EARLY MAORI MISSION

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4953, 9 February 1937, Page 4

EARLY MAORI MISSION

TE KOPUA SCHOOL JUBILEE. FORMER LARGE MAORI CENTRE. The golden jubilee of the Te Kopua School, about 15 miles from Otorohanga, on Saturday last, recalled the work of the early missionaries of that area. Te Kopua was a centre of the Ngati Maniapoto tribe in the days before the Maori War, and was the scene of one of the earliest missions established south of Auckland. The date of the fiftieth anniversary of the school fell about the same time as the centenary of the opening of work in the district by the Wesleyan Mission. In 1834 the Rev. J. Whitely was appointed by the Wesleyan Mission to work amongst the Maoris. He took up his residence on the Kawhia Harbour and conducted services in various parts of the district in the years following. Te Kopua was one of the most important Maori centres at that time, and steps to establish a mission there were taken. The missionaries proceeded up the Waipa River. The first spot where they landed proved to be sacred ground, so they proceeded further to Te Kopua, where 35 acres of land were purchased from the Maoris —one of the three stones which were used to mark off this area was displayed at the jubilee on Saturday. The first minister to be stationed at Te Kopua was the Rev. Thomas Buddie, who was appointed in 1844. In 1849 he was replaced by the Rev. George Buttle. Mrs. Buttle died while stationed there in 1857, and her grave lies a short distance away from the present school. Her husband left the year after her death, and the Rev. Alexander Reid took over the charge in 1858. The outbreak of the Maori War in the early 60’s shortly afterwards, caused the closing down of the mission station. Two native ministers who assisted in the work for long periods were Messrs. Hamiora Ngaropi and William Patene. The Maori War naturally alienated the Maori and the pakeha, but in 1885, largely as the result of the efforts of the Searancke and Ormsby families, it was decided to have a school established there —a mission school had been conducted there before the war. On November 8, 1886, the school, now a Government one, and one of the first in the King Country, was completed. The first Committee consisted of Messrs. Wm. Searancke, Walter Searancke, John Ormsby, Arthur Ormsby, W. T. Hughes and Katipa, and the first teacher was Mr. James Ireland. Some time ago the property originally acquired by the mission was repurchased by the descendants - of the original owners, but the school is still being carried on. Mr. C. Searancke, a descendant of the family associated with the mission and the school, lives a short distance from the school, and his orchard consists of apple trees, over 80 years old, planted by the early Wesleyan missionaries.

Appropriate Maori ceremony and oratory marked the celebration of the golden jubilee of the school. The visitors included Princess Te Puea Hirangi, Mr. Taite Te Tomo, ex M.P. for Western Maori, Mr. W. J. Broadfoot, M.P. for Waitomo, and Mr. P. H. Jones (Native Department). The Rev. G. I. Laurenson, Sister Nicholls and Sister Olive Bott represented the Methodist Maori Mission, while a number of Maori clergymen attached to the Methodist Maori Mission and to other religious organisations were present.