Proposed Marsden Cross

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 12994, 23 October 1905, Page 3

Proposed Marsden Cross

, BY ABCHBEACON WALSH. ■ — (Extract Irani the New Zealand Hei aid, Saturday, October 14, 1905.) _ On Christmas Day, 1814, at Bangi " houa, Bay of Islands, the fjrst Chris ii&u service was held in New Zealand The time I think has come when , ai , , event of sweh deep and far-reaching , importance should be marked by soiru fi.tting memorial, and it has been sugRested that this, take the form of a J^ stone cross to. be erected on the hallowed spot. - I At' the invitatidn of Ruatara, an ajdventurous young chief of the Bay of 5t Inlands who had made several voyai ges in English ships, the Eev. Samuel Marsden, chaplain to the penal settlement at Parramat^a, N.SjW., determined on the hazardous enterprise 0 :«f trying to introduce "the gospel message to the' natives of New 'Zealand. g jit took agi-eat deal' of time and perseverance, however, before the . Cjhurch Missionary Society and their. - friends in England would consent to r gjve any support to this undertaking. ' There was a strong feeling both at Home, and in the colonies against the * Staoris, who were looked upon as ir- \ reclaimable barbarians, and this feelnig had been lately intensified by tie massacre of the crew of the Boyd, ' wlhioh occurred in Whangaroa Harbour in 1809.

' (Mr Marsden, however, persevered , ajid in the jmiddle of 1814 he was able t<j> send Mr Kendall and Mr JEall as a; soi*t of -reconnoitring party to ascertain the : tewper of the people and the practicability! of establishing a aajission among them. The emissaries arrived in due time, and though not a liitle startled at the wild and savage appearance and custo/ins of the natives, yqt the kind welcome they received soon 'dispelled, any thoughts of personal fear, ' and after spending six weeks among them they felt no hesitation as tp iUeir . %ture- course. On' their return toj.v Sydney they were ac-< companied by_ JJuatara,_ Hohgi, and" KorokorcFj.iw.hert <&©fr: report 'fijted Mr Marsden's anxious heart with gratitude and" joy. „->••• In selecting a site for the mission station Mr Marsden was of course lim^ i ted to the -territory, of those friendly chiefs which extended along the nor- . them shore/of 'the Bay .of Islands. The. situation was convient and central, and its qnljjj . drawback was • its prox- • tmity to the -settlement of Kororareka 'hqw Russell 1 ), a port of call for tradng vessels, and already the" happy lynting grotuid ,of runaway sailors md escaped convicts, whose conduct ;6on earned for it the title of the Usatia of. .tie South Pacific. 'All preliminaries having been ' arranged. ■ satisfactorily Mr Marsden mrchas'ed a small brig named the AcLive at his own risk, and sailed for sew Zealand on the 28th of November, 1814, taking with him the threo nissicmaries-' whom- he proposed to .ettle, -viz., Messrs Kendall, King, md Hall, with their wives and famines, tiurthfee returning chiefs/ and i! gentleman named Nicholas, who. wblishctT a v nrost interesting account' ?f the voyage and of . his experiences n the country.: On the 15th, of De;embe,r they": sigh ted New Zealand, and bunding the North. Cape made their vay ( down jbhe • coast towards their" Iqstination.f. They were met at, severil places by bodies of natives, who ;ame -off in, their .canoes, and at one ipint; they • went ashore, where Mr ffarsden and Mr Nicholas actually ipent the 'night in , the camp of the hief who had taken the lead in the inair of th'ej Boyd, and who was at he) tinge at open.. enmity" with the ribe amongst whom- he propased to ettle \ the mission. The marvellqus qtrepidity of the man.' so impressed he savages that they not only prolised to forbear^ from molesting the settlement, but they agreed make eace with ' their traditional enemies f the Bay of Islands. A fair wind soon brought tbe party 3 their destination, and the Active' ame io anchor on December 22, in. a eautiful little crescent-shaped bay, ght ! v 'uridet the guns'* of Ruatara's a. M"r Mai'sden's name was already ell ' kndwn, , ' and the welcome they jceived from the natives was inten?d to, show their respect and reard, hvtritim form which it took-s-a reteuded - attack on the ship by 10 irge war-canoes 'full of armed men — as onough to strike terror into the tost stoutshearted of those who were tiacquainted faith Maori usage, One t in easily imagine the spirits of < lose young- .missionaries' would sink s i thin" them at the thought that they i ere about .-to be left to live alone < id unprotected among those> wild and , I wleSp slavages. • " i The- first: Sunday happened to be 1: [iristmfls "Day, and" the first sight i at greeted Mr Marsden's eyes as he i snt on deck- in, the morning was the r ritish .flag flying over . the pa. On i )ing ■ ashore he " found, that Ruatara j

had rigged ,ug a church in a sort oi [ rude imitation jof what lie had seen at 'Parratnatta. About half an acre was enclosed wifchl * a fence and in the centre «l piece of a ' ca- " noe was fixefci end up in the ground, with a little 1 desk in front, t > i- represent a.pu^pit^ >Some old canoes i- turned upside down and covered witr* ... native mats wfere. arranged as mumi for the i Europeans, the Maoris bein^

satisfied with a Wa^ on the grouru-3 Here amid their strange surrounding was held the firsti Christian service .'j New Zealand. ' , ' Mr Marsden's own,, account of ' thi wonderful scene is tea follows c—" Why we landed we fouhd Korokoro, Bu». tara, and'; Hongi,. oressed in regiment als, given , . them ■"■ by Governor Mac quarie, with Jhe.ir men Jrawn, ur ready to march ihto the encijsure, t-; attend Divine jseryice. Wrj enter o<l and were placed; on the seats on ea<ii Bidt of the- pujnit.r':.' Korokoco mar>:L •ed his men in, apd placed 'them on m» right hand bohhil the .Europeans ;■ Kuataia placed his |on the left. The m habitants of the'towtf, with the v/bmen and childreijj, and" a number of other chiefs', • forinfed & circle iound the whole. A very^bJenin silen-e pi-?-vailed. I roae , aid' began file service by singing the, 01^ Hundredth Psa«m, anii I felt my Very soul malt within me when I viewed", my congregation. and considered the\state they were Iv. After reading" the s ,service I preached from Stl Luke ii. 1Q;: '^ehol^, I bring

, you glad tidings erf great joy.' Thenab tiyes 1 told Ruatara- \ that they . could 3. not understand what^E meant. He. tolc - them hot t'o^mnndfndw, for that they I would understand "i^by '-and', by'^ and I 1 that .he would explain my meaning as far as he could. When the service was river we returned l on, board r much gratified., and, with the strongest persuasion that the time Avas a^ han-j when' 1 the glory of the Lord would be revealed to these poor ."benighted he*then,, and that thVdaboufs of thos-> who remained on the) 1 island would b« crowned and blessed with success." T , The whole scene, con^es-up, irresistibly to anyone t who visit&tthe place and is acquainted with ; its' hMtcfty. There :S1 no/, difficulty in identifying the spot. The ''half acre pf grquhd" i« the only level 'space in" the neighbourhood- a little shingle flat above the beacb #hero i,the party 'must, have landed. To I "(ihe left' is the pa — the "town as the »* sometimes,- called it — with its ditches kfad terraces still clear and distinct, though the houses "and ' palisading have, with its thousand inhabitants, long since disappeared, while to , 'the righj., is the sloping' aground • hftorwards occupied by the dwellings 'and cultivations of the missionaries, ihe leveled, sites of the buildiiigs being still plainly traceable. •-. Xocal tradit'.m states that the- spot^ occupied by the pulpit' was 'sheltered . by a spreading pohutukawa' tree, ilro-t this 'beautiful landmark was ' unf drtunatelv destroyed by fire many years ago. ■ A block of 62 a£res extending inland from the beach' was purchased by tho C.M.S. as a site for the settlement, and houses were soon built and gardens brought under, cultivation. On the mission being removed<to Xeriiccri, however, it -was.no longer srequired > , and was sold with the exeep; tion r of pne^acire wh^iph had qiiginaliy beeil reserved as" a j church site^atid burial ground. This- piece extonds'Vdov- T n.. to Ihe booch, andjinclfides ni Jeast . n portion of 'tnS' ground • encVbsed by Ruatara ' for the" " l *Chf > istmas"servicf.. Here of course -ite the .site for 'the 'memorial. , ;. /- \~- Through the ge'iietpsity of< Mr^G. \V ; ChiJds, of Philadelphia* the Bishop o) San Francisco was able, -to [ua.ee so^nf years ago near the^"Golden GatoV v gigantic morinmenti] » irnown a& "The Prayer Book Ci-oss," .to maik the spot on \vhifih Sir Jl'lrancib Drake's chaplain held the first Angliciin service on tf)e Piieific coast ol America. | Tt. .is: not bW»«ly""ihat? we should bo ablt; to "afford a monument on the same <?cale, but we could. Easily mauage .'i substantial stone cross of suflicibnt ditiiensions to be a conspicuous landmark plainly visible from --he ' shir<% catering the Bay of Islands. The scale of -the cross >vould o: course depend' on the' funds available, but the object being one that appeals so strongly to ie very Christian in New Zealand, there should be no difficulty in obtaining, a sum 1 siifiicient to creel a really worthy~"monumen\,. I have already recoived • a promise of £100 and three promises of £5 each on the condition that the memorial be in the shape of a stone 'cross to be ereotcd on, or as near as possible to, t.ta*. spotj on which' the" service was held, and the matter be taken 1 in hand without delay. The ..Bishop of ' Auckland bas given his cordial approval to t <ri »'. movement, and.T hereby invite contributions from all those who are dwelling under the shelter pf the great troc J that by the' providence of God had' so ( marvellously grown from the grain rf mustard seed sown, over ,90 years n- * .• ' , ; „,. ■•(!

I Subscriptions . may be, paid either to 'the Bishop of Auckland, to Mr W. S. Cochrane, .Diocesan Office, Shortlaiidstreet, Auckland, or v to me, Philip Walsh. Archdeacon of Waimale. Waimate North, October 4, i 905. At the Anglican Synodj held at Auckland last' week; it was resolved ,W commend to) the i Churchmen ot New Zealand^ the proposal to ersd a vie morial cross. • ;