1932 - Williams, W. L. East Coast N.Z. Historical Records - CHAPTER II

       
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  1932 - Williams, W. L. East Coast N.Z. Historical Records - CHAPTER II
 
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CHAPTER II

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CHAPTER II

The Church Missionary Society had already, under the pressure of urgent calls from various parts of the non-Christian world, begun to speak of the euthanasia of the New Zealand Mission, and to look forward to a not very remote withdrawal from it, that advantage might speedily be taken of the openings for missionary work that were presenting themselves elsewhere. There was some reluctance, therefore on the part of the society to send out additional missionaries who might take the place of those who had been removed by death, or had been incapacitated by failing health. The power of God had certainly been signally manifested in the progress of the mission during the few years preceding the arrival of Bishop Selwyn, who, in his first sermon, gave utterance to the impression which it had made upon him in the words--"Christ has blessed the work of his ministers in a wonderful manner. We see here a whole nation of Pagans converted to the Faith. God has given a new heart and a new spirit to thousands after thousands of our fellow-creatures in this distant quarter of the earth. A few faithful men, by the power of the spirit of God, have been the instruments of adding another Christian people to the family of God." Some people seemed to think that the institution of an efficient native pastorate must follow closely upon so remarkable a change in the people, forgetting that this same people had, but a very few years before, been living in a state of extreme barbarism. The notion however, had obtained currency in England, and had been entertained by some at least of the committee of the Church Missionary Society, that there had been needless delay in bringing forward natives as candidates for ordination. This delay was attributed to Bishop Selwyn, who, it was thought, required qualifications in Maori candidates for Holy Orders which they could not reasonably be expected to possess, such as a good knowledge of English and of Latin and Greek. The fact, on the contrary, was that the Bishop was most anxious to see native pastors at work among their own people; that the standard of qualification required by him was no higher than was deemed expedient by those of the missionaries who were best able to judge, and that he hailed with satisfaction the prospect that was afforded by the establishment of schools, the main object of which was the training of candidates for the ministry. Towards the end of the year 1857 the Rev. C. Baker, who had been for nearly four years at Rangitukia, had been compelled by failure of health to vacate that station and to go to Auckland for medical treatment. As there was no English missionary to take his place the opportunity was favourable for impressing upon the people the importance of their making some provision for the maintenance of ministers of their own race. The district was divided into sections, each of which might, in the course of time, become the charge of a single clergyman. The people of each of these sections were urged to raise a sum of at least £200 towards a Native Pastorate Fund, from the proceeds of which they might receive some help towards the support of their pastor. The Ngatiporou of Waiapu promptly fell in with the suggestion and took steps, by the cultivation of wheat and by other means, to raise the amounts

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required. The proposed fund was strengthened by a grant of £1000 front the Jubilee Fund of the Church Missionary Society, and by various other donations. In the course of the next eight years six districts had raised the amount which qualified them to participate in the benefits of the fund.

The last two official visits of Bishop Selwyn to this part of his large diocese were paid in February, 1856, and January, 1859, and on both of these occasions it fell to my lot to accompany him through the greater part of this district. In carrying out a general visitation be did not spare himself. His first land journeys were, of necessity, almost entirely on foot; and in the later years, though he was glad to avail himself of a horse, if possible, when a horse was not available the journey was continued on foot. His principal work on those journeys, was, of course, the administration of the rite of Confirmation. In carrying this out he always made a point of himself examining the candidates presented to him. This was occasionally a little hard on some of the candidates, who, though well instructed and passed by the missionaries presenting them, might perhaps through nervousness or through a misunderstanding of the questions as put by the Bishop, fail to give correct answers and consequently be rejected by him. There were very few, however, as far as my experience went, who were rejected by him in this district. As to vestments, the Bishop did not always carry the usual Episcopal robes on these long journeys, but only a black silk gown. Before starting on a long visitation he circulated a printed list of all the places which he intended to visit with the date at which he expected to arrive at each. As the places to be visited were so numerous and the time available for each so short, it was impossible to ensure that every engagement should be punctually kept without regard to weather or other casual hindrances, and the failure to reach any particular place at the appointed time might involve the omission of that engagement in order that the engagements following on the list might be kept on the due dates. In those days there were no telephones by which a speedy intimation could be given of an unavoidable change of plans, and the postal service did not extend to any great distance from the English settlements.

On the latter of the two occasions referred to above, he left Auckland in November, 1858, and visited the Thames, Waikato, Tauranga, Rotorua, Te Whaiti, and the coast settlements in the Bay of Plenty, proceeding thence to Hicks Bay, Waiapu, Poverty Bay and Hawke's Bay, then taking the west coast settlements on the way to Wellington, where the first meeting of the newly constituted General Synod was to be hold in the beginning of March. He was due at Hicks Bay in January, 1859, and I started to meet him there with a horse for himself and another to carry his luggage. The latter animal proved to be a great hindrance. She was docile and used to harness, but she was so terrified by obstacles on the rough road which all other horses made light of that, after having caused more than a day's delay, she had to be left behind. The consequence of this was that I did not meet the Bishop quite so soon as I had intended. Confirmations were held at all the principal settlements as we came along. At Rangitukia a middle-aged man, Te Wiremu Mangai, was rejected by the Bishop. We next came on to Te Horo, and then to Reporua. To this place we were followed by Te Wiremu, who begged that he might be confirmed notwithstanding his rejection at Rangitukia. The Bishop was

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so much struck by his earnestness that he confirmed him along with the Reporua candidates.

The weather during those few days was not the most favourable for travelling, showers being frequent and heavy. On our way from Tokomaru to Tolaga Bay we stopped for a little time at Anaura, from whence we took an inland track in order to avoid some rocks that could only be passed at low water, several natives travelling with us. As we began to ascend the hill we dismounted to ease our horses, the Bishop being a little in advance of me. We had not gone far before I heard one of the natives call out that the Bishop was hurt. I hurried to him and found him sitting under a tree looking very faint and having his face covered with blood. After a little while he was able to tell me what had happened. One of the natives was leading his horse in the front, and the Bishop had allowed his to follow, he himself being behind. Seeing that the other horse was kicking at his, he stepped forward to hold his own back, and as he caught hold of the bridle the other animal kicked out and struck him on the bridge of the nose and under one eyebrow. It was a great mercy that the blow was not much more disastrous in its effect. After the application of a little more water and a moderate rest the Bishop declared himself ready to continue the journey, though still feeling rather weak. On our reaching the river, which had to be crossed twice, we found it considerably swollen, but we managed the first ford without difficulty. At the second the water was too deep to ford and the current swift. One of our party rode into the stream and was near being drowned. Fortunately a canoe was found, by means of which we got across without further mishap.

On arriving at Tolaga Bay we were hospitably entertained by the people, and Mr. Waddy, a trader, placed at our disposal an empty room in a small wooden house which he had just got built. In this we made ourselves as comfortable as we could for the night. We each had a blanket and a waterproof sheet which we spread on the floor, the Bishop asking me as we lay down if I had found out the virtues of angle 45. It was a matter of regret that after the afternoon's occurrences he could not be provided with more restful accommodation.

The difficulties of travel and the increase of the European population of the colony were strong arguments for the division of the diocese, which was one of the objects of Bishop Selwyn's visit to England in 1854. The size of the diocese was gradually reduced by the foundation of the Diocese of Christchurch in 1856 and of those of Wellington and Nelson in 1858. The Royal Letters Patent and other formal documents which were then considered to be necessary for the constitution of a new diocese, were brought from England in the case of the Diocese of Waiapu by Bishop Abraham, who had recently been consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury as Bishop of Wellington. He arrived in New Zealand at the end of March, 1869, while the General Synod was still in session, and took his seat in the Synod on March 31st, 1869. As the session was nearly over no time was lost, and on the following Sunday, April 3rd, Archdeacon W. Williams was consecrated Bishop of Waiapu. The part of the North Island of which the diocese was to consist is described in the Letters Patent as "all that part or portion of the Northern Island, otherwise called New Ulster, which is bounded on the south by the Province of Wellington

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and on the west by the one hundred and seventy-sixth degree of east longitude together with the islands adjacent thereto." The diocese thus constituted was inhabited almost entirely by Maoris, and with the exception of the missionaries, the few Europeans were or had been either traders or whalers.

The new diocese took its name from the Valley of the Waiapu, some position in which might be thought to be a suitable centre from which access might be had to the more distant settlements, but as a matter of fact all other parts of the diocese could be much more easily reached from Waerenga-a-hika. The Bishop was therefore under no necessity to change his place of residence, but the enlarged sphere of work involved a much greater amount of travelling. He made the first visitation of the greater part of the diocese in the course of the following summer, going by way of Auckland to Tauranga and travelling thence through all the principal settlements of the Bay of Plenty and so on through Waiapu back to Waerenga-a-hika, the journey occupying over three months. The means of communication between distant parts of the country were at that time so uncertain that, if one had an important engagement in Auckland or Wellington it might be necessary to leave home a month or six weeks beforehand according as an opportunity might offer. A voyage in a coasting schooner to or from Auckland might occupy any time from four days to twenty-four, and then when the business was done it might be necessary to wait an indefinite time for an opportunity of getting home again. 1

In the course of this visitation Raniera Kawhia was admitted to Beacon's Orders on February 17th, at Whareponga in the presence of the people among whom he was to work. He was not young, but he was a man of sound judgment and had done good service as a native teacher for a number of years. He was one of our first candidates for Holy Orders and, after a course at Waerenga-a-hika, had spent about a year at S. Stephen's, Parnell. Later on in the same year the Rev. Rota Waitoa and the Rev. Charles Baker were admitted to the priesthood, and Mr. C. S Volkner to the Diaconate. Mr. Baker, who some time before had been obliged to leave Rangitukia on account of his health, was now fit for work again, and had been appointed to Tauranga to take charge of a central school there. In this he was to be assisted by the Rev. E. B. Clarke, who had recently joined the mission.

The Church Constitution which had been adopted in 1857 provided that a governing body or Diocesan Synod should be formed in each diocese, similar in its constitution to the General Synod, and the first General Synod which sat at Wellington in 1859 had laid down rules for the organisation of such Diocesan Synods. It was evident that, if such a Synod was to be constituted in this diocese on the lines laid down, not only some of the clergy, but all the Synodsmen would necessarily be Maoris and, as the Maoris knew little or no English, the proceedings would have to be conducted in the Maori language. It was felt that, if the Synod could be brought into being it would help to impress upon Maori churchpeople the fact that they were members of a larger body than the local congregation, and that the welfare and progress not only of the diocese but of the church at large, were matters in which every individual should take a lively interest, and which he was bound to help forward as far as

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God might enable him to do so. The Bishop, therefore in the spring of 1861 spent eight weeks on a visitation of the diocese with the special object of explaining to the people the function of the Synod and of getting Synodsmen elected, that a meeting of the Synod might be hold at as early a date as it could conveniently be got together. The Synod met at Waerenga-a-hika on December 3rd of the same year. The number of clergy in the diocese at that time was ten, six being priests and four deacons. Only half of these were in attendance at the Synod, the others being prevented by sickness or some other urgent reason. Of the Maori Synodsmen there were eighteen, by whom most parts of the diocese were represented. Two of those, Rapata Wahawaha and Pitihera Kopu, took a prominent part afterwards on the side of the Government in the war which followed the Hauhau invasion. Two others, Mohi Turei and Hoani Te Wainohu did good service in after years as clergymen among their own people.

The Bishop, in his opening address, emphasised the importance of the raising up of a native ministry, and of provision being made by the people for the support of their pastors. A resolution was passed by the Synod affirming the duty of supporting missions to the heathen, and on the following day a sum of £5 12s 6d was laid upon the table for this object, £3 15s 1d having been contributed by the Maori members of the Synod and the rest by the local people. A committee which had been set up to consider the question of providing for the support of clergy appended to its report a list of contributions which had been made in various parts of the diocese towards an endowment fund, the total amount being £698 11s 4d, to which was added the offertory collection made at the consecration of the Bishop, viz., £48 10s 5d. Mention was made also of a sum of £257 10s 6d. which had been collected on the occasion of the opening of a now church at Kawakawa towards the endowment of the Bishopric.

The Maori members of the Synod, though somewhat hampered at first by the rules which were adopted for the orderly conduct of the business, soon accommodated themselves to them, and afterwards expressed great approval of the Pakeha method of conducting a meeting.

The meeting of this Synod attracted a good deal of interest even beyond the limits of the diocese. Bishop Selwyn in his opening address at the meeting of the General Synod at Nelson in February, 1862, thus referred to it: "With feelings of peculiar thankfulness the report that a Synod has been held in the diocese of Waiapu, which was attended by three English clergy, three native, and three lay Synodsmen, natives, in which all the proceedings were conducted in the New Zealand language."

The next Synod was held at Waerenga-a-hika on the 5th of January, 1863, and was attended by seven clergy and nineteen lay Synodsmen, nine of the latter being from the Bay of Plenty. In the next two Synods the northern portion of the diocese was not represented, that part being already seriously affected by the war in the Waikato.

The Ngatiporou at Waiapu had shown considerable activity in the matter of church building. Within a year after the arrival of the first accredited native teachers in 1838, a large raupo building had been erected in each of their principal settlements to serve as a chapel, in which many

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of the people assembled regularly for Divine service. In 1858 they set about replacing these with buildings of a more substantial character, the requisite timber being brought, in some cases, from a great distance with very indifferent carriage. One at Kawakawa, which has already been alluded to was opened in 1861, and others followed soon after at Rangitukia, Tuparoa, Whareponga and Waipiro. About the same time a movement having for its object the completion of the church at Manutuke seemed to indicate something of a reaction from the indifference which had prevailed among the Rongowhakaata during several years of great temporal prosperity. The carved timbers which had been erected as far back as 1851 had not improved by long exposure to all weathers, but they were still sound. The requisite timber was cut and the work was carried out under the superintendence of Aperahama Matawhaiti, one of the old native teachers, who was a very careful and competent workman, having learnt carpentering at the Bay of Islands. Before the building was finished the people were urgent that it should be brought into use, as the large whare which had served the purpose of a temporary church was getting into very bad repair. The opening on April 19th, 1863, was made the occasion of a great gathering. It was estimated that as many as twelve hundred people crowded into the building, and still there was a very large number outside. A collection was made which amounted to £327, and this, by the desire of the people, was added to the fund for the endowment of the Bishopric.

The work at Waerenga-a-hika had been carried on for several years under conditions of no little difficulty. Before he became Bishop, Archdeacon Williams was the head of the establishment, and everything was subject to his general direction, but this was only an additional burden to what in previous years had been his ordinary responsibility. The whole district, from Hicks Bay to the northern portion of Hawke's Bay inclusive, was under his supervision, and all the congregations were dependant upon him for the celebration of the Holy Communion inasmuch as at no other place than at Waerenga-a-hika was there a clergyman in Priest's Orders; it was necessary, therefore, that every place within these limits should be visited as frequently as possible. In this arduous work I was able to help him from time to time, but as there was no one else to fall back upon it was necessary that, during my absence, he should undertake my special duties in addition to the superintendence of work of every kind that might be in progress at the time. When we were both at home there was ample occupation for both from early morning till evening, but when either was absent some things had of necessity to be left undone. For a year and a half after September, 1857, the boys were under the charge of Mr. C. P. Baker, who had previously occupied a similar position at Otaki. After he left in April, 1859, our efforts to fill the vacancy were not successful till Mr. C. S. Volkner, who had been keeping a school at Tauranga, came in January, 1860. During the interval some help was given in this department by some of the more advanced of our Maori students. The girls, who, owing to the scanty accommodation, were very few in number, were very fortunate in that they were well looked after by members of the Archdeacon's family, with the assistance of Miss Jones, whom, as an addition to the staff, the Archdeacon had brought with him on his return from England in 1853.

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The need of a fuller staff was very keenly felt, and the more so from the fact that there were other duties, quite unconnected with the ordinary work of the station, and the surrounding district, which could not be neglected. In 1857, Archdeacon Williams was summoned to Auckland to attend the conference which drew up the Church Constitution, and also to act for some weeks on a committee which had been constituted for the purpose of revising a portion of the Maori version of the Old Testament, the translation of which having some time previously been completed by the Rev. R. Maunsell and circulated among the missionaries for criticism. This committee met again in 1858 and in 1860, each session occupying two months, but on both these occasions it was arranged that I should attend instead of him.

The health of our settlement was unusually good, though epidemics of one kind and another were unavoidable. In the winter of 1860 the district was invaded by influenza of a severe type, from which both English and Maori alike suffered. This was more keenly felt owing to the inclemency of the season. The cold was exceptional, and at one time the snow lay thickly upon the ground, which was an unheard of occurrence. Three months later this malady was prevalent again and bore rather hardly upon some of those who had suffered from the previous visitation. This had barely passed off before some of our people were attacked by typhoid fever. A party of natives from the Bay of Islands had come in the spring to visit some of their friends in Poverty Bay, and some of them on their arrival began to develop symptoms of the fever. The natives were not alive to the necessity of sanitary precautions and consequently the disease soon spread to various localities, causing many deaths. In November it appeared at Waerenga-a-hika and, as it was getting near the time when all our pupils would be dismissed for their annual holiday, all were sent away, excepting the sick, and some of their relatives who were required to help in nursing them. There were several fatal cases. One of these was that of a young man who, having nursed his wife through an illness of many weeks duration, first influenza, then the fever, as soon as she was convalescent took the fever himself and sank under it. Several of the other cases were severe and required close attention during a long period of convalescence. During the progress of this epidemic there was a qualified medical man within reach whom we were able to call in occasionally. A succession of fever cases continued well into the New Year, so that the month of March was well advanced before our ordinary work could be resumed; and even then nothing could be done with the girls because there was no one to look after them, two members of the Bishop's family having been prostrated with the fever, and being still unfit for active work. One result of the fever epidemic was that the Rev. C. S. Volkner was obliged to leave us. He had to go to Auckland for some matter of business in November, and during his absence Mrs. Volkner was thrown into a state of such nervous excitement on account of the fever that she was for a considerable time quite beside herself, and needed very close attention. On Mr. Volkner's return he found her much better than she had been, though still not thoroughly recovered, and as soon as opportunity offered he took her to stay with friends in Auckland where she could have the medical attendance which she needed. He returned to Waerenga-a-hika himself for a time, but left finally in the following August, and was stationed at Opotiki. As the Bishop had to leave early

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for a visitation of the northern part of the diocese it was arranged that, during his absence, I should have the assistance of the Rev. E. S. Clarke, who was still at liberty as the buildings for the school at Tauranga were not yet completed.

1   The following may serve as an illustration of the difficulty of travelling from one part of the country to another in early days. In 1856 I was directed by Bishop Selwyn to meet him at Wellington that I might be admitted to Priest's Orders. Opportunities of going south were then very rare so, in order to make sure of reaching Wellington in time, I availed myself of an opportunity of a passage to Napier by a small cutter which sailed from Poverty Bay on November 6th. At Napier I had to wait till November 25th for a schooner sailing to Wellington, which accomplished the voyage in eight days. At Wellington I found a message from the Bishop directing me to proceed to Lyttelton where he was awaiting the arrival of Bishop Harper, who was then due from England. After a delay of ten days an opportunity offered for Lyttelton by the small steamer Zingari, which performed the voyage in fine weather in 36 hours, arriving on December 15th. I was free to return after Christmas, but I could not reckon on getting back to Poverty Bay by any definite date, therefore I gladly accepted the suggestion of the Bishop that I should accompany him to Chatham Island in the schooner Southern Cross and be landed at Poverty Bay on the way back to Auckland. I reached home on February 6th, having been away exactly three months. Under modern conditions I should have been back in less than two weeks. No letters which I had written after I left Napier arrived until after I myself had returned home.

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