MELANESIAN MISSION COLLEGE REOPENED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 443, 27 August 1928, Page 16

MELANESIAN MISSION COLLEGE REOPENED

BUILDING RESTORED LINK WITH HISTORIC PAST When the restored stone hall of the Melanesian Mission school at Mission Bay was reopened yesterday, a definite step was taken toward the preservation of a valuable historic link. The building, which was in danger of disappearing altogether, will now stand for many years a monument to early mission endeavour. The hall was built in 1859 by Captain Austins, master of the Melanesian Mission schooner, with stone brought from Rangitoto principally by Captain Grange, also of the mission schooner. The money to complete the building came to the mission through the generosity of the novelist, Charlotte M. Yonge, who gave £2,000, the proceeds from her book, “The Daisy Chain." Miss Yonge, in return for her gift, was given permission to christen the school, which she named St. Andrew’s College. Memories of past sacrifice and endeavour were recalled at the reopening ceremony performed by the Primate, Archbishop Averill. Bishop Steward, retiring bishop of Melanesia, was present, and others there were: Archdeacon Hawkins, the Rev. E. Mowbray-Finnis, Miss Atkin, of Kohimarama, whose brother, the Rev. Joseph Atkin, had charge of the old building after the removal of the school to Norfolk Island; Mrs. Pritt, who had been associated with the school; Mr. A. T. Pycroft, representing the Auckland Institute and Museum; and Mr. Gerald E. Jones, architect in charge of the restoration. DISUSED FOR 61 YEARS The archbishop paid tribute to the service which had been given by the old college, the first separate headquarters of the Melanesian Mission, and in a prayer offered atonement for the former desecration of the building. He went on to say that 61 years had passed since the building had ceased to be used by the mission. Mission Bay, originally a Maori settlement, had been purchased by Bishop Selwyn as an endowment for the Melanesian Mission. When native boys were brought from the Islands to undergo theological training it was found that St. John’s College was too bleak and exposed for them, and that was the reason why a more sheltered place was found. Later, it was found that even the Mission Bay location was too cold for them, and the college was moved to Norfolk Island. The archbishop said that when he first saw the buildings he thought in a reproach to Auckland and the friends of Melanesia that they should be allowed to become derelict, so he obtained permission from the Melanesian Trust Board to raise £SOO by public appeal, the board obtaining permission from General Synod to contribute a further £ 500. Bishop Steward said the day had interest for him because it brought him back to the beginnings of the mission just as he was ending his association with it. It is hoped to make the hall a repository for relics and curios relating to the mission, a small admission charge being made to help the mission revenue.