Account of the Church-Mission Station at Waimate.
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AUSTRALASIA.
Church Miss. Soc. -- The Rev. H. H. Bobart (not H. B. Bobart, as printed on former occasions), with Mrs Bobart and Mr. and Mrs. Ashwell (p. 157), arrived at Sydney on the 2d of November. On the 8th of February, the Rev. Robert Maunsell and Mrs. Maunsell (p. 157) left Sydney for New Zealand.
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Miscellanies.
ACCOUNT OF THE CHURCH-MISSION STATION AT WAIMATE.
(WITH AN ENGRAVING.)
THE following extracts are from the Rev. W. Yate's Volume on New Zealand.
Views in forming the Waimate Station.
Till the formation of the Waimate Settlement, the Missionaries had been hovering, as it were, on the skirts of the country; and, with all the efforts that had previously been made, no permanent footing had been obtained beyond those outposts. We had long been watching the workings of the native mind, and looking for the openings of Providence, for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We felt assured that no great work would be accomplished, till we could establish a Mission Station in the interior of the island, and in the midst of its cultivable and populous districts.
Experience has taught the New Zealanders, that the Missionaries sought, not theirs, but them; that their objects were, to add to their temporal comforts, and to endeavour to ensure their eternal welfare. Having been urged by the Natives to take up our abode more in their immediate neighbourhood, the Local Committee, with the advice and assistance of Mr. Marsden, who happened at that time to be paying us a visit, resolved to select a site at the Waimate, which should possess these two advantages; namely, suitableness for a Missionary Station, from its near connexion with great numbers of Natives; and a sufficiency of good land, for the purpose of agriculture, with a view to supply the whole Mission with flour and other produce. A fine spot was marked out, possessing, in a high degree, both these advantages. The people expressed their willingness to part with it; and the land was made over, in proper form, to the Church Missionary Society and its Agents.
Difficulties in forming the Settlement.
There were many difficulties in the way of forming this establishment: the first of which was, the want of a road, over which a cart could be driven, to convey stores to and from the coast, or the Kerikeri, a distance of about ten miles. After much research, a road was at length found, which headed most of the deep ravines, and avoided the swamps. By the erection of three substantial bridges--one of them over the river Waitangi, a deep and rapid stream, and two others over smaller and less important streams; and by cutting through a wood for about a quarter of a mile; a good road was formed, passable for drays and carts, both in summer and winter. The span of the bridge over the river Waitangi is sixty feet; and its height, from the bed of the river, forty feet. This great work was performed, in little more than three months, by the Natives themselves, with the assistance of Messrs. Clarke and Hamlin; who, in conjunction with Mr. Davis and myself, were appointed to reside at the New Settlement. Early in the year 1830, the Station was formed: the spot was admirably adapted for all the purposes for which it was intended, being in the centre of a numerous body of Natives, within a reasonable distance of other tribes, with land available for all the purposes of agriculture; and, with a good agriculturist to superintend that branch of the work, expectations were raised, which, as far as can be inferred from four years' experience, have every prospect of being realized.
Site of the Settlement.
The settlement is beautifully situated on a plain, surrounded by hills: the front view, looking towards the north, is a long range of hills, covered with the most magnificent kauri-trees, and affording a superabundant supply of the best timber, within the reasonable distance of two miles from the spot where it is wanted for use. At the foot of these hills roll the limpid waters of the Waitangi, irrigating the fertile valley through which they flow: to the right of the Station is the noble hill called "Puke-nui," or the "Great Hill"; the whole of which, as well as the surrounding country, seems to be of volcanic origin.
Progress of the Mission.
To all the native residences in connexion with the Waimate, stretching thirty-five miles to the south-west, roads have been cut by the people, to facilitate our visits to them, for the purpose of preaching the Gospel. The villages are very numerous, and the inhabitants scattered over a large tract of country: in most of these villages, and where the population is so great as to require them, Chapels have been erected, strictly native; and have been dedicated to the service of the Redeemer. Some of them are constructed with rushes; others, with bark neatly sewed together; others, with both these materials, conjointly; and one, more substantial, has been erected with weather-board. They are spacious enough to contain between 150 and 200 persons each; and though much cannot be said for their internal decorations, yet they are, for native workmanship, peculiarly neat, comfortable, and well secured from all the inclemencies of the weather. A regular course of visiting is kept up by the Assistant Missionaries, every Sabbath; and the Service of the Church of England is performed by them, whenever the weather does not prevent travelling. At other times, they are visited by the resident Clergyman of the Waimate; and occasionally, on the Sabbath-day, his attention is directed towards them, but only when it is not likely to interfere with the spiritual duties of the Settlement.
In these villages, Sabbath and Week-day Schools have been established, with the sanction of the Chief, under the instruction of some of the people who have previously been taught in the Mission Schools. In the Settlement itself, there are four Schools in active operation; an Infant School, at which there is an average attendance of twenty-five; a School for youths and adults, open from six o'clock till eight in the summer, and from seven till nine during the winter months; a School in the afternoon for the women and girls living in the Station, of which there are generally about fifty; and a School for the infant children of the Missionaries, whose age does not permit them to go to the general European Schools at Pahia. After morning-
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school is ended, the remaining portion of the day is devoted to the work of the Settlement, which must necessarily be very various; and all of which is done by Natives, under the immediate direction and superintendence of the lay-members of the Station. Excepting a millwright to erect a mill, and a blacksmith to prepare the iron-work for that mil], no European has been employed in the work of the Settlement. By the Natives, and, as was said before, under the direction of Messrs. Clarke, Davis, and Hamlin, upwards of fifty thousand bricks have been made and burnt, most of which were used in building chimneys: upwards of seven hundred thousand feet of timber have been felled, and sawn up into plank, board, scantling, &c.; and more than two hundred thousand shingles have been split, and made use of. Three substantial weather-board dwelling-houses, forty feet by twenty, with skilling at the back, and returned at the ends, have been erected; likewise stables for the accommodation of twelve or fourteen horses; stores, carpenters' shops, blacksmiths' shops, out-houses, eight or ten weather-board cottages, twenty feet by fifteen; and a spacious Chapel, capable of holding from three to four hundred persons.
The Mission-houses are fenced in with paling, and contain upwards of thirty acres; and all the inner fences and arrangements are completed. Such was the state of the Waimate early in 1834, the commencement of its fourth year. The whole of the ground within these fences is broken up; some laid down with clover and grass: other parts appropriated to orchards, well stocked with fruit-trees; others, to good vegetable gardens; and portions, also, devoted to the service of the Married Natives, as gardens around their neat little domiciles. Outside the fences, and in what may be properly termed the farm, there are more than forty-eight acres sown with wheat, barley, oats, maize, lucerne, &c, of which about thirty acres were reaped last season. A prospect more pleasing cannot meet the eye of the philanthropist than the sight of the British plough breaking up the deserts of New Zealand; and the youth of New Zealand, themselves the drivers of that plough, and the conductors of the whole business, after they have received their instructions from their teachers and friends. The introduction of ploughs and harrows, all of which were made at the Waimate, constituted an era in the history of the country. Till these implements were brought into use, the people little knew what their land was capable of producing; as but very small portions of it were brought under cultivation, owing to the great difficulty of breaking it up with the hoe or the spade. Further, all the blacksmith-work necessary in a farming establishment, for carts, waggons, drays, ploughs, harrows, &c., was done here. Three wells, upwards of fifty feet deep, have been dug; a dam has been erected, and a race cut for the mill; all the bricks, boards, and timber, used in the Station, have been carted from the places where they were respectively made and sawn; all the stores, household-furniture, coals, &c, brought in from the Kerikeri, a distance of ten miles; and numerous other works have been completed, or are now in hand. The whole of this has been accomplished by about forty adults and forty youths, who never before were accustomed to labour, and amidst all the difficulties attendant on efforts made in an uncivilized land.
Lord's Day at Waimate.
The Sabbath Services are as follows:--The bell rings at half-past eight in the morning, and Divine Worship commences in the Chapel at nine. A native hymn is first sung: the Liturgy of the Church of England, which has been translated and printed in the language of the country, is then read; which is followed by another hymn, and an address delivered to the Natives: the Morning Service then concludes with a Sermon in English to the Europeans; all of whom, belonging to the Station, are present; with the exception of one, who, in rotation, visits a distant native village. The Chapel at this time is crowded to excess, by an attentive and devout congregation; and I have seen hundreds pressing for admittance, for whom room could not be obtained. After Service, each one has his particular duty to attend to some to teach in the Schools, ami others to visit the Villages, taking a circuit of about five miles in each direction. The day concludes with the Evening Service of the Church of England, and another Sermon to the Natives in the Chapel. How many happy Sabbaths have I spent at the Waimate! and how has my inmost soul rejoiced, as I have seen the once-deluded people of this land listening with delight to the sound of the "church going bell," and hastening with willing feet to the House of the Lord! There is something peculiarly pleasing in the sound of the bell, amidst the wilds of New Zealand. Ours, at the Waimate, is erected at the back of the Chapel; and its mellow notes are echoed from the sacred grove above mentioned. In the spring of the year, at the time of its first sounding in the mornlng, the mountain mists are just descending, and resting upon the valleys beneath: the stillness of nature has previously been broken in upon by the lowing of oxen, the bleating of sheep, the singing of birds, and the rustling of the rising wind:--then follows the murmur of approaching voices, as the worshippers are drawing toward the House of God: then the flag, on which is emblazoned the cross of Christ, with a dove bearing an olive-branch and the words "Rongo Pai," or, The Gospel, begins to unfold itself, and to display its colours to the freshening breeze: again, the notes of the bell strike upon the ear, and proclaim the hour of worship, the glad and holy hour of Christian Worship in a Heathen Land--the hour when Jesus, by His ambassadors, proclaims the blessings of His Gospel, causes the wilderness and the solitary place to be glad for them, and the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose; and so waters the garden which He has planted, and the seeds of grace which He has caused to be sown, that the earth brings forth, and buds, giving seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; and instead of the thorn, comes up the fir-tree; and instead of the briar, comes up the myrtle-tree; which is to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign, that shall not be cut off.
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CHURCH MISSION STATION AT THE WAIMATE, IN NEW ZEALAND.
