Peel Station in Canterbury, was designed from there.  The World Was All Before Me is an engaging and informative exhibition, one that reveals Ashworth as a lively recorder of colonial life, a life for which it seems he was eminently unsuited.

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IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD
13 August 2005 Timaru Herald
The Church of the Holy Innocents at Mt Peel holds rich tales about South Canterbury pioneers and their families. Aoraki Polytechnic journalism student Victoria Rutherford unearths some stories about those buried in the small churchyard. Man Unknown, drowned in the Rangitata, 1893. A single greywacke boulder, carved by the icy waters of the Rangitata River and muted with ageing moss is all that is known of this man. In his churchyard resting place he listens to the distant roar of the river, the one element of the landscape that never changes. The unknown man could have been heading south to find his fortune in gold or hoping to find a place on a sprawling high country run. Maybe he was a lonely figure fresh off the ships, with only a swag for company on the cloudless nights of the Canterbury Plains. Nobody knows. From its perch under the Mt Peel foothills, the Church of the Holy Innocents can boast seeing many changes to the people and the land. It has witnessed floods and droughts and devastating snows, and has stood proud while Mt Peel Station struggled in times of hardship. The churchyard that surrounds it tells the stories of the pioneering Acland family, their employees and local people. It speaks of lives lived to the fullest, tragedy, sickness, and a bond formed in this peaceful place where river, hill and plains converge.

It is more than 150 years since John Barton Arundel Acland arrived at Mt Peel, building an impressive homestead and church reminiscent of an English village. Huge exotic trees frame the buildings, giving them an air of mystery. The small church with its magnificent stained glass windows set against greywacke and limestone looks northeast towards the river terraces. A prim holly hedge arches over the entrance-way to the church, leading visitors to the heavy wooden door.
The headstones in the churchyard are a contrast some are tall and commanding, others are just mortar marker stones. Some are mysterious, hidden among grass and agapanthus. Others sit on the boundary of the yard, backs stiff against the trees. Many headstones use the Celtic cross, which is a reminder of the Irish, Scottish and Welsh who ended their days here. The four small children buried in the churchyard speak of a time when survival was often cut short by nature. Emily Acland was the first child to be buried there in 1864. Edward Chudleigh, a cadet on Mt Peel and an interesting character in his own right speaks of the death of his godchild in Chudleigh's Diary, an account of early life in New Zealand. "At eight, Mr and Mrs Acland, nurse and myself were standing all around her. She gave a little sigh, her chin contracted two or three times and she fell asleep to wake no more. She was by far the best-looking and finest of the children and up until the cutting of the back teeth had never ailed a moment."

Despite Chudleigh's extensive roaming around New Zealand, it was at Mt Peel he felt at home. His diary is a frank account of early pioneering life in his search for a farm from Hokianga to Bluff.
He spent time in the Chatham Islands, where he became unpopular with the local Maori, and his entanglement with the Hau Hau prisoners from the land wars saw him narrowly escape death at their hands. Chudleigh and his wife are buried in the Mt Peel churchyard. Hardship stamped the life of pioneers in New Zealand, and the early days at Mt Peel were no exception. Death was never far from the doorstep for the settlers and their families. The death of Emily Acland was followed by two little Irvines and the stillborn son of Abner Clough, a shepherd on the station. Abner Clough was an early employee on the station whose huge physical stature and ability became part of legend. The son of a high-born Maori princess and an Englishman, it was said he could hold a mule up off the ground by its ears as it was being branded. He could walk any swift-flowing Canterbury river with water up to his chin and still retain his footing, a skill not akin to many, shown by the large numbers of drownings in the mid 1800s. Before the unknown man, the Rangitata River had already claimed the lives of other young adventurers. In 1857, young Englishman Adam Clark was on his way to Mt Peel. Anybody wanting to cross the river was supposed to light a fire on the bank and wait for help to arrive. Clark instead forded the cold, swift waters of the Rangitata and was swept away. His grave is marked by an iron cross on the riverbank below the station.

Although stories of ghosts and supernatural happenings are few and far between in New Zealand, a strange story comes from a burial in the 1940s. According to the centenary book, Mount Peel is 100, Mt Peel received a call from a Christchurch man who had worked at the station. His name was Langford and he wanted to bury his father in the churchyard. The request was granted and Mr Acland attended the funeral service, tying his dogs outside the church and making sure they did not follow him in. After the funeral, Mr Acland stood talking to Mr Langford when suddenly his dog "Snow" appeared by his side. The young man said nothing for a moment, then white and shaken he asked; "Is that your dog Mr Acland?" Mr Acland answered yes, and asked why he had enquired. Mr Langford said as his father lay dying he told his son he wanted to be buried at Mt Peel and there would be a white dog at his funeral.

The story of early station workers Alexander and Jane Finlayson also owes its credit to premonitions. In the graveyard lies their 10-year-old son, Peter. Mrs Finlayson hailed from Glasgow where she lived near a shipyard. She saw a ship being built and asked where it was going. "To New Zealand" came the reply, to which she said, "I'll be on that ship". When she arrived in New Zealand she worked for the Deans family in Christchurch. One evening she heard somebody playing the bagpipes and remarked "I'm going to marry that man". That man was Alexander Finlayson.
The family settled at Mt Peel where Mr Finlayson became a shepherd. One day in 1898 she saw the station children in the distance coming over the hill. "One of the children is dead," she said. As they got closer it became apparent that they were carrying her son, who while playing had received a blow to the head. It was only recently that 50 descendants of the family gathered to dedicate a headstone for him, more than 100 years after he died.

Perhaps one of the most recognisable names in the cemetery is renowned crime writer Dame Ngaio Marsh. Dame Ngaio became governess to the son of Christchurch surgeon Sir Hugh and Lady Acland, forming a strong friendship with the family. She often used the South Canterbury area as an inspiration for her books. But it was in her description of sometimes shocking murders that she sought the advice of Sir Hugh. Mt Peel's John Acland senior recalls his father telling him about Dame Ngaio's visits. "He could remember sitting around the dining room table, and Ngaio saying during dinner, "Now Hugh, how are we going to murder this person in my story, when the person to be murdered is in a lift and we have three minutes as the lift moves down three storeys". Sir Hugh replied, "there is only one way Ngaio, with a knitting needle through the eye and into the brain". This murder appears in her book Surfeit of Lampreys, but a metal skewer has replaced the knitting needle. It is dedicated to Sir Hugh and Lady Acland. These days the Church of the Holy Innocents is taken care of by John and Rosemary Acland. It is still used for many occasions and is open to the public. Every New Year, in-keeping with tradition, a member of the Acland family rings the bell to send out the old year and welcome in the new one. The church stands as a fitting tribute to the toil of this country's forefathers, and the quaint churchyard allows their stories to be kept alive, even though the characters have gone.

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