The Selwyn Centenary.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 21, 26 May 1909, Page 30

The Selwyn Centenary.

Laying the Foundation Stone of the Patteson Wing.

MEMORIES OF BISHOP SELWYN AND BISHOP PATTESON

Till', celebrations last week in connection with tlie centenary oi Bishop Selwyn. which included the lading of the foundation 'tone of the Patteson memorial wing at St. John’s College. Tamaki. Auckland, revive memories of t he>e two famou- men. We have col le; ted a number of photographs of pictures many of them unique—dealing with their lives in New Zealand. and gathered records of incidents connected

FIRM FRIENDS. Bi-iiop Selwyn and Mr. William Martin, afterward- <ir William Martin, first ( hi< f Ju-tice »f New Zealand. This interesting ohl photograph was lent by Mr. W . 11. ( hurton. with early church history, which will appeal not only to church people, but to all via—es. particularly m the ca-e of Bishop Selwyn. so widely did he make his remarkable influence felt. BISHOP SELWYN. THE >IORY (»F HIS LIKE. Schooldays. George Augustus Selwyn was born at Hampstead in 1809. Hi- father was an

eminent lawyer, and at the time of his death in 1855 was Senior Queen's Counsel. When he was seven years old. in 1816. Selwyn was sent to a famous prepara tor y school at Ealing, which had numbered among its pupils the brothers J. 11. and F. \\. Newman. Here he acquired two rather unusual accomplishments for a boy of seven he became a great dancer, and picked up a knowledge, strange and incongruous as it seems, of the Racing Cal emlar. Although he never himself cared for the -port of horse-racing, yet in later years he used often to astonish his friends by his familiarity with the names and pedigrees oi' great performers on the Turf. From Ealing he went to Eton, where his career was marked by great, proficiency both in scholarship and in athletic .-ports. His scholarship was unusually exact even for an Eton bov in the days ot Keate, and once he was able to correct the doctor himself in a rendering of a line in Horace. He was reckoned one of the best oars in the Boats at Eton, and took part in 1829 in the first interuniversity boat-nice. Even as a boy he displayed that contempt for softness ami luxury which enabled him in later years to endure so many hardships. The story goe- that when he came home from school one Easter tide, he wished to invite a friend to stay with him. the friend being none other than Mr. Gladstone. His mother said it was impossible, that the spring cleaning was going on and guests would be in the way. George rushed upstairs and soon reappeared with a great matters, which he hurled down on the wet boards, saying: •’There, now, where's the ditiiculty?'' Cambridge. On leaving Eton he entered at St. John's College. Cambridge, at a time when it was necessary for all aspirants for vla--ical honours to first take a place in the mathematical tripos. He had a po-itive di.-taste for mathematics, but he managed to secure a place low down in tiie thirl c’a-s. and later in life was able to turn his mathematical knowledge t > account in acquiring a knowledge of navigation. But he more than atoned for any failure in mathematics by gaining tin* second place in the classical tripos of 18.31. being only just beaten by Kennedy wlio-e name afterwards became a household word for exact and ripe scholarship. A Fellowship at St. John's followed m due course, and Selwyn returned to Eton in the capacity of tutor. It was at this time that lie acquired that skill in riding

which was afterwards to stand him in such good stead in New Zealand. It will be remembered how he astonished the Maoris at Wellington by riding the worst buckbjuniper in the country, and by breaking in a vicious horse called Rona. which no one before had been able to handle. Small wonder was it then that when Sir George Grey brought zebras into New Zealand, and no one was able to ride them, the Maoris suggested that the Bishop should be asked to break them in. Life in New Zealand. It was on May 36th. 1842, that Bishop Selwyn landed at Auckland. His first act was to kneel down on the sand and give thanks io God. Tin* Bishop had studied the Maori language on board, and to the delight of the missionaries ami the native;- he preached in Maori on the first Sunday which he spent in the colony. He established his headquarters at the Wai mate, where the Church Missionary Society possessed houses which could receive the whole* party. His introduction to Henry Williams. the* veteran missionary was characteristic. Williams had been expounding the Bible to his class of Maori youths in the mission-station ot Paihia. Dusk was setting in. and the class was drawing to a close, when three* white* strangers were dimly discerned dragging a boat along the sand. The* diess of the leader assured the missionary that now. at last, he stood in the* presence* of a new authority ami a new order of thing-. In manly tones he* welcomed the Bishop of New Zealand. Selwyn was <oon seated at the* missionary’s ho-pitabl •

board, and at once charmed the large family. who were gathered round it for their evening meal, by the dignity of his presence. the graciousness of his manner, and tin* interest of his conversation. From the* first In* was indefatigable in trave ling over hi- vast diocese, walking through tin* bush, swimming the rivers, cruising in small boats which he always navigated himself. Whenever be stayed in a settler's house, his great desire seemed to be to give no tiouble. He would insist on carrying his own travelling-bag-, would always tidy his own room and make his own bed. and on occasions would even do his own washing. His hospitality was profuse. and he kept open house; everybody who came* received a hearty welcome*. and all knew that formal invitation was not needed. St. John s College. Selwyn'- labours in New Zealand were intimately connected with St. John's College. Tamaki. The college commenced its life immediately upon the Bishop’s arrival in New Zealand in 1842. and was named after his former college at Cambridge. It wa- then situated at Waimate North, ami wa- founded to become the home of ” true religion, sound learning, and useful industry” for the I-lands of New Zealand. There the Bishop lived; there John Selwyn was born: there the earliest ordinal ion- took place: there was held what was perhaps the* first synod in the Anglican Communion since the silencing of Convocation in 1717. Tin* college was moved from Waimate in 1844 to Tamaki. where every student, ami every

tutor, too. besides his intellectual work, took part in some of the manifold industries which made the college a very hive of activity—farming, bee-keeping, weaving. shoemaking, printing. At the same time t'ne college was then the cathedral centre of the great diocese. It was par-

ticularly connected with the foundation of the Melanesian Mission, for from this spot tin* Bishop set forth in August, 1849, in the college schooner. Undine. 21 tons, on his first voyage to the islands, and it was to St. John’s that he brought trium-

phautly back the first five Melanesian scholars. Here, too, Patteson at first lived, on his arrival from England, and here for some time he spent his loving care upon his dark-skinned pupils. In the new Patteson Memorial wing, men preparing for posts in the Melanesian Mission are to have a prior claim to be taken in, and here will be housed the fine collection of books bequeathed to the college by Dr. Kinder, a former warden. Church Constitution, It is to Bishop Selwyn that we owe the Constitution of the Church of the Province of New Zealand. At his invitation a conference of the twd bishops.

Who is, as far as we are able to ascertain. the last of the band of students who studied at St. John’s College under Bishop Selwyn, and were ordained by him. Some interesting reminiscences by Canon Gould appear in this issue. Harper of Christchurch and himself, eight clergy and seven representative laity, was held in Auckland during the month of June, 1857, and when they separated there was unanimous agreement on the principle that the Church in the colony should be governed by a General Synod, consisting of bishops, clergy and laity, and by diocesan synods composed of the same three orders. Certain fundamental provisions placed the Prayer Book itself outside the power of the General Synod, and bound the New Zealand Church to make no changes in the rubrics unless they should at first have been authorised by Crown and Convocation in England. This

constitution lias been largely eopiecl by other branches of the Anglican Common ion. His Last Days. In 1867 Bishop Selwyn visited England to attend the Lambeth Conference, and whilst there he was very reluctantly induced to accept the See of Lichfield, rendered vacant by the death of Dr. Lonsdale. He had twice refused to accept the position, and it was only when the Queen said to him: "Dr. Selwyn, I want you to take the See of Lichfield,” that he consented. Here he put new energy into the hearts of the workers and the dioeese generally, besides making Lichfield a centre of missionary activity. But his heart was with his first dioeese. In his last illness, amid the wanderings caused by bodily weakness, his thoughts were with the distant islands, for which he had done so much. At one time he would exclaim with kindling eye: “A light to lighten the Gentiles,” at another he would murmur, “ They will all come back,” referring to the Maoris who had apostasised during the war, and then in the soft Maori language, which for more than a quarter of a century was familiar to him as his mother tongue, lie would say, "It is all light.” He died April 11. IS7S. and lies buried in the churchyard of Lichfield Cathedral. For his noble example, for his strenuous labours, for his wise statesmanship, for his missionary zeal. New Zealand should never cease to thank God and to bless the memory of George Augustus Selwyn. BISHOP PATTESON. MARTYR BISHOP OF MELANESIA, Childhood. John Coleridge Patteson was born at Gower-street, Bedford-square, on April 1. 1827. His father. Sir John Patteson. was a distinguished judge, having been raised to the Bench at the unusually early age of 40. His mother was the daughter of Colonel Coleridge, of Ottery St. Mary. Devon, and a niece of the famous poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The boy’s first school was at Ottery St. Alary, of which his great-grandfather and greatuncle had both been head-masters, and from there he went to Eton. At Eton he became distinguished as a cricketer, and it is said that the famous professional. Lillywhite, considered him the finest player for his age that he had ever seen. His fine batting won the mated, for Eton in the Eton and Harrow match of 1844. as he not only scored 50 runs, but by his steady play he completely broke the back of the bowling. A characteristic story is told of his school days, showing how firm he was even as a boy in resisting what he felt to be wrong. It was the custom for the cricket eleven and the boating eight to dine together once a year

at an inn in Slough, and. of course, they sang songs on the* occasion. Unfortunately. however, they were not always careful what they sang, so that Patteson. who as a member of the eleven was present at the* dinner that year, gave* out beforehand that he would not stanel it if they sang anything improper. In spite* of this, when the* time* came*, one of the* boys began to sing an objectionable* song. “If this does not stop. I shall leave the room.” calleel out Patterson, but it did not stop, so he* and a few others got up and went away. He said that unless an apology was made he would not play for the school again, so an apology was sent, and Patteson continued to do good service* in the eleven until he left Eton for Oxford.

English Curacy. Patteson entereel at Bullied in 1845 at a time* when under the mastership of Dr. Jenkyns. the college was attaining preeminence* for success in the* schools and for the high standard required of its members, who were* said to have formeel the most delightful society, the* verv focus of the most stimulating life* of the* University. He was offered a place in the* University Eleven, but declined, though not without a struggle, on tin* ground that it woulel interfere* with his reading. At this time he* tra veil eel a good deal, and one summer, which he spent at Dresden, he* devoted to the* study of Hebrew. Arabic and German. He had a natural aptitude* for languages, which stooel him in good stead when later on in life In* set himself to reduce to writing and grammar 16 different languages which had before* been merely spoken. In the summer of 1852 Patteson was elected a Fellow of Merton, and he moved into rooms there. He hail, however, no in tent ion of permanently residing at Oxford. and he* left then* the following year to take* a curacy at Alfington. near to his own home* at Feniton. in Devonshire, and it was in 1854. when Bishop Selwyn was visiting England, that he* decided to join the Bishop and devote* himself to missionary work. Sails for New Zealand. He saileel from England in the Duke of Portland at the end of March. 1855. never again to re visit it. The first year of bis life abroad was rather living to him. His special work was to be the teaching of boys from the Melanesian Islands: but there was so much work awaiting Bishop Selwyn on hi> return from England that a year passed before he had lime* to visit them, and eluring this period Patteson’s main work lay in acting as a sort of chief stew are! on the* Southern Cross, and weighing out the meat and other stores on boarel the vessel. But he did this work conscientiously and well, as In* did everything else, mid did not consider it beneath him. As a Maori said one day : “(lent lemaa gent lonian thinks nothing that ought to be done* at all too mean for him. Pig gentleman never works.” Bishop Selwyn always liked, if he could, to start for a mission ary voyage on Ascension Day. so that our Lord’s command. “Go ye into all the*

woi ]«1 and preach the gospel to every creature/' might be fresh in the minds of himself and hi* fellow-labourer*. It was on Ascension Day. 1850, that he set off with his wife and Coleridge Patteson. a crew of five men. and a Mr Harper, a friend, who. to Pattesonj? great satisfaction. relieved him from his duties as steward of the vessel. Among the Islands. £ They first vi<t;d Norfolk Inland, where they left Mrs S.-lwyn. ami afterwards W’ nt on to Aniatium. one of the New Hebrides. From Aniatium the Southern Cross w»mt on to Fate, or Sandwich Isle, which had a bad character for cannibalism. They did not land, but a number

of natives came on board, and two of them accompanied the Bishop on his cruise, and at Bauro five native boys were taken on board to be educated in New. Zealand. The little party returned to Auckland about the middle of September, and Pattesoij and his native boys took up their residence at St. John’s College. Three of these boys were the sons of a terrible old chief called Bula, who had 55 wives and almost absolute power. If anyone offended him. he would send either a priest or one of his sons to kill the man and bring the body, of which he ate the thighs himself and gave the rest to his slaves. These years of Patteson's life, busy as they were, were a good deal like one another. Year by t year he went the voyage, taking boys to their homes and bringing back others to New Zealand to be trained, and in 1859 a new home was found for them at Kohimarama, a more sheltered spot than St. John's. The first change in his life came in 1861, when on February 24 he was consecrated at Auckland as the first Bishop of Melanesia. Many of his native flock were present at the service, and one of them held the book for Bishop Selwyn to read the service out of. After a few years the school was moved from Kohimarama to Norfolk Island, which henceforth became Bishop Patteson’s home. The Martyrdom. In 1871 the Bishop visited the island of Nukapu. which he had often visited before. He got into a boat with Mr Atkin and three other*. The boat went to a reef two miles from the island, and there the Bishop got into one of the native canoes, the boat remaining at the reef. Mr Atkin and his companions saw the Bishop land on the beach, and then they, lost sight of him. One of the.natives, named Tuponi. has given the following account of Patteson's death: "When he was in the house a man from behind struck him with some instrument, and the Bishop rose and pushed the man aside, and then another man shot him with an arrow. When he was dead, the women bewailed his death, and four of them carried the body down to the shore. A woman named Luwari paddled the canoe away from the shore, and when she saw the boat, stepped into another canoe and fled.’’ Th? natives also attacked the Liat, and all the occupants were wounded. Mr. Atkin and one other subsequently dying of their wound*. The Bishop’s l.ody had b.-cn wrapped in a mat, with a palm leaf fastened over the breast, and when the mat was opened there were five wound*. The next morning the bodv of John Coleridg? Patteson was committed

to the waters of the Pacific, hie “son after the faith," Joseph Atkin, reading the burial service. Perhaps the fittest conclusion to the Bishop’s history will be the words written by Henry Tagalana, translated literally by Mr Cod rington:— “As he taught he confirmed his word with his good life among us, as we all know; and also that he perfectly well helped anyone who might be unhappy about anything, and spoke comfort to him about it; and about his character and conduct, they are consistent- with the law of God. He gave the evidence of it in his practice, for he did nothing carelessly. lest he should make anyone stumble and turn from the good way; and again, he did nothing to gain anything for himself alone, but he sought what he might keep others with, and then he worked with it; and the reason was his pitifulness and his love. And again, he did not despise anyone, nor reject anyone with scorn; whether it were a white or a black person, he thought them all as one. and he loved them all alike.” He loved them all alike, that was the secret of John Coleridge Patteson’s history and his labours.

It was built from des gns furnished by one of the students (Mr. Thatcher), afterwards the first vicar of St. Matthew’s. Auckland, and was opened in 1847. Although the exterior is plain, the interior is unique in the Dominion, and most devotional. In this tiny sanctuary—it will seat only about 70 persons —you find the “dim religious light" associated with the venerable cathedrals of the Old Country, all the windows being of stained glass. On these, or on mural tablets, many names of tin* past are inscribed. Here, indeed, are focus seel the rich historical associations of the* College. Here are commemorated, notably, the distinguished founder and his lay coadjutor in so many undertakings. Sir William Martin: among other benefactors of the College. Thomas Whytehead. Archdeacon Brown, Edward Meyrick. Henry William Appleyard: also Alfred Marsh Brown and Maria Blackett, in whose memory valuable scholarships were founded: Bishop Patteson. and those* who. like* him. laid down their lives in Melanesia: William Nihill (who died at Neugone. 1855). Joseph Atkin. and Stephen Taroaniara : ami of recent years, John Kinder. I).I).. Master of the College* from 1871 to 1880.