MELANESIAN MISSION LECTURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2929, 4 May 1910, Page 15

MELANESIAN MISSION LECTURE.

A very interesting lantern lecture illustrative of life and mission work in the South Sea Islands was given in St. Paul's Schoolroom on April 29 by the Rev. W. G. Ivens, who has been labouring in that field for the past 15 years. The Ven. Archdeacon Gould briefly introduced the lecturer, who for more than an hour gave explanations of the various pictures thrown on the screen. The beauties of Norfolk Island, where 190_ boys were being trained for Melanesian Mission work, were admirably depicted. Not the least interesting view was that showing the memorial chapel built to commemorate the life and labours of Bishop Paterson. The lecturer explained that beneath the altar were the mat that was found covering the body of the murdered bishop when found and the palm branch that lay by his side. The chapel, it was explained, was one of the most lovely ecclesiastical buildings out of England, with stained glass windows designed by Burn© Jones. Views of various, palmcovered islands in the New Hebrides group, including the volcanic island at Santa Cruz" were very clearly depicted. The copra, industry carried on for the benefit of the Sunlight soap manufacture gave the lecturer an opportunity of saying that as the natives enabled the Europeans to live in cleanliness the missionaries looked to the latter to provide the natives with godliness. The native village scenes were vers' interesting, and included amongst the inhabitants the pigs that were, said the lecturer, all legs, snout, and appetite. At the close of the lecture a collection purchasing a schooner to be used in was taken up to provide the means of missionarv work that would cos* about £ISOO. Towards that amount the Rev. Mr Ivens hopes to collect £SOO in Australia and the Dominion. His earnestness in the matter may be gauged from the fact that he has already addressed 32 meetings during his four weeks' sojourn here. The Rev. Canon Curzon-Siggers proved himself to be a very export ianternist.