AMONG WILD PEOPLES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 260, 1 October 1936, Page 8

AMONG WILD PEOPLES

MISSIONARY ENDEAVOURS. SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS. Striking evidence of the advancement in recent years of the Seventh Day Adventist Cnurch in the Australian and New Zealand Union, comprising Australia, New Zealand, and the South Sea Islands, was given by Pastor W. G. Turner in an interview with a “Standard” reporter, last evening,. Pastor Turner proceeded to Auckland later on his way to the headqaurters of his church in Washington, United States, where he will assume the responsibilities of one of the three vice-presidents and, as such, will be required to travel anywhere in the world. He is now relinquishing the position of president of the Australian and New Zealand Conierence of the church. For six years Pastor Turner has held his present position and his next post will he one of very considerable importance and responsibility. To-day, the Seventh Day Adventist Church is operating in 353 different countries and in 577 languages, Pastor Turner said. In the Australian and New Zealand Union 100 tongues are reached, taking in practically every South Sea Island group. At the recent quadrennial conference in Melbourne reports had been received from over 200 different districts, embracing everv State in Australia, the North and South Islands of New Zealand, and 11 major groups of the South Sea Islands. Recently. Pastor Turner returned from a visit to inland New Guinea, where he saw the Rarnu and Purari natives. The latter, lie said, were part of the 250,000 natives whose existence had become known only in the last five years. They lived at a height of 6000 ft. and were wholly, primitive, still using the stone axe and the bow and arrow, and were indescribably filthy. Living at that altitude, where it was very cold, even though near the Equator, they had an aversion to washing and acquired the accumulation of dirt of years with the application of pigs’ lard to their bodies. Stockily built and rather short, they ivere very belligerent and were always fighting. Now, however, they were responding excellently to the advances made by the church and were leaving their old beliefs and habits in a way that was truly remarkable. The church had established stations for white workers and a number of native teachers. In the Admiralty Group, due north of the major island of New Guinea, there were hundreds of natives throwing aside their old beliefs and customs even though the church had been working there only a little over 12 months, Pastor Turner proceeded. Again, in the St. Mathias Group, 250 miles north-west of Rabaul, the capital of New Guinea, five years ago eight Solomon Islanders had been landed among 2500 natives, who were polygamists, filthy in body, and covered with sores. To-day the whole 2500 were an entirely different people. That had been done without any assistance from white men. It had been entirely beyond the comprehension of the Government officers and one had told the speaker that he had never seen, heard or read of anything like it. _ In the Australian and New Zealand field in the last six years, added Pastor Turner, even though they had been years of depression, the work of tho church had made remarkable progress. In 1930, the missionary income had been upwards of £60,000 and in 1935 it had been just on £90,000. The depression, while affecting the work somewhat, had in no way affected development in the opening up of new fields. To-day the missionaries were better equipped, and additions had been made to the missionary vessels (of which there were 20), and new territories were being opened up everywhere to what the Seventh Day Adventist Church believed to be the Truth. On October 13, Pastor Turner will 6ail for Sydney and from there proceed to New York and Washington, via England.