BISHOP CLEARY AMONG THE NORTHERN MISSIONS

New Zealand Tablet, 14 March 1912, Page 25

BISHOP CLEARY AMONG THE NORTHERN MISSIONS

(From our Auckland correspondent.) March 8. The Right'Rev. Dr. Cleary, Bishop of Auckland, has just completed his fourth series of visitations of the country parishes. He arrived in Auckland on Thursday nignt, and his impressions of his trip were, immediately on his return, courteously given to your correspondent. , j , / On this occasion his'Lordship took as his objective the Maori missions North of Auckland. Sailing for Whangarei on February 16, he reached that town early the following morning, and was met at the steamer by Father Wientjes and some members of the local congregation. After Mass he proceeded by road to Maungakaramea, where a large congregation had assembled ■ to meet him. After a suitable address to the children and the congregation, his Lordship administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to twelve persons. . A large concourse of people then assembled at the home of Mr. O’Carroll, wliere they were entertained with lavish hospitality. On the following (Sunday) morning Confirmation was administered in the large Catholic school at Whangarei, the local church being too small for the concourse of people that gathered together from the town and the district round about, considerable numbers of people having come from places up to a distance of twenty miles away. In the afternoon a gardenparty assembled in the convent grounds to meet the Bishop. The Mayor presided, and there were also present the Mayoress, representatives of various public bodies, and the members of the learned professions. The great concourse included a large body of people of every local, religious faith. Discourses were delivered by Father Wientjes and the Mayor, and an address (artistically finished by Mr. Le Tourret) was read and a presentation made on behalf of the congregation. To all this his Lordship suitably replied. On the following morning the Bishop and Father Wientjes were driven to the native settlement of Poroti by Mr. McMahon, in his fine motor-car. A marquee 50 feet long by 30 feet wide had been erected there, the floor neatly covered with native matting. After a formal welcome in the warm Maori fashion, Mass was celebrated by Father Kreymborg, and the Bishop and Father Wientjes, in turn questioned the candidates for Confirmation in the native tongue. After an address suited to the occasion (interpreted by Father Wientjes) the Sacrament of Confirmation was administered to 23 candidates. The white and native visitors were afterwards feasted with true Maori hospitality. A lengthy ‘ korero ’ of welcome followed, during which native oratory showed at its best. The Bishop, in the course of his reply, pressed upon the natives the need of a local church; a subscription list was opened there and tKen ; and it is hoped that in good time there will be a suitable sacred edifice for Catholic worship in the neighborhood. The afternoon was spent by the Bishop and the local clergy visiting the Catholic families on Limestone Island, and inspecting the great quarries and cement works there. ‘ Whangaroa, Mission. ■ The Bishop, accompanied by Father Bruning, left by the 7.30 train the following morning (Ash Wednesday) for' Opua, whence they proceeded by motor-launch across the magnificent harbor to Russell. During their brief stay there they wsre the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Darby at ‘ The Gables.’ The Bishop, was greatly interested in the old residence of his predecessor, Bishop Pompallier, and visited the property on which stood the handsome cathedral, accidentally burned down many years ago. Russell’s olden glories are departed, although there seem to be signs of a revival there. During his stay, the Bishop visited the only two Catholic families left there, and made sundry dispositions for the betterment of the Church property there.' On the following morning (February 22) he and Father Bruning left by the -Clansman for Whangaroa. Dr. Cleary was greatly charmed by the exquisite scenery:

of these two splendid harbors, and was much interested* in the narratives of old times and events which the captain of the Clansman drew from his well-stored memory for the benefit of his episcopal passenger. Particularly was the Bishop taken with the details regarding the Boyd massacre, by the scene of which the Clansman passed on its way to the wharf at Whangaroa. One of the treasures presented to his Lordship on his trip (from Mr. Bernard, at Okaihau) was a relic of that historic and ill-fated ship. Another, was a magnificent specimen of kauri gum presented to him by Mr. Swann at Kaeo. At Whangaroa the Bishop met all the members of the small local Catholic body, with the exception of two workers who were unavoidably absent. - A few native Catholics greeted him later on at Father Bruning’s presbytery, some miles outside Whangarba. In the afternoon a drive of some 18 miles brought him and Father Bruning to Mangdnui, where they were met by the local Catholic body, white and native. Mass was celebrated for them, and Holy ’Communion and Baptism administered by him, on the following morning. Failing to secure a launch, the Bishop and Father Bruning had to reach the gumfields of Lake Ohia by one of the very vilest tracks that even the roadless North ’ can boast. On their way they were hospitably entertained at the cablestation by Mr. and Mrs, Jenkins. ,On the gum-fields, Austrian and Maori diggers were visited, and on the following morning (February 24) confessions were heard and two Masses were celebrated. Dr. Cleary was the first Bishop to visit Lake Ohia. « An early return was made over the same almost quite impassable road, and after two and a half hours’ perilous bumping Mangonui was reached. Here a launch was hired and a sea-trip of nearly three hours brought the Bishop and the local pastor to the entirely Catholic native settlement of Waimahana. It was the first episcopal visit in the history of Waimahana. The two visitors were carried ashore on the broad shoulders of stalwart Maoris, and were greeted with native chants and cries of welcome by the entire population of the place, numbering some 200 persons, the greater part of whom had returned from the forests and the gumfields and road contracts to meet and greet their Bishop. A number of them had that day walked a distance, of over twenty miles over the steep and rugged hills ’to reach their neat and tidy village for the occasion. Approaching the ‘ marae ’ the Bishop was greeted with gun-fire and waving branches and warm cries of ‘ haeremai.’ He and Father Bruning were led to a green bower, carpeted with flax-mats, in the middle of the ‘marae,’ and there a short ‘ korero ’ of welcome took place. The long and formal ‘ korero ’ took place at night in the big meeting-house of the village. The ‘ korero ’ was interspersed with some fine choral singing by all the natives. Almost immediately after the ‘ korero,’ the Bishop and Father Bruning examined the children in the catechism, in the native tongue. The Bishop was delighted with the quick and ready and correct answering of the children. The whole population (except the sick) attended both Masses on the following morning (Sunday, February 25). The day was perfect. At the close of the first Mass (the Bishop’s) the population sat outside the church and refused to return to the village for breakfast for fear,’ said they, ‘we might miss something.’ The second Mass was therefore celebrated at an earlier hour than had been announced.- It was preceded by a procession of candidates for Confirmation, and of six altar-boys in scarlet soutanes and surplices, the Bishop, in full pontificals, with Father Bruning, bringing up the rear. The procession, started at the Bishop’s temporary residence and as it neared the church, a few hundred yards away, the remainder of the population lined up in two files, through which the procession passed into the church. The Bishop expressed himself again and again as greatly captivated with the splendid four-part singing of the Maori congregation at both Masses. Without any special training, they harmonise quite naturally, and maintain a balance of parts and a mellowness and orgahlike quality of tone which fairly took his Lordship by

surprise. He. afterwards declared that he had never before heard congregational singing to approach it, and in the course of his subsequent address expressed his delight at what he had seen and , heard, and warmly commended the congregation and their pastor and catechists. The Bishop confirmed a large number of children, blessed' a new catechist, and baptised two infants. At the close of the ceremonies the assembled gathering moved in procession, two and two, to the Bishop’s quarters, and there knelt while he gave them a parting blessing. Okaihau Mission. . The same afternoon the Bishop and Father Bruning left by another hired launch for the sea trip to Whangaroa, and thence a few miles by buggy to Kaeo, wlierc they were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Swann. On the following day the Bishop drove to Kawakawa, 48 miles from Whangaroa. He was met by Father Bressers at 29 miles from Kawakawa. During the evening he was visited by members of the local Catholic body, and on the following morning (February 27) administered the Sacrament of Confirmation after an early Mass. The same forenoon the 25 miles to Okaihau were covered, and on the 28th a number of children and adults were there confirmed. A considerable number of people of various faiths, who had been present, were entertained at an al-fresco lunch by Father Bressers, after which an address of welcome was. read to the Bishop by Mr. Murphy, on behalf of the congregation. The Bishop (accompanied by Father Bressers) then left in Mr. Bernard’s buggy, amidst a parting salute of three cheers, and arrived in due course at -Horeke, fourteen miles distant. At Horeke a launch was in waiting to bear the Bishop to Rawene and to Father Becker’s presbytery at Purakau. Hokianga Mission. Next morning, at an early hour Chief Heremia’s motor launch from the native village of Whakarapa, carried the Bishop and Father Becker there amidst a steady downpour of rain. The population met and welcomed the Bishop outside the village, with waving branches and festive cries of the olden Maori times. A formal korero ’ also took place' outside Chief Heremia’s house, where the visitors stayed. The chief and others expressed their pleasure at the manner in which his Lordship gets hold on the mellow Maori tongue, and the Bishop, on his part, greatly enjoyed the wit and shrewdness and vivacity of Chief Heremia (who speaks English fairly well). Heremia is noted for the ready and adroit way in which he turns the tables on controversialists who incautiously attack the Catholic faith in his presence, and some of his stories, in this connection, would be well worth placing in full before Tablet readers if they could be taken down verbatim. The Bishop and Father Becker questioned ’ twelve candidates for Confirmation, and the ceremony was carried out in the pretty local church at about 3 p.m. (February 29). Then, and on the following morning at the Bishop’s Mass, the whole congregation sang various hymns in four-part harmony with an exquisite and moving sweetness, such as the Bishop, in all his varied journeyings through the highways and by-ways of the world, has never heard surpassed. The visits to the native settlements of Whakarapa and Waihou took place in heavy and almost continuous downpours of rain. Waihou was reached on Ember Friday, (March 1). Horses ,were ready for the. Bishop and Father Becker at the landing place (which was reached in Chief Heremia’s motor launch). ; The customary welcome was accorded with waving branches, ancient chants, musical ‘ haeremais,’ and eloquent speeches by three chiefs—all in the midst of a steady downpour of rain, the pelting of which the natives (men, women, and children) bore without manifesting any sign of discomfort. Confirmation took place in the church at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. In the evening * another ‘ korero ’ was held at which the Bishop (interpreted by Father Becker) spoke at some length in regard to the free education of Maori children, for which he has arranged in the Takapuna estate. On the following morning, after, early Mass,

the Bishop and Father Becker left in Chief Heremia’s launch for Rawene and Purakau. The whole population followed to the water’s edge, chanted as a farewell the Magnificat in Maori to*. a quaint and beautifully harmonised setting, and received on their knees the Bishop’s parting blessing. Nothing could exceed the affection and respect manifested towards his Lordship by the inhabitants of all the intensely Catholic native villages visited by him. By the evening tide the Bishop, accompanied by the local clergy, proceeded (again under Chief Heremia’s pleasant and entertaining guidance) to the fine Catholic native settlement of Motukaraka. They arrived after dark, and after the customary greetings had been gone through in abbreviated form (owing to the lateness of the hour) in the fine meeting-house, his Lordship left again by launch for the Danaher Homestead, where he passed the night (Saturday, March 2). A great crowd of natives and many Europeans assembled from all the settlements for a great distance around, filled the splendid church of Motukaraka at the Bishop’s Mass on the next (Sunday) morning, and sang their four-part religious ‘ waiatas ’ in a captivating way. The church was built entirely by the natives; it is the finest Catholic church structure in the diocese, outside the city and suburban area in Auckland ; it is placed upon a commanding site over those broad land-locked waters, opposite Rawene; and its tall and shapely spire is the most striking feature created by the hand of man in the landscape of the Hokianga. Just before the late Mass (11 a.in.) the Bishop, in pontificals, and the candidates for Confirmation marched in picturesque procession from a dwelling some 150 yards away (where the children had been individually examined), and passed through the great concourse of people from all the district, drawn up in single file in two lines extending to the porch of the church. A Mum Cantata (the first in the histow of the nlace) was sung, and after Mass Confirmation (preceded, as usual, by a total , abstinence pledge till the twenty-first year) was administered. After dinner in. the large ‘ whare-kai ’ or dining-house of the village, a formal open-air ‘ korero ’ of welcome was held outside the large meeting-house. Heremia and the chiefs of Whangape and Motukaraka spoke with a picturesque eloquence and happy imagery that won the admiration of the clergy and other Europeans present who were skilled in the native tongue. A presentation was also made by the natives to his Lordship. The Bishop replied in English, using figures of speech and illustrations from native flora and scenery and native history, much to the pleasure of his Maori audience. lie was interpreted by Father Becker, who is acknowledged on all hands to be one of the finest exponents of the native tongue and native lore in New Zealand. With the sanction of the donors, a generous presentation made by Mr. Butler, on behalf of the white Catholics present, was handed over by his Lordship to Father Becker for the purposes of the mission. After a bright and sunshiny day, full of color and interest for all present, the Bishop left in a launch for Taheke. The native population chanted the Magnificat at the waterside as the Bishop left, accompanied by Mr. Flood and his son. A. little over a two hours’ trip by bright moonlight on a beautiful willow-fringed river brought them to the lonely hotel at Taheke. Here the Bishop parted with his friends and prepared for the rough mountain trip of the morrow. ■ * ' ! Dargaville Mission. # * -A-t the Taheke Hotel the Bishop was, for the twentieth time, warned that the wild mountain track to Kaihu (in the Dargaville parish) was impassable, that a bridge was broken, that a circus company had, only a few weeks before, spent an entire- week upon the ‘road ’ and had to be dragged- out "again and again by bullockteams. And so on. But he trusted the county engineer s report^ that it was passable, though very rough,’ and determined to try the ranges at all costs. In good sooth, the ‘road’ was surpassingly rough. It was a once-good road torn to pieces by years of complete neglect and torrential rain, and in parts invaded by ferns, etc., owing to an almost entire absence of traffic The worst part was the seven miles of zig-zagging over boulders, washouts, and boggy patches to the plateau

two thousand feet above. The distance from Taheke to Kaihu is 43 miles. Owing to the difficulties of the first 18 miles progress was slow, and the actual driving time over the whole distance was nine, hours and. 20 minutes. The first pair of horses was sent back after 18 miles, and Father Zangerl was the Bishop's driver thereafter to Kaihu, which was reached at 7.30 on ..Monday evening, March 4. The Bishop had started at 8.30 the same morning and was driving continuously till about 5 p.m., when an interval was taken for refreshments at the hospitable home of. a settler, Mr. Ford. At 8 p.m. the natives at Kaihu tendered the Bishop a welcome, iii the warm native fashion, in their meeting-house. Others called upon him during the course of the following morning, prior to his departure for Dargaville by the 12.30 p.m. train. „ " At Dargaville the Bishop visited"the school (Tuesday, March 5) soon after his arrival, and suitably replied' to a nicely-worded address presented by the children. At 7 o'clock the-same evening the Sacrament of Confirmation was administered to 48 children, at the close of a suitable examination and instruction. On Thursday (March 7) the Bishop started from Dargaville at 6.30 a.m. and reached Auckland at 6.4 p.m. •