MISSION WORK AMONG MAORIS

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21329, 23 November 1934, Page 8

MISSION WORK AMONG MAORIS

LECTURE BY BISHOP BENNETT A lecture on "The Maori, Past and Present," was given last evening in the schoolroom of the Holy Trinity Church, Avonside, by the Rt. Rev. F. A. Bennett, Bishop of Aotearoa. With the aid of a series of lantern slides, Bishop Bennett traced the development of missionary work among the Maoris, and showed how it was carried on to-day. He said that more should be known about these missions. The Maoris, who at one time seemed likely to be dying out, now showed signs of increasing in numbers, and both in the North and South Islands much church work was being done among them.

Bishop Bennett spoke of present clay work in the South Island, and he outlinc-d the educational progress made among the Maoris. He referred to Te Waipounamu School and to the attendance of a number of Maori students at Lincoln College. Both of these institutions, he said, were turning out workers and leaders in many spheres of Maori activity. A striking feature of the missionary work was the willingness with which many of the Maori groups worked and made sacrifices in order to help the missions, continued Bishop Bennett, and lie gave several instances of such sacrifices.

Bishop Bennett concluded with a plea for continued support for the missions, and he showed how both the religious and educational work led to the development of a finer type of Maori.