Evening Post, Wellington, 22 May 1876, p 2, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP18760522.2.11:

At the Roman Catholic churches of this city yesterday, after the celebration of high mass, the "Te Deum" was sung in honor of the safe arrival in the s.s. Easby, on last Monday, of three Roman Catholic clergymen, the Revs. Fathers Claffey, Carrigan, and Halbwachs, and four Christian brothers. The Rev. Father Halbwachs preached in the morning at St. Mary's Church, and in the evening at the Cathedral, both being very eloquent sermons.

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Wairarapa Standard, Greytown, 15 June 1876, p 2, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAIST18760615.2.8:

On Sunday last the Rev Father Halbwachs the newly appointed pastor for the Wairarapa district officiated at Masterton, and met with a warm reception from the Catholic residents of that district. On Sunday next he will celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the mass at Greytown, and will after the service hold a general meeting of the Catholics in the neighborhood.

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Evening Post, Wellington 3 June 1879, p 2, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP18790603.2.8.2:

The new Catholic Church at Masterton, dedicated to St. Patrick, was consecrated by Bishop Redwood on Sunday last. Besides the Bishop and the Rev. Father Halbwachs, another priest took part in the service, the Rev Father Grunholtz, who has recently arrived from Poland, and whose mission in New Zealand has a special reference to the many Polish families who are now scattered through the colony. A suitable address to the Bishop was presented by the Rev. Father Halbwachs. His Lordship, in reply, said the church was a credit to Mr. Turnbull, the architect who designed it, a credit to the builders (Messrs. Bishop and Hankins) for the manner in which they carried out their work, a credit to the Catholics of the district, and a credit to the city of Masterton. He joined with Father Halbwachs in thanking all denominations who had contributed towards the erection of so beautiful an edifice. He trusted all would contribute liberally towards defraying any debt which still remained on the building and the grounds surrounding it, and that it would be regarded a point of Catholic honor and Catholic duty to give this assistance to the priest who had done so much for them. He did not know that he could have got another man to do in the Wairarapa what Father Halbwachs had done. The rev. father had been the right man in the right place. Afterwards High Mass was solemnised by the Rev. Father Grunholtz, the sermon being preached by the Bishop. The church was also crowded in the evening for the vesper service.

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Father Halbwach's Farewell, Wairarapa Standard, Greytown, 9 January 1884, p 3, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAIST18840109.2.22:

Father Halbwachs, the popular and much esteemed Roman Catholic priest of the Wairarapa, bade farewell to a crowded congregation in St. Patrick's Church, Masterton, on Sunday evening, Jan. 6, in the following eloquent and appropriate terms, which we copy from the Star:—

My Dear Friends,—I come before you for the last time this evening not to preach yon a sermon. I have simply invited you to come to the beautiful church I leave behind me in order to bid you all farewell. After spending ten years of my life as professor in a college in America it pleased my superiors to send me as a missionary priest to the colonies. Eight years ago I left the shores of the Mississipi to sojourn on a lovely island of the Mediterranean, then in the south of France, and then in Switzerland; and after bidding farewell to my native country and a fond good bye to my aged father, sisters and brother, I sailed for the colonies. Never will I forget the morning in January when I reached the splendid harbor of Sydney. After remaining there a month and visiting the falls of the Parramatta I started for New Zealand. Leaving home, torn away from all that was near and dear to me, you can faintly imagine my feelings when I landed here a stranger in a foreign land. The Wairarapa was offered me as a mission. I might have found a better place, but in accordance with my sacred calling I had renounced the world and I always selected as a field for labor the poorest and most abandoned place I could find. As a youth in holy orders I was in the habit of going to see a dear sister, the Mother Superior of a great military hospital, and I there found myself mixed with the highest of society, so that had I wished, the path of preferment was easy. Had I desired it Bishop Redwood would have offered me one of the best places in his diocese, for we served seven years on the same benches together in France and Ireland. But as he asked me to go to the Wairarapa, I felt that my duty was to cheerfully comply. I shall never forget the day when in company with some of the people of Masterton I was drawn over the dangerous Rimutaka, and I said "If there is no other route to the Valley I shall never come out of it," little thinking that in a few years I should be travelling that road every season. When I crossed the range I was delighted with the beautiful valley spread out like a lovely panorama before me. But alas! I found neither church nor presbytery of the Catholic faith. It is not my intention to speak at length on my trials, my sacrifices, and privations when as a stranger on foot and alone, I had to face the flood and the storm and roam from one township to another. You who have been brought up to luxuries may guess what it is for one who never had to boil an egg to have to cook his food for months, I may say for years, as I had to do. But the noble work was begun. Gentlemen of all denominations surrounded me and a handful of Catholics supported me as far as lay in their power. Bad roads, bigotry, and the number of other sects did not discourage me. There were good people among the early settlers, and as I walked along the Rimutaka they supported me. I wrote thousands of letters to friends here and abroad, pointing out the requirements of the place. The times were good, and the ten acres of bush secured for a church and presbytery site at Carterton was soon changed to one of the prettiest places in the Valley. The Church of St. Mary's there speaks for itself. This Church of St. Patrick at Masterton is a credit to the district and an ornament to the town. The Churches of the Sacred Heart at Greytown, St. Teresa at Featherston, and St Joseph at Tinui, are all monuments of the generous response I met from the settlers. But then came the bad times of distress and want, and I had to fight against difficulties unheard of. I was compelled to pay away the last shilling I had, I was forced to pledge my own goods, and never will I forget the day, my beloved brethren, when these goods were seized and sacrificed under the auctioneer's hammer in Masterton. I sat down broken hearted, for then I really knew what it was to be poor. But I wish not to linger on scenes of sadness; such is not my intention. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You, my people, and especially gentlemen of all denominations who have supported me. In a few days I shall leave all my churches, on which I have lavished thousands of pounds, behind, and I shall go away with my few books and clothing, poor and penniless. I have noticed that when a curate has spent only a few days or months or a year in his parish he is presented with a testimonial and purse of sovereigns as a token of gratitude when he leaves; but poor Father Halbwachs, after seven and a half years' earnest toil, erecting churches and sacrificing everything, will have to go away poor and penniless, and will have to select an hour for his departure, like a fugitive, when he cannot be seen. Shall this be said? No, my friends, I shall not stoop so low. God Almighty shall provide. All my liabilities shall be paid—every one—before I leave. I shall now bid you all good bye. If I could, I should like to shake hands with each one of you, and with the many friends who have been always ready to help me. In the Wairarapa I have found many noble good hearted Catholics, but they are so few, and some have faded away. I shall now say goodbye to this beautiful Church of St. Patrick that has cost me sorrow and labor, to St. Mary's, the Church of the Sacred Heart, St. Joseph's, St Teresa's, and all my friends. We have to learn to say goodbye from time to time, in order to prepare for the day when death will compel us to say goodbye for ever. I shall always think of you, pray for you, and bless you; and may God have pity on us all, so that if we do not meet any more in this world we will meet one day in heaven praising God. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen!

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Personal Matters, Wairarapa Daily Times, 13 August 1907, p 5, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WDT19070813.2.19:

One of the kindliest of parish priests, Father Halbwachs, has recently passed away in Belgium. It was Father Halbwachs who built the Carterton, Masterton, Featherston, Greytown and Te Nui Catholic Churches, and who for many years was one of the best known men in the Wairarapa district. His services to the community will always be held in grateful memory. He impoverished himself in his efforts to serve the Church to which he belonged, and when he left Masterton he probably did not take a sixpence away with him. He was a splendid collector, and we have known him, in his irresistible way, to obtain a subscription for a Catholic Church from a dour Presbyterian. "What," said one such man, "do you drink whisky?" "Yes," replied the genial priest. "Then," said the Presbyterian, "I'll give you a couple of guineas!" Then the priest took out a big pipe, and when he began smoking the Presbyterian, in a burst of appreciation, doubled his donation.

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Early Ministers. Roman Catholic Church, Wairarapa Age, 16 August 1927, p 2, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAG19270816.2.6:

The Roman Catholic Church, or chapel as it was first designated, was founded somewhere in the 'seventies. Among the first priests was the Rev. Halbwachs, a French priest, who could speak several languages. His congregation was not extensive, but as a number of Poles settled at West Kuripuni it became gradually strengthened. The early adherents of the church included Messrs. A.R. Bunny (who was for many years choirmaster), A.W. Renall, Charles McKillop, Denis McMullen, Patrick and James Hourigan, Humphrey O'Leary, John O'Dowd and (in the 'nineties) M.C. O'Connell. The Rev. John McKenna (now the respected Monsignor) arrived well-nigh forty years ago, and was followed by his brother Thomas. These two young priests, fresh from Ireland, captured the imagination of the people. They engaged in football, boxing and many outdoor pursuits which brought them into prominence, and under their ministration the church made rapid strides. The Rev. Thomas McKenna afterwards went to Pahiatua, where he maintained his popularity and was created a Dean. He died, it will be remembered, a few years ago, and was given an immense funeral at Pahiatua. One of the biggest forward movements made by the church in Masterton under Monsignor McKenna was the establishment of a handsome convent and school on the site where once stood the Railway Hotel.

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Catholic Church. Pioneer Priests. Labours in Early Days. A Notable Band, Evening Post, Wellington, 24 February 1938, p 20, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19380224.2.174:

[...] The Rev. Father Anthony Halbwacks, S.M., a native of Germany, reached Wellington in the early seventies and became the first resident priest in the Wairarapa district. Until 1876 the vast Wairarapa district was included in the Hutt station, and for many years the Rev. Father Seon and other Fathers having charge of the mission were obliged to walk or ride over the Rimutakas. Father Halbwacks was transferred to Reefton in 1884 and later served in various parts of the province of Canterbury. After a breakdown in health, he returned to his native land and died there on June 26, 1907. [...]