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Kōrero: Methodist Church

Uncle Scrim

Audio file

Colin Scrimgeour, known as 'Uncle Scrim', was a Methodist missioner whose Friendly road radio programme was hugely popular during the economic depression in the early 1930s. This 1931 cartoon by Gordon Minhinnick shows him as a rather cunning angel. Listen to Uncle Scrim talking about the origins of the Friendly road radio church in this clip from a 1979 radio documentary.

Transcript

Narrator: The Church of the Air shortly became the Friendly Road, a name chosen by the Reverend Collin Scrimgeour who had resigned his post as Methodist City Missioner to join this new movement. He became Uncle Scrim to radio audiences.

Colin Scrimgeour: I have this problem to face how do you group all people in one? It's no good saying they're Christians. Yes, of course their Christians. But all Christians didn't like each other. This was the great problem.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Reference: 1823

Cartoon: Alexander Turnbull Library, B-100-027, by Gordon Edward George Minhinnick

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Tim Shoebridge, Methodist Church – The 20th and 21st centuries, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/speech/27523/uncle-scrim (accessed 25 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Tim Shoebridge, i tāngia i te 30 March 2011.