THE FIRST PRESS

Hokitika Guardian, 12 January 1935, Page 6

THE FIRST PRESS

ARRIVAL AT PAIHIA. An important centenary fell last Sunday. On December 30, 1834, the first printing press, the property of the Church Missionary Society, arrived in! New Zealand at Paihia, Ray of Islands, The epistles to the Ephesians and to tlie Philippians in Maori were the first fruits of this press, and were printed bv Mr William Colenso, who came to New Zealand as the Church Missionary Society’s printer. j The Maori language, one of the most | musical of tongues, was, only 120 years ago, a language with no written expression. . When the early missionaries set about the task of recording this language. Missionary Kendall’s book, “a Korao” (Korero), written .in 1815, was the first attempt, and five years | later he helped Professor Lee, professor f of Arabic at Cambridge,' to draw up a Maori grammar. They were assisted by two important chiefs—the famous ITongi and Waikato—who crossed “Moana nui a Kiwa” so that the professor and Mr Kendall should have at hand exponents of the correct pronunieation. This Kendall and Lee grammer is prized by collectors to-day. The missionaries were responsible for the whole of the printing output in New Zealand for the first 30 years. At first printing orders were placed in' Creat Britain, later in Sydney, and finaly the printing was done in New Zealand. The Rev. William Tate, a keen observer Ond careful chronicler, whose book, “Aate’.s New Zealand,” printed in 1835, is one of the treasures of collectors*, narrates thus the beginnings of this great and interesting work; “In the former part of the year 1830 I j spent upward of six mouths in New ! South Wales, occupied in carrying | through the press 117 closely-printed ' pages of a selection from Scripture, the | liturgy, catechism and hymns, translated into the language of New Zealand. Nothing could exceed the gratifi- j cation with which these books were received on my return by those who couTd j read them. They were willing to receive them as wages, or to purchase them i with anything they possessed of a vain- j able nature. i

“During the two years subsequent to this first successful attempt the translating committee assiduously prosecuted their important labours. At length, having ready for the press, the whole of the liturgy of one church, with all its services, a number of hymns, and catechisms, with the Gospels of St. Afattliew and St. John,.the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles of Paul to the Romans and tlie Corinthians, it was determined that I should visit New South "Wales for the purpose of carry-