The Religious Outlook

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 24 June 1939, Page 13

The Religious Outlook

FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY AT PORT NICHOLSON

A NOTABLE METHODIST CENTENARY

*>• -M. A. Rugby Pmet, F.R.Hist.S. Ihp organised work of' Methodism iu Wellington reaii.es back to the days bef ip New Zealand had come under the *o\ereignty of the British Crown. Ip till 'hi late thirties of the ntnetetith century no Christian mission liad been inaugurated in i lie North Island in the extensive at ea lying southward of the Wesleyan station at Kawhia on tin* West toast which • i>P rated down to the Moknn in Taranaki. ;»nd of the Church of Kngland station at Hotorua to the eastward. The whole ! ' ie South unoccupied by ,he missionaries. I lie spread of Christianity amongst the northern Maoiis was. however, not withr"', i* s^e fleets e\en to the remotest south isp.tii- of the (iospel. al»oiit which the southern Maori knew «<» little, had. never, me.ess. begun to wear down the forces ot a ,‘oul and savage heathenism, which had reeked with human sacrifices ami cannibal orgies. The unevange)ise<i natives in the regions south of the existing m j s . sinnarv frontiers were insistently asking to. missionaries. Their clamant call could not. be indefinitely denied. A s early as 31st August. 1334. the Rev. ‘ William '\oon appealed to British Methodism to furnish the resources for extending mis sionarv activities to the "vast tribes to iiit southward extending to the other Island.” Wnh the return of the Her. Nathaniel turner to the staff of the Wcsifvau Mj s .

. “ -april, taop. plans were considered i lor the extension of their work to the l vast UnevaugeJised areas of Taranaki ami Wanganui, and on lovvaids Cook Snail. Jhey also envisioned the Christianisalion ; or the nauve trilie, in the South Island. I lne British Wesleyan Conference of , IoSQ appointed ;e\en additional mission- 1 * l Ws 10 hs New Zealand staff. It de * Signaled .lames Wat kin and John >kev ; n.gloii for locating the men. provided that i nev. stations Were So judiciously placed | that they would constitute a chain of mis- i ■ i'*u posts to carry on a tombined plan of i missionary operations, and also bring nil- { de. then care as large a portion of the j native population as they could possiblv 1 attend to. In harmony with that purpose the field "a*, surveyed and preparation was made l<> its occupation. On >alurdav. 18(|, Mav. , I lie Rex s. .John Hewgilf Bum by and •Toim Hobbs. accompanied hv about a « scoit* of Christian natives from the Wes iyvari station at Manguugu. sailed from \ ’ v of Islands in the * Hokiangn." a | iiltlo . ha,teied sixty- ton schooner.' On 6lh -lune. alter travelling down the East < (oast, they sighted Cape Ralliscr. and the , following morning entered Cook Strait Adverse winds retarded the progress j l oe vessel. About noon, anxious to enter l’urt Nicholson as soon as possible, Ilia , Ivvm missionaries, accompanied bv their native retinue, look to the mission’whale- ] " •hi. which they lia<| puivlia.xed at i’ailiia. r ; nd. after negotiating the channel, lauded [ II Pipitea beach in the evening. Hc.e they pitched their tents, and dolm [ Hanbs leconls that that night, I liday. »ti> dune, 18.39. they commenced their ( mission by holding service with the ua „ No\f day the missionaries negotiated for lie acquire a lent of a mission site, and [ paid a deposit consisting of merchandise • t-> I lie value of fifty shillings. On Sunday « 91,1 M». »« U Aro P«. with a boa[ **' l » breaku ind to protec t the | p.cachet- the Rev. .John Hobbs, a master [ oi Uiiomat-c Maori (experfmded in the sim- . plen manner possible the first principles 2 oi the. Christian religion to a company • id about one hundred local natives, who ,

• It>pUe heavy ram which began i 0 fall j during the service, listened eagerly to the | in*! v. lute nmji who had ever preached to ( iheiH I lie gospel of des’ifi Christ. During tlie following days contac ts were j made with the natives iu their fortified I which then studded the shores of!, bolt Nicholson. \ 15*11 s were paid to ; ; Puoue Pa. and to Uaivvhetu p a where]! I here icsitlvd .Joe Robinson, tin* only white i ; man then remaiuiug in Port N t , iiolson, whom liiey found building a boat and!, making nails from iron hoops. •hi 13tli .June, tlie purchase of the Tel, Aw* mission site was minpMed. ami ar- , laiigcuieiits were made lor (lie translri to I, the lapuccj land to ilit* Wesleyan .Mission ,! ary Society. Mr Hobbs records that tin* , < luets who conducted tlie negotiations : | were ralii on behalf of the Te . Aw< native?. and on behalf of I I hose of Kuinu-loto I’a. He adds flic j , river frontage of the laud we have tabooed at. Port. Nicholson runs fiolil the stream { •ailed Kiimii-tdo to another stream .ailed | ’l** Am. The name of the bluff point in the . middle of it is Kmupoko. ‘I lie area is more exactly described by the Rev. .John Whiteley in communicutiou to Com- , missioner Spain, dated 27th April, 1842: , " A poition of land known by the names of ' Te Aro, Kni-upoko. etc., situate in Port j Nicholson and bounded on the east by the j iroulh of a stream called Te Aro and j them© fanning back m * southerly direr- 1

lion lo Ih* top of a Irill; on the northeast by the harbour, and on the the northwest by a small stream called Kunui-loto," I Ihe late, Mr Horace Kildes informed the ■writer that the Kunm-toto stream was opposite what is now the Midland Hotel The bluff point is i ailed Kai upoko was Inter Known as Clay Point. li was opposite the Bank of New Zealand and at thv junction oi tji'iay street and Willis I street. The Te Aro stream was called ;W n: ina-pihi. It flowed from Pol hill's j • Sully across the flat on which the Royal lo.ik Hotel now stands, and from there on I to the beach, flowing into the harbour at j tha western foot of Taranaki Street wharf. 'r I lie land tints purchased by Messrs I turn by and Hobbs never became the actual pi*operty of tlie mission. In .September, 1839, Colonel William Wakefield bought lands on behalf of Ibis New ZeaI land Company and claimed that his purchase jncltitled the site selected for the mission. A painful and protracted dispute followed. Tlie details need not here lie recorded. I nder pressure W akefield offered to reserv a sufficient spac e for a chapel and a mission house, and later other land was granted to the church. W ben the two European founders of Christianity at Port Nicholson departed j oi Friday. 14th .June, they left behind them six native teachers to hold the field and to instruct t heir countrymen nut iI English missionaries could be despatched from Hokianga. These pioneer native teachers, some of whom liberated slaves with relatives at Port Nicholson deserve to have their names recorded. There was Minaiapa Raugi-hatuake who took up work al le Aro; Rcihaiui-To-Karoro, who. with Ids wife and children, was located ai Pipitea; More-tarn. N„aroto. Makfl. and Henri and his wife who were placed at other centres of native popnla uon. These teachers were supplied with publications in their own language printed at the Wesleyan Mission Press at Mangungn. These included portions of the Script ores, hymn hooks, pi aver books, J catechisms, a 120-page “Harmony of the • fospels. ' a 12-page ''Harmony of the

iigious tracts, some elementary school Looks, and a stock of slates and pencils. Un behalf of the local natives tlie chiefs le Ngalunu. Hemi Parai. Ahnpene Marangai. and Mold Ngaputiga promised to erect- immediately at Te Aro a com. modious native chapel, and a dwelling house for a Euronean missionary. They uiusteierl fheit* kinsmen Irom as far afield as Kapili to prepare timber, and to gather iiikau, for the house of worship which they called Te-Ai a.Te-IT u. after a female laniwha which vvas supposed Lo dwell in deep waters. When all was ready the laranaki tril>esnieu living at W’aikaiiae. led bv le W'ekepivi Kama-nui-a-rangi, came in Te Aro and shared in tlie erection of the first Christian place of worsTiip in the region of Cook Strait. It was situated on the side of the Te Aro stream separated it from the Pa. Unavoidable delays took place in the settlement of a European missionary. Meanwhile the native teachers did good Fouudational vcork. and when, after travelling overland from the Kaipava. the Rev. James Puller reached Port Nicholson oi Tuesday, 2IT January, 18-10. the natives proudly exhibited their substantial slab and ran pc. chapel and attached to it bu* yet unfinished, a six-roomed dwelling wiiTi thatched roof, mid a feuceddu plot o; ground for a garden. During tlii? visit to Port Nicholson Mr Bullet* ministered to the natives, and also met the English immigrants who arrived by the “Aurora" on 22ml January, and o;i the following Sunday (261 h; preached' t" tlie new arrivals. 1l was nut until Wednesday, 23rd Dc*eeuiber, 1840. that the* Rev. .John Ald red ai l ived to become the first resident Wesleyan missionary at Port Nicholson. He soon began to reap the fruits of the labours of the earlier visitors, and of his native predecessors and colleagues. The success of the work amongst the Maori people is evidenced by the fact that iu lii«. first ten years of the mission no fevvnr than bio natives, mostly adults, werb baptised by the Wesleyan missionaries of Port Nicholson. Uf these, 43b were admitted to church fellowship in the 3 ears 1842 and 1843. The mission cov-

ered the region from the Wairarapa. through Cook Strait and up the West Coast to Rangitikci. Turakina, and Wangaeliu The 815 baptisms include 41 ii the Wairarapa native settlements, and 107 m tlie three districts just named. In addition to the&fe baptisms, the Rev. Samuel Ironside iu connection with the Cloudy Bay station across Cook Strait had baptised 822 Maoris, c hiefly of adult age, i prior to June. 1843. when his mission was shuttered as a consequence of events following upon the Waii an massacre. The influence of the Wesleyan Mission amongst tin* Europeans at Port Nicholson is evi TUm cel bv the la I that from 1810 up till the cml of 1850. no fewer than 435 child itii were presented for baptism by their parents who had emigrated to the new . settlement. A century has sped with rushing swift j ness since IJumby ami Hobbs and their Maori helpers began their work. These men pakeha ami Maori -were the real trail bln/.MS for the Kingdom of Ood in lh«* icgion of Cook strait. They did wind iii others had done before. Later men might be greater men ; hut the first must | ever remain the first. Their work operated powerfully to restrain rebellious feeling in the turbulent years of early colonisation. and to transform the remnants iof the tribes amongst, whom I hey laboured 1 into a healthy element in national develop. ! merit. Their influence accelerated the

Olympic Games Problem. There are likely to be some complications at the Helsinki Olympic Games, states a Sydney writer. Tlie German attitude to the Jew is the cause of the trouble. It is staled that the organisers of the world table tennis championships played at Cairo last month received a request from the' German Table Tennis Association to avoid the possibility of Richard Bergmann. the Jewish' holder of the English open championship, playing with a German women in the combined event. Bergmann. who is a Polish Jew. won the world’s 1937 title when plav ing under Austrian colours. It is possible that Germany may ask the Olympic Federation to safeguard against Jews competing in the same heats as Germans, and that the same procedure should take place in the boxing and wrestling bouts. Three Tests will be Played. For the first time in the history ol' cricket tests between England and the West Indies the latter have the great distinction of defending the rubber, which they won in their own land loinyears ago. In those circumstances, says an English writer, they appear to have

earned the right of playing four-day (tests in England and also the right of , playing the lull complement of five ' matches. But. as in the case of a pre- ' vious visit in 1933. the matches are again three in number and limited to ■ three days. The explanation is probably due to the fact that England has 1 not so far sent her strongest available team lo the West Indies. Joe Louis Meets Tony Galento Heavy-weight champion. Joe Louis, is to meet Tony Galento next Wednesday. 28th June The only question regard- ■ ing the bout is how long will Galento ' last against the "Brown Bomber." Joe Louis has stalled off six chali lengers; Farr. Mann. Thomas. Schnvcling. Lewis and Roper. The last three he • stopped in the first round. He won live title from J J Braddock on 22nd June. : 1937 at Chicago when he knocked out I the American in the eighth round. Rc- | centlv another heavyweight has leapt ! into the spotlight by his defeat ol Max Baer. This was Lou Nova, and this i young American will probably meet ! Louis in September for the heavyweight crown. Joe Louis has nothing but contempt j for "pot-bellied, beer guzzling’ Tony Galento as he describes him. "He’s just a wild swinger.” said Joe "Tony thinks he's dough Well, we ll find out 'if he can take it” ! Galento trains on beer according to ' his own statement. He is the owner uf a liquor saloon, in New Jersey. His ; bar is papered with many slogans. ' amusing and otherwise. Two recent additions were: "Lady, if you drive your husband to drink, drive him in here.” "Your wife can only get so mad. so j why not stay a little longer j Galento is an Italian-Amcriean and) tlie National Boxing Association rated j him second to Louis. Tony has no right | to second place, because . o far lies beaten no one who is rated. "The Ring” rates Galento fifth, below Louis. Nova, j Max Baer and Bob Pastor

Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in t'2min 4scc. John Henry Lewis in 2min -29 sec. and then Jack Roper in 2min 1 : 20scc. Now comes two-ton Tony Gal--1 onto Will he follow the three previous i challengers? Here we have Louis's record since becoming world champion: I 22nd June. 1937 (Chicago) Won till. • from J. J Braddock. K.O. in eighth 30th August. 1937 (New York) beat r Tommy Farr on points, fifteen rounds, l 23rd February. 1938 (New York) Knocked out Nathan Mann, third round 1 Ist April. 1938 (Chicago) Knocked : ou< Harry Thomas, fifth round 1 ' 22nd June. 1938 (New York) Knocky ed out Max Schmeling. first round. 25th January. 1939 (New York) Knocked out John Henry Lewis, first 1 round. 18th April. 1939 <Los Angeles) * ' Knocked out Jack Roper, first round.

! impulse tlnit inoniutril greater harmony between Maori a ll <l pakolui, and conhibuj ted to give helpful direction to the whole 'course of European life and colonisation. ; To tell the Wellington Centennial story j apart from the initial and fouudational work of the early Methodist missionaries j is equivalent to exhibiting a flower vvith- | out a root or a statue without a pedestal.

Olympic Games. Sixty imitations have been sent out to potential participants in the twelfth Olympic Games at Helsinki. and 3 9 1 acceptances have been received. They ; arc from Great Britain. Denmark. Norway. Italy. Rumania. Switzerland Yugoslavia. Belgium. Costo Rica! Sweden. Palestine. Greece. Portugal, Holland. Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Czecho-Slovakia. Germany and India. Davis Cup Tennis. Australia commence their Davis Cup contests on 30th June and Ist and 2nd July in matches against Mexico at Mexico C ity. Here are the Australian j team and a little of their history. I J. Bromwich.—No. 2 world ranking i player in 1938: Australian singles and doubles champion: age 20. mak- j mg third successive overseas trip. I A. K. QuisL -Australian doubles chain-j Pion (with Bromwich); Victorian! champion; aged 25; making seventh i consecutive trip. J. IL Ciavvford.—l933 Wimbledon champion: age 31; making ninth trip. IL llopnian.— Captain-manager; age 32: seventh trip. M.C.C. Make a Change,

Following iTic example of Australia and New Zealand, county cricket teams m England are now experimenting' with the eight-ball over. There hks been no change in the Laws of Cricket, but the M.C.C. have announced that they approve of the experiment being tried this year, "subject to the regulations of the executive bodies concerned.” Marylebone are thus following their usual procedure—and a wise one of trying out changes before actually putting them in the rule book. The Ibw law was given a trial for two seasons, it will be remembered before the amendment was endorsed. The next point of interest will be whether the eight-ball over is accepted for the England v. Australia tests in Australia in 1940-41. English teams have already played it in State games, but not yet is it part and parcel of the laws for lest matches. Actually, tlie eight-ball over should be more popular with bowlers in England's cooler climate than it is in the hot Australian sun. Yet even South Africa favours it. A great point in favour of the idea is that it saves 35 minutes during an afternoon's play alone, hence the chance of more definite results and fewer draws. Bsc the Louse Rush. Loose forward work has often been seen in local Rugby during the games this season and here are a few useful | hints to players in the art of heeling ' in the loose. The technique is simple enough.*' When forwards dribbling upheld find I themselves checked by a defender fall-, ing on the ball. »a loose scrum generally follows. ClitT Jones, the well- 1 known Welsh player and Cambridge j captain, has aptly described what j should happen next. j "If the defending back fails to get ; oil' the,ball right away, it is the hour.- j den duty of one of the attacking for-; wards, preferably the second to arrive.' to pull him off. Then, when the ball I

• becomes visible, the remaining fori wards should shove collectively straight ahead, and heel the ball at once. A quick heel in the loose is i worth ten in the tight, and is part of the answer to a five-eighth's dream.” Scoring moxements from set serums are remarkably rare nowadays, but the i loose scrum, free of most of the irritat- ! ing technicalities that are the bugbear | of a hooker's life, offers priceless opi porlunilies. The heel from the loose j eafli be performed swiftly by loose and j heax y forwards alike. The main thing ! is that they should be alert and not get !in each .other's road, important also: Let the wing three-quarters keep in position well out and not clutter up the scene. To effect, such a heel, no great skill is. required. First there should be intelligence. quick following-up. one forward whose sole job is to pull the defender off the ball at once, a rapid shove, and observation of the golden rule—watch the ball Usually, most of the defending backs will be out of position, and it will take superlative covering work by the full-back to prevent a score. A final word to the attacking forwards: Be quick but keep cool. Any half-back worth his salt will be behind you to do the picking up.