MISSION ANNIVERSARY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21358, 6 December 1932, Page 10

MISSION ANNIVERSARY

BAY OF PLENTY DISTRICT COMMEMORATION SERVICE [by TEI,EGH A Pit —OWN CORItESPONDENT ] TA UK A OA, Monday A service was held in the grounds of M:ss Maxwell's residence, the old Mission House, yesterday afternoon in commemoration of the introduction of Christianity to the Bay of Plenty and the surrounding districts. It is 103 years sijiee Archdeacon A. N. Brown landed in New Zealand, and lie was largely responsible fur the establishment of a mission station : n Tauranga. The service was conducted l y the vicar, the llev. 0. 8. 0. Gibson, the Ics-oji being read by the llev. M Ej Holmes. Af'.er the ringing of the old it i:-; ion bell 103 times, a hymn was sung md an addrc.s was given by the. Rislu p of Waiapu, Bishop Williams. In the course of his renin ks the bishop referred to the reinarkablr work done by Samuel Marsdcn, (lie father of missionary work in New Zealand. He pointed out that, people were apt to imagine that the present civilised state of tjlie country had always more or less existed, and they had little realisation of the wild and dangerous nature of the task which confronted the Christian pioneers. Samuel Marsdcn had i rst visited the district, but it was not u itil 11334 that a permanent Christian settlement was made under Archdeacon Browji In every way there was great cause for thanksgiving to God for His servants, win had lived and died valiantly in ihe bringing to our country the message of tl e only life that was really worth living.