TRIALS OF THE EARLY MISSIONARIES

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 97, 18 January 1940, Page 10

TRIALS OF THE EARLY MISSIONARIES

Work Among Maoris ANGLICAN AND WESLEYAN CHURCHES “*'fith the dawn of the year 1940 New Zealand enters upon the celebration of the centenary of the cession of these islands to the sovereignty of the British Crown,” writes the Bev, M. A. Rugby Pratt in the latest issue of the “Metiioilist Times.” “But long before New Zealand became a British possession the missionary was here with his evangel. Our national li.fe stands elevated on the graves of missionary pioneers of both the Anglican and Wesleyan Methodist Churches. “The story of the part played by missionaries of our own Church possesses a glamour beyond compare. The pity of it is that the facts are so little known. The centennial celebrations of 1940 furnish both the opportunity and the impulse to put into true historical perspective the rich contribution made by Methodism away in the dawn of European settlement. At no small hazard and at a cost of no incon siderable hardship our missionaries helped to lay here the foundations of national life, and it is well to remember our obligation to these men. of truly heroic mould. Samuel Leigh. “The figure of Samuel Leigh stands against a dark heathen background in noble grandeur. He first landed in New Zealand on May 5, ISI9, with a commission from Samuel Marsden to report on, and seek to infuse new life into, the then failing Anglican Mission. How be succeeded is evidenced by the gratitude of Marsden and of the London Committee of the Church Missionary Society which made Leigh a presentation in recognition of his work and his counsel. “It was on January 22,1822, that Mr. Leigh returned to New Zealand to establish our own mission, and, by happy agreement, to share with the Anglicans the task of saving the Maori from the horrors of a cruel heathenism. His encounters with Hongi and the story of his initial work amongst the fierce Whangaroa natives, who had, in ISO 9, been responsible for the capture of the ship Boyd and the massacre of its passengers and crew, should never be forgotten. • White and Stack. “The work of William White, while he was associated with our mission, has not always been given adequate recognition. Yet he was a man of : amazing courage who bore much of . the burden of our early missionary ‘ ■ work. Resourceful and fearless, he • won great influence among the Maoris. ■ . How he quelled' the turbulent Natives , who had taken possession of the ship Endeavour on July IC. 1824, is a tale : that would bear retelling. So also ■ is the heroic part he played in asso- j elation with James Stack, another of our pioneers, in gaining possession of ■ the whaling brig Mercury, which, after being captured and plundered by the ; Maoris and deserted by its captain < and crew, was surrendered to Mr. 1 White, who sea out for the Bay of Is- 1 lands in the luckless vessel, which had J been stripped of most of her Tigging ; and sails and of her sextant and compass. Trip To Waikato. As early as January, 1825, Mr. i White travelled overland from the i Thames to the Waikato to promote the t evangelization' of the Waikato Maoris. '

Such service did much to open the way lor European .commerce long before the land eatne under British rule.” Mr. Pratt deals with the lives and activities of other missionaries, and explains in detail many of the works they accomplished. He concludes: — “The centennial of British rule in this country bids us respond to the appeal of our yesterdays, grasp the opportunities of today, and meet the challenge of our tomorrows. Let us anew lay hold of our task, not chasing the glow of some elusive glory, but 'seeking to win the allegiance of Maori and European for our thorn-crowneil King.”