THE OTAKI AND WANGANUI DISTRICTS OF NEW ZEALAND.
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THE OTAKI AND WANGANUI DISTRICTS OF NEW ZEALAND.
THAT portion of the northern island of New Zealand lying to the south of the 40th parallel of south latitude, and now known by the name of the Wellington District, averages about ninety miles from north to south, by sixty miles from east to west. Its centre is a table land, consisting of a series of plains, held up from the eastern shore by the Haurangi, Maungaraki, and Puketoi hills, which range along about ten miles from the coast. On its western limit this elevated plateau is also sustained by mountain ranges running north and south, and connected with the central group of the Ruapahu and Tongariro, described in our Number for March last. Of these the more northern is called the Ruahine, the foot of which is about twenty or thirty miles from the sandy beach on the western shore, and the more southern the Tararua. The latter, inclining westward, with its bold cliffs meets the ocean at a place called Paripari, about half-way between the islands of Kapiti and Mana. The old road from Wellington, before reaching Paripari, runs for four miles along the beach, where it is shut in by lofty cliffs rising, on the land side, almost perpendicularly to the height of 300 feet. At length, through
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a rocky spur that juts into the sea at high water, the traveller enters on the level country, which, with varying breadth, intervenes between the mountain heights already mentioned and the shore.
This district, protected by the Tararua range from the cold south-east winds, and open to the genial influence of the north winds, and the moist sea-breeze from the west, is agreeable in climate, and characterized by much fertility. Various rivers intersect it in their course from their mountain sources to the sea. Amongst the largest of them may be mentioned the Waikanae, which flows into the sea opposite Kapiti, or Entry Island, about nine miles from Paripari, the hills at this point being about seven miles from the shore. Twelve miles further on the Otaki pursues its course, the level land here being of still greater breadth, and possessing a very rich soil. The mouth of the Ohau lies five miles further to the north, and seventeen miles beyond it is the Manawatu: it takes its rise in the central group, the Ruapahu. The natives of Taupo find their way along its course, which is singularly tortuous, to Cook's Straits. One of its tributaries, called the Tiruinea, has its source in the Puketoi range, which separates the central elevation from the east coast; and between this and the Hauriri, in Hawke's Bay, there is said to be easy communication. About eighty-two miles from the sea, by the serpentine channel of the river, and in a direct line about sixty miles, the Manawatu forces its way through the mountain barrier which upholds the elevated country of the interior from the western shore, and, dividing it into the Ruahine on the north, and the Tararua on the south, enters the sea in lat. 40 deg. 28' S. About six miles from the Manawatu, the belt of level or gently undulating country attains its greatest breadth, and is watered by the Rangitikei and its tributaries. Seventeen miles further to the north-west is the mouth of the Turakina river, and three miles further the Wangaihu; the country between this and the Manawatu being rich and fertile, including much timber and extensive pasture lands.
Nine miles from the Wangaihu is the mouth of the Wanganui. Its source is in the northwest side of the Tongariro mountain, from whence, after a course of 200 miles, it enters the sea in south lat. 39 deg. 57' 19". Its embouchure is half a mile broad, but the depth over the bar at low water does not exceed eight feet. Flowing through a mountainous country during the greater part of its course, it is often swollen with heavy floods; and, in the pumice-stone which it floats down to the sea on its troubled waters, indicates from whence it has its rise. On the western bank, four, miles from the embouchure, is the settlement of Petre. It possesses a small Church and School-house, built of wood. The level character of the town site is broken by two or three low sand-stone ridges, on one of which the stockade is built. The opposite side of the river rises into bold cliffs, and is exceedingly picturesque. There lies the native Pa called Putiki Waranui, and the Station of our Missionary, the Rev. R. Taylor.
About ten miles higher up, the fine broad course of the river, through comparatively level land, becomes narrower, with steep hills on either side. As you continue to ascend the stream, and get more deeply into the mountainous district through which it flows, the scenery becomes exceedingly grand and imposing, the Pas of the Natives occupying the small slopes which are to be found here and there amongst the projecting cliffs. These Pas, scattered along the banks of this river for many miles, constitute one important field of labour to our Missionary, who, from the facility of water-communication, is enabled to keep up with them a constant intercourse. Several of them are frequently mentioned in his Journals--Parikino (Bad precipice), standing on a precipice several hundred feet high; Atene, from whence the mountain Taupiri, about 1500 feet high, a very conspicuous object from the sea, may be ascended; Hikurangi, where the scenery is most romantic, the cliffs ever varying, sometimes 100 feet in perpendicular height, with luxuriant verdure to the edge of the water, the trees flourishing in places where it seems impossible for them to find room for their roots; Pukehika, a formidable place, the surrounding country bold and striking, the hills of various heights and forms, covered with wood, with here and there a cleared spot on which stand the hamlets of the Natives, while the river, winding in its course as if perplexed to find its way out from amidst this labyrinth of hills, gives a finish to the landscape; and Pipiriki, about eighty miles up the river; are some of the names which occur most prominently, and to which we shall have occasion to refer as we open out the Missionary history of this district. 1
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It will be necessary, however, that the more southern district of Otaki and Waikanae;, and the singular manner in which the Gospel was introduced into that part of the island, should be previously considered by us, as having been the first occupied, and therefore, in its Missionary history, introductory to that of Wanganui.
A tribe called the Ngateawa, residing at Kawia, on the western shore, had been attacked by the united forces of the Waikato and the Ngapuhi from the Bay of Islands, whose possession of fire-arms gave them an overwhelming superiority. Unable to offer any effectual resistance, they were driven from their homes with great slaughter, and, under the command of their Chief, Tippahee, retreated to the south, carrying desolation through the intervening tribes, until, after a journey of 300miles, they reached the mainland opposite the island of Kapiti, at the entrance of Cook's Straits, and there settled. Tippahee afterward got on board a whaling vessel, and, notwithstanding the efforts of the captain to get rid of him, made good his passage to England. His motive was to obtain arms and ammunition, and the means of revenging himself on Shungi, the Chief of the Bay of Islands, into whose hands his wife and children had fallen, and who, in sight of the miserable father, had torn the eyes out of the youngest child's head, and eaten them. Tippahee was treated with much kindness in England, but the means of avenging himself were withheld from him; and soon after his return to New Zealand he was murdered by the natives of Otago, on the southern side of Cook's Straits.
Rauparaha, on his death, being acknowledged as the Ariki, or head Chief of the Tribe, inflicted on the people of Otago the most fearful vengeance. He united with him another Chief of reckless daring, called Rangihaeata, and before the blighting influence of these men whole tribes were extirpated.
Rauparaha became, indeed, the Shungi of the southern districts, and laid waste both sides of Cook's Straits. On the southern side may be traced the ruins of once strongly-fortified Pas belonging to the Ngaheitao, who, after sanguinary contests, were driven by this Chief from their ancient settlements to the eastern shores of the Middle Island. The Rangitane have similarly suffered, and are either the slaves of the Ngateawa, or have migrated to the same localities with the Ngaheitao. On the northern side of Cook's Straits, the Ngateawa wrested the country around Port Nicholson from the Ngatekahohunu, and the latter tribe is now to be found on the eastern shores of the Northern Island, around Hawke's Bay. Such was New Zealand--a troubled land indeed, where hostile tribes, under the influence of angry passions, like the furious waves of the sea, were ever coming into fierce collision. It is no unusual thing in New Zealand to meet with districts bearing the traces of a once-numerous population, but uninhabited--the strongholds in ruins, and vegetation growing rank amidst the straggling posts and images of the ancient Pas. Man has been there, but his place knows him no more: the whirlwind of war has left his home bare and desolate.
It pleased God, in great mercy, by the introduction of the Gospel, to arrest this process of extermination, and stay the shedding of blood. When the Ngateawa retreated from their former habitations at Kawia, stragglers of course were left behind. One of these, a lad named Matahau, perhaps brought as a prisoner by the victorious Ngapuhi to the Bay of Islands, had been employed in the families of several of our Missionaries, and had received instruction in the truths of the Gospel. Returning in 1835 to the neighbourhood of Kapiti, where his friends resided, he communicated to them, with great diligence, the knowledge which he possessed. Much inquiry was excited. The Natives began to observe the Lord's-day, and to build places for Christian Worship.
Matahau had brought with him one solitary book, and this soon began to fail. He then commenced writing out portions of the Service and Hymns for his scholars, and wrote, beside, to the Missionaries at the Bay of Islands, requesting them to send him books.
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Meanwhile a supply reached him in the following singular manner.
The Missionaries, in 1835, advancing from the old Stations in the neighbourhood of the Bay of Islands, had taken up new positions toward the centre, at Matamata and Rotorua, each being the nucleus of a distinct tribe; and here Missionary operations were diligently prosecuted, until the rising prospects of the new Stations were unhappily interrupted, in the year 1836, by the breaking-out of a furious war between these tribes. The Mission-house at Rotorua was destroyed, and that at Matamata pillaged. The situation of the Missionaries became perilous in the extreme; and they were obliged to send off their wives and children to a place of safety. In the midst, however, of fearful scenes, evidences were afforded to them that their labours were not in vain in the Lord. Two young Chiefs, the son and nephew of the old Matamata warrior and cannibal, Waharoa, won by the power of Gospel truth, attached themselves to them. The nephew, Ngakuku, had been a desperate character, but, from the moment when the opportunity of reformation was presented to him, he diligently availed himself of it.
This young Chief had undertaken, with a small party of twenty-one Natives, to conduct some of the Missionary property to a place of safety. They had travelled all day, and, toward evening, reached the verge of a wood, where, finding an old raupo house, they resolved to encamp for the night, and, as it was cold, they kindled a fire. This was perceived by an outlying party of the enemy, who immediately marched in the direction of it, and reached the spot just before the break of day. Ngakuku's party were all fast asleep in the hut, but a dog they had with them providentially alarmed them, and they succeeded in escaping, four children excepted, one of whom the taua (fight) seized and killed. This was the Chief's daughter, and on the same day he reached Matamata, carrying with him the body of his little girl, to whom he had been strongly attached. At her burial, when numbers of Natives from the surrounding villages attended, Ngakuku addressed them with much solemnity of feeling. "There," he said, "lies my child: she has been murdered as a payment for your bad conduct. But do not you rise to seek payment for her: God will do that. Let this be the finishing of the war with Rotorua. Now let peace be made. My heart is not dark for Tarore, but for you. You urged Teachers to come to you. They came, and now you are driving them away. You are crying for my girl: I am crying for you--for myself--for all of us. Perhaps this is a sign of God's anger toward us for our sins. Turn to Him, believe, or you will all perish." Ngakuku was subsequently baptized by the name of William Marsh, and has for many years discharged, with much fidelity, the duties of a Native Catechist.
We desire to place side by side with this memorial of the past a brief extract from a recent Journal of Archdeacon Brown, our Missionary at Tauranga, in the Middle District.
"Jan. 17, 1850--I went on to Kuranui. William Marsh accompanied me from Maungatautari. We met, at this place, Paul Uita, who, in his heathen state, murdered the only daughter of William Marsh. To night they were engaged together worshipping God at their Prayer-meeting, and are apparently on the most friendly terms. Surely the source of this must be looked for in something deeper than natural feeling: who but the Christian loves his enemy?"
Amongst the plunder taken by the Rotorua Natives on this occasion were some books. One was the Gospel of St. Luke, with Ngakuku's name in it: a part was torn out for cartridges; and the remainder found its way to Kapiti, and helped on the work there, many of the Natives learning to read.
In September 1839, two young men, the son and nephew of Rauparaha, arrived at the Bay of Islands, having come this journey of 500 miles in the hope of obtaining Missionaries. It was found that they could read well, and the opportunity for usefulness appeared so great, that the Rev. Messrs. W. Williams and Hadfield set out to visit this part of the island.
Landing at Port Nicholson, they walked overland to the part of the coast opposite to Kapiti. At several places the people came out to welcome them, inviting them to remain and partake of their hospitality; nor would they allow them to pass without receiving from them a few words of instruction, as they said that they also were believers in Jesus Christ. As they drew near Waikanae numbers joined the party, and there, on their arrival an hour before sunset, a most gracious reception awaited them. They were conducted into a spacious area within the Pa, where about 1200 people were assembled. There was just time to hold Service before sunset, when two hymns were sung, the tunes of which were purely native-- quite original. Afterward, some of the Chiefs came to the Missionaries' tent, and talked with them until they could talk no more.
The next day they proceeded to Kapiti Island, where Rauparaha resided. He was then between fifty and sixty years of age, with remarkably Jewish features, an aquiline nose, and a cunning expression of counte-
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nance. The Missionaries, however, discovered nothing of savageness in his manner. He received them graciously, and entered into conversation with them, acknowledging the necessity of renouncing his evil practices. He said he had written twice to them to come: at last he had sent his son: that they had done well in having come at last; and now that he had seen them with his eyes, and heard their words, he would lay aside his evil ways, and turn to the book.
Happy would it have been for him had he adhered to that resolution; but with the increasing number of European settlers new causes of contention arose, and his hands were again stained with blood. Rauparaha and Rangihaeata were prominent actors in the massacre of Wairau. Subsequently, the latter Chief took up arms against the Government. Rauparaha, more crafty, refrained from openly joining the war-party, although in secret furnishing them with arms and ammunition; when he was arrested by order of the Governor, and kept on board a man-of-war for many months. He died recently. During his latter years he was attentive to the teaching of the Missionaries, and occupied himself very earnestly in the erection of the new Church at Otaki.
The Natives were in much confusion at the time of the Missionaries' arrival. The Ngateraukawa, a tribe related to the Ngateawa, driven from their ancient homes in the centre of the island, around the sources of the Waikato, had settled at Otaki and along the river Manawatu. The whole of the coast, from Port Nicholson to Taranaki, is an exposed lee-shore, and the only place where ships can anchor in safety is in the roadstead of Kapiti, where the Ngateawa had established themselves. The neighbourhood of this anchorage, because of its trading advantages, the Ngateraukaua resolved to possess themselves of, and proceeded to expel the Ngateawa from their settlement of Waikanae, opposite to Kapiti. The inhabitants of the village were at the time altogether indisposed to war: through the labours of Matahau they had been much changed. A new and tranquillizing object had been presented to them, in the message of mercy through Jesus Christ. They wished to sit in peace, that they might learn more of it. They had built themselves a Church, neatly lined with tall reeds, and were in daily expectation of a Missionary from the Bay of Islands, in answer to Rauparaha's messengers. Compelled, however, to defend themselves, they did so bravely, and repulsed the aggressors with the loss of sixty men. They lost, themselves, sixteen men, and had many wounded. Their own dead they buried; not only so, but instead of feasting on the dead bodies of their enemies, they buried them with their garments, muskets, and ammunition, in one common sepulchre, which they enclosed and made tapu.
The Missionaries at once addressed themselves to the pacification of the tribes, and resolved on proceeding to Otaki in the hope of persuading the Ngatiraukaua to desist from the war. Several days were passed among them, instruction given to numbers who flocked round the Missionaries' tent, and many conferences held with the Chiefs on the subject of peace. It was at length resolved that the Chiefs, with a strong body of their people, to the number of 300, should proceed toward Waikanae, the Missionaries accompanying them. All were highly tapued, and all, even the Missionaries, prohibited from eating until they should have reached the enemy's Pa. About 100 yards in advance a person preceded, carrying the Aitua, or Sacred Spear. The people were in full military costume, their heads dressed with feathers, their best mats on, and some with shawls tied round their waists. About three miles from Waikanae the Missionaries, who had not tasted any food, except a small piece of biscuit, from noon of the previous day, were permitted to drink at a brook, and were then directed to go forward, announcing the willingness of the Otaki Chiefs for peace, and inviting the Ngateawa to put up the white flag. On reaching the Pa, they were received with much kindness: all assembled for discussion; some angry expressions were heard, but the general voice was for peace; and Matahau, who had married the Chiefs daughter, was selected to go out and ratify with the opposite party a treaty to that effect. So terminated what had threatened to be a prolonged and sanguinary contest.
A few days afterward Mr. Williams set out on his return to the Bay of Islands by a new route, previously unexplored by any European, through the heart of the island, a distance of 300 miles. But before his departure, the young man Matahau, who had been instrumental in communicating so much knowledge of Divine things to his countrymen, was baptized by the name of Joseph.
In the hope of giving permanency to this happy commencement of his labours, and that not only the Ngateawa, but also the Ngatiraukaua, might have every opportunity of instruction, Mr. Hadfield resolved to have a house in each tribe, one at Waikanae and the other at Otaki, about twelve miles distance, so as to spend a week at a time at each place. The Ngateawa paid great attention to his instructions; the usual attendance on the Lord's-day at the Pa where he resided being above
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500, 100 attending a School daily, and very many beside, who did not attend School, learning to read and write by possessing themselves of a book or part of a book, and spelling it over until they were fully acquainted with every word in it.
From the Ngatiraukaua tribe the reception which the Gospel at first met with was very different: the Chiefs and leading men determinately opposed it. They asked, "Why did you not come here before? You allowed your countrymen to teach us the use of guns, powder, balls, and rum, and then you come and tell us to leave them all for your book." Yet there were indications which encouraged the hope that this opposition would not be of long continuance. Many of the young people attended, as well as many slaves; and in July 1840 Mr. Hadfield was enabled to state, that the number of Natives in the district who met together daily for prayers could not be less than 4000. The Gospel continued to make rapid yet steady progress, the ancient superstitions were generally abandoned, and they who still practised them did so in secret, as if conscious they were unsuited to the light of day. The instructions given were attentively received: instead of the war which raged on Mr. Hadfield's arrival, peace prevailed, so that the Chiefs of the respective tribes visited each other without fear or suspicion. In Feb. 1841, eighteen Schools were in operation in different places, where more than 600 Natives attended for daily instruction; and in Mr. Hadfield's Report for the year ending July 1843, it appears that no fewer than 244 adults had been baptized during that period, while the Communicants at Waikanae had increased to 140, and those at Otaki to 115. The remnant of the heathen party at the latter place, from whom, during four years, Mr. Hadfield had met with great opposition, had at last come to seek instruction, expressing their earnest desire to become the true worshippers of God. The same Missionary spirit, through which the Gospel had reached even to them, began to display itself in the Christian Natives toward their heathen brethren. Several Christian Teachers were sent down as far as Stewart's Island, where the Natives were anxious for instruction, and also to Chatham Island, where peace had been made amongst the small contending tribes.
Mr. Hadfield repeatedly visited the southern side of Cook's Straits, scattering around the seeds of Gospel truth. He had also penetrated 100 miles up the beautiful river Manawatu. He found the Natives in the habit of meeting daily for prayers, and at Rewarewa, 90 miles up the river, they had built a good Church, and were in regular attendance at School.
Such was the promising state of this district, when, in 1843, the unhappy conflict at Wairau, near Cloudy Bay, took place. Considerable excitement subsequently arose amongst Settlers and Natives, and mutual suspicion and distrust. The position of the Missionary became difficult and painful. By the Settlers he was distrusted as sympathizing with the Natives; by the Natives he was accused of having persuaded them to lay aside their arms in order to facilitate the occupation of the soil by his own countrymen. About this period Mr. Hadfield's health began seriously to decline. Never very strong, his incessant labours amongst a population of 7000, scattered over a line of coast from the Manawatu to Porirua, opposite Mana, or Table Island, proved too much for him; and in the beginning of 1845 he was conveyed from Waikanae, with great difficulty, partly in a canoe and partly by his Natives in a litter, to the house of a kind friend, Mr. H. St. Hill, at Wellington, where all that Christian sympathy could accomplish was tendered to alleviate his sufferings during a protracted illness, his recovery from which was for a long time considered altogether hopeless. In December 1848 his constitution began to rally from its prostration, he was raised again from the bed whereon he had lain so long, and on January 14, 1849, just four years after he had been carried out of his district in the state of feebleness we have described, he was enabled to attend Church, for the first time, at Wellington. During the period which had intervened, the cloud which had been gathering had grown darker, until the storm had burst forth. There had been war both in the north and south. Heki in one direction, Rangihaeata in the other, had come into collision with the British. But now the storm has passed, the sky is clear, our Missionary prospects look bright and hopeful, and at such a promising moment our Missionary is enabled to resume his labours in the Waikanae and Otaki District. The following very interesting Letter from the Rev. J. F. Lloyd, who, in October last, accompanied Mr. Hadfield to Otaki, will show us the present state of our Missionary work amongst the Natives there--
"On my voyage out, and on my first arrival in New Zealand, I heard so many things to the disadvantage of the Natives, from so many persons apparently well informed, that I was almost tempted for a time to think that the accounts I had been reading of them at home were highly coloured, and not altogether to be depended upon. I gladly, however availed myself of the first good opportunity of judging
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for myself, and accompanied Mr. Hadfield in his late visit to Otaki. As we proceeded on our journey, the disagreeable impressions left on my mind by the unfavourable reports I had received gradually disappeared. The cordiality and affection with which the Natives everywhere along the road welcomed back Mr. Hadfield, after his long illness, spoke highly in their favour. The marks of genuine feeling depicted on their countenances could not be mistaken by the most ordinary observer of human nature; and I cannot say whether I was most delighted with the amiable dispositions everywhere manifested by the Natives, or with the beauty and magnificence of the country through which we passed. With a climate highly favourable to vegetation and to the health of man--with noble harbours and a rich soil well watered--with magnificent forests, containing inexhaustible supplies of timber, and scenery scarcely inferior in picturesque effect to that of the most favoured parts of Europe--with an atmosphere as clear and bright, and a sky as blue, as those of Italy, but possessing this advantage, that, while the air of Italy is enervating to an English constitution, that of New Zealand, on the contrary, is bracing and invigorating--with so many advantages combined, New Zealand can scarcely fail to become, when her resources are properly developed, one of the most prosperous and delightful countries in the world, and her people one of the healthiest and most vigorous of the human race.
"At Porirua we were joined by Rauparaha's son, dressed in European costume, and mounted on an excellent horse, and apparently in no respect differing from one of ourselves, excepting in the colour of his skin. Our road now lay through a magnificent forest, diversified by almost every variety of foliage of which New Zealand can boast, but which, no doubt, will one day give place to a thriving and industrious population. Here and there small patches were cleared in the midst of the surrounding wilderness, and were clothed with green grass, presenting a most pleasing and grateful variety to the eye. The road 2 itself was an excellent one; and it is hard to say whether Captain Russell has benefited the country more by the excellence of the roads which have been constructed under his superintendence, or by the respect with which he has inspired the Natives for the character of the British officer. On issuing from the forest, we descended by a steep mountain to the sea shore. The character of the scenery here changed, and we now travelled along a long line of rich coast land, which stretches from Wainui to Otaki, and from thence far away to the north; being bounded on the east by a range of fine mountains, clothed with forest to their very summits, and on the west by the sea. This is a rich and sunny district, and must one day, when brought into proper cultivation, rival in luxuriance the most fertile parts of the south of Europe.
"On arriving at Waikanae, we found the Natives employed in clearing away some drift sand which had gathered against their Church, blocking up the windows on one side, and threatening to burst in the side wall. The Church at Waikanae, although badly situated in the midst of sandhills, yet does great credit to the Natives by whose voluntary labours it was built. It is seventy-one feet long by thirty-five wide, and is entirely of native workmanship. In the evening the whole population of the place was assembled for Service within its walls. Here and elsewhere along the coast the Natives are remarkable for the regularity of their attendance at the daily Morning and Evening Services. Almost all the inhabitants of the Pa assemble every morning in the Church at an early hour, before they begin their work, and again in the evening toward sunset, when the labours of the day are over. In the absence of the Clergyman, some of the Native Teachers officiate; and such is the proper feeling and respect of these people for their religious services, that the Church, on such occasions, is as well attended, and the Congregation as decorous, as when the Clergyman himself is present.
"On the following morning we started for Otaki, in company with Major Durie, the resident magistrate of this district, who seems to be much respected by the Natives along this coast. On reaching Otaki, we found the inhabitants, to the number of about 600, assembled in an open space adjoining the east end of their Church--a very appropriate spot on which to meet their Pastor, through whose zeal and labours they were first brought to a knowledge of that blessed Gospel which has made such a wonderful change in their condition. Some of the Natives were standing: the greater part were seated on the ground in their usual posture. As we approached, the men shook their garments, crying out, 'Haere mai!' their well-known form of welcome. We were not, however, favoured with the tangi, the Natives justly believing this mode of reception to be offensive to the English. But as we remained for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, according to the native custom of greeting their long-absent friends, about thirty yards apart from the assembled multitude, the
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women gave vent to their feelings by sobs and moans, expressive rather of deep sorrow than of joy, while the tears rolled down the cheeks also of many a tattooed and manly face. And as we stood here, with the large Church on one side, the assembled Natives before us, and the tokens of advancing civilization everywhere visible around us, I could not but thank and praise God, who had so mercifully visited this fine race of men, rescuing them from their heathen state, and making them partakers with us of the blessings of the Gospel of Christ.
"When the first greetings were over we entered the Church--a noble building, when we consider by whom it was erected. It is eighty feet long by thirty-six wide, and forty high, and is entirely of native workmanship. The walls are built of huge pieces of totara wood, coloured red, of about three feet in breadth, and nineteen feet in height, and of great strength and thickness. These are let firmly into the ground, and are placed upright at intervals of about three feet, the spaces between being filled up with that peculiar network that is sometimes to be seen in the better description of native dwellings, but which is executed in Otaki Church in a manner superior to any I have met with elsewhere. The ridge-piece of the roof, which runs the whole length of the building, and is formed of one magnificent piece of totara wood, is supported by three huge pillars of the same timber, running up the centre of the building. The interior would undoubtedly look much better if the roof had been supported by two rows of pillars, instead of one, thus forming a centre and two side-aisles; but a roof constructed in this manner would have required a degree of skill which the Natives are not yet masters of, and they naturally wished to have the gratification of building the Church entirely by their own hands, without any assistance from strangers. The Church is to be lighted by six lancet-shaped windows on each side, eleven feet in height, by about twenty inches or two feet in width, and by four of the same shape, but of larger dimensions, at the east end. When the whole building is completed, it will, I believe, be a standing proof in the country of this fact--that the Natives have quite as much natural capacity for the arts as ourselves; and that in a very few years, if they advance as they are now doing, they will furnish as skilful mechanics as are to be found even amongst our own people.
"The village--or town, as the Natives call it--of Otaki is not yet finished. Two private houses have been built, which would be comfortable residences for any Europeans; but most of the Natives are at present residing in temporary huts, as they very properly wish to complete the Church before they commence their own dwellings. The town, however, has been laid out according to a regular plan, and will be intersected by wide streets, which are to be adorned by rows of trees. A good site also has been chosen, and the machinery already provided, for a mill, which will be commenced immediately. The Church and the two private dwellings already finished give some idea of what the town will be when it is completed; and I have no doubt that Otaki will yet afford one of the most interesting proofs that the world has ever exhibited, of the power of the Christian religion in elevating the mind and heart of man out of the depths of degradation into which they are sunk by ignorance and sin, and in refining and civilizing mankind.
"In the evening there was a Congregation of about 600 in the Church, which was larger than usual, many Natives having come in for the occasion from the neighbouring Pas. I was delighted with the alacrity and regularity with which the Natives here, and elsewhere along the coast, attended the daily Morning and Evening Services of their Church. It was quite manifest that they did not regard their Religious Services as an irksome duty which it was necessary to fulfil, and which they had a superstitious fear of neglecting; but rather as a happy privilege, from which they would not absent themselves unless compelled by sickness, or by some other urgent cause. And as the mothers on such occasions have no one to leave at home in charge of their infant children, they carry them upon their backs to Church, closely wrapped up in their blankets or shawls, according to the Maori fashion. Morning Service commences at Otaki, in winter, as soon as it is light, in summer about five o'clock, and Evening Service about sunset, when the work of the day is over. Every morning, as soon as the Service is concluded, School commences, which is attended by. almost the whole Congregation, consisting of old and young, women, and children. The adults are formed into classes in the Church, as there is no other building large enough to contain them all; or, if the weather be sufficiently fine, they assemble upon the grass outside. The young are drafted off to the School-house. In the daily Morning School, which continues about one hour, some classes are instructed in the Catechism which has been drawn up for the use of the Natives: others, who have learned their Catechism, are taught to read and write on alternate days. The majority of the adults can both read and write well. Some classes write from dictation, and seldom are any of these known to make a mistake in spelling. They seem to have a
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peculiar facility in learning to write; and I have no hesitation in saying, that I have never witnessed in any School for the poorer classes, in England, Ireland, or Scotland, better writing, on the whole, than that which I have seen at Otaki. Some few individuals in the larger Schools at home, no doubt, excel the Natives of Otaki in penmanship; but then the latter labour under great disadvantages: they have neither desks nor paper: they sit upon the ground, and write upon slates with pencils. From this remarkable facility in learning to write, and from the accuracy with which they can draw straight lines in their cultivations by the unassisted eye, as well as from many other circumstances, I conclude that they would make superior draughtsmen. It is a singular as well as most interesting sight to see the old tattooed Natives, from the highest Chief down to the lowest member of society, sitting promiscuously in their respective classes, and catechized, perhaps, by some younger member of the Congregation, who has been chosen for the office of Monitor on account of his consistent conduct and superior attainments. There I saw, every morning, amongst other men of note, the old and once-powerful Chief Rauparaha, who, notwithstanding his great age, of more than eighty years, is seldom missed from his class, and who, after a long life of perpetual turmoil, spent in all the savage excitement of cruel and bloody wars, is now to be seen every morning, in his accustomed place, repeating those blessed truths which teach him to love the Lord with all his heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and his neighbour as himself.
"It was amusing to see many of the chief men and older members of the tribe in the lowest classes in the School; for they, having more to give up, were naturally slower in embracing Christianity, and consequently have not, in general, made so much progress as the younger members of the tribe. The Morning School breaks up about half-past seven; and such is the good training into which these people have been brought, and the proper feeling which they show, that there seems to be little or no difficulty now in keeping up a regular attendance at this School. Besides, one of the most promising and encouraging features in the native character is their extraordinary thirst for information.
"At ten o'clock the children and young people are again assembled at the Daily School, and are instructed until twelve o'clock in reading, writing, arithmetic, Catechism, and English. The average attendance at this School is 140, which, in fact, includes all the young people of the place. The School is conducted by Native Teachers, with the exception of the English department, for which an English Master has been provided. The Native Teachers give their services gratuitously; for although it is the intention, if possible, to provide funds for their remuneration, yet up to this time they have received none, nor do they expect any. An excellent piece of rich land, of about thirty acres, in the immediate neighbourhood of the village, has been set apart by the Natives for the use and support of the School, and the schoolchildren and Native Teachers are employed^ after school-hours, in the cultivation of this land. By this means the School will be made to support itself, should funds from other quarters fail; while at the same time important instructions in agriculture are thus communicated to the young, and, through them, to the rest of the inhabitants.
"On the Sunday which was appointed for the administration of the Lord's Supper, the 7th of October, there, was a Congregation at each of the three Services of between 700 and 800. The large Church was filled to overflowing. Most of the vast assembly sat upon the ground in the usual native posture, and were closely packed together, presenting a dense mass of human faces. Those who have adopted the European costume sat upon benches at the east end and along the sides of the Church. Never have I seen in any English Congregation more reverence or devotion than I witnessed upon this occasion; and I may safely say the same of all the Public Services that I attended at Otaki, and the other villages along the coast. The responses of our beautiful Service were given with a fervour and unanimity, such as I have never heard in any Church in our own more favoured country. The Hymns, that have been printed at the end of the Maori version of our Prayer-book, were sung by the whole multitude with a heartiness which rendered them much more grateful to the ear than better performances which are confined to a few individuals in the Congregation. And as I looked along the dense mass of human faces, and saw the eagerness with which they drank in every word of the discourse that was delivered to them, I could not but wonder at the marvellous change which, by the grace of God, has been effected, in so short a time, in this people, once notorious through the world for their savage ferocity. After the mid-day Service was concluded, 130 individuals were admitted to the Lord's Supper. These were the choice and most approved members of the flock, and the solemnity, devotion, and intelligence, with which they joined in the Sacred Service was most impressive and affecting. There is one thing which will be noticed by every stranger on
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first entering a Congregation of Natives in New Zealand, namely, the remarkable precision with which the voices of the whole Congregation keep together in singing, and in repeating the responses. The voices of the whole multitude, no matter how large the Congregation may be, keep such perfect time, that they seem like one voice: no one is heard lagging behind or going before the rest, but every tongue strikes, not only the same word, but the same syllable of the word, and leaves it at the same instant of time. The Germans are generally reputed to be the best timeists in Europe; but what the Germans acquire by much labour, and after long practice, the New Zealanders accomplish naturally and without effort. This extraordinary faculty for time would, I have no doubt, cause them to take great delight in the practice of choral music; and they possess, I am persuaded, natural musical powers, quite equal, if not superior, to those of any nation in Europe. Their native tunes, which strongly resemble the most ancient chaunts of the Western Churches, and which are by no means the easiest style of music, were sung by the whole Congregation at Otaki, from the oldest man to the youngest child, in perfect tune as well as time.
"The change that has been effected in the social and religious condition of the Natives at Otaki has not been confined to that one locality: I found the same great work going on, though not perhaps with the same rapidity, in all the villages that I visited in the surrounding district. We spent a few days at Moutoa, on the Manawatu river, about thirty miles from Otaki. Here, at the Sunday Services, there was a Congregation of about six hundred assembled in the Church, all apparently eager to adopt the same improvements that have been effected at Otaki; for such is the inquiring spirit of the Natives, that whenever any change for good is effected in one place, it is almost sure to be carried to all the villages in the neighbouring country; which fact shows how much more good might be done if the Clergy could concentrate their labours more than they are at present able to do. But unfortunately, although England, Ireland, and Scotland, are literally swarming with young men having no occupation or profession, and who are frittering away their time and talents in frivolous pursuits because they do not know how to employ them, yet in this interesting and noble field for work, such is the paucity of Labourers, that the Clergy are obliged to scatter their energies over a country, varying, in most cases, from fifty to one hundred miles in extent.
"From what I have seen at Otaki, and in the surrounding country, I do not think there is much reason to apprehend any retrograde movement there. It has been Mr. Hadfield's aim, in all his instructions, to supply the Natives with broad principles of action for the regulation of their conduct, and to teach them to apply these principles for themselves to all the practical details of life. Consequently the Natives of Otaki, in place of being guided by narrow and contracted rules, taken up without reason and followed blindly, into which an ignorant people, just emerging from heathenism, are so likely to fall, have now acquired the habit of thinking and judging for themselves: their faculties have been awakened and developed, and their faith has become with them an intelligent faith, a part of their being, which cannot be shaken off without such a moral convulsion as we can have no reason to apprehend. The judiciousness of this mode of teaching became apparent, when, by the providence of God, Mr. Hadfield was withdrawn from his labours by a long and painful illness of five years' duration; for the Natives were then in great measure thrown upon their own resources, and forced to think and act for themselves. But they stood the trial well, and came out of it, as I am told, unharmed. For the last eighteen months, however, the extensive district of Otaki has been worked with much judgment and energy by a son of Archdeacon Henry Williams, of Paihia.
"During our stay at Otaki we made several visits to Rangihaeata, a Heathen Chief of great renown as a warrior amongst his own people, and well known to the English as one of the boldest and most determined savages in New Zealand. He is at present residing at Porotawhao, about fourteen miles from Otaki.
"On our first visit, we found him, his wife, and his followers, sitting in a little circular patch of ground, which they had just cleared, in the midst of a dense mass of luxuriant flax. The old Chief received us very graciously. In his costume there was nothing to distinguish him from the rest of his party. His head was bare, and seemed as if it had never submitted to any kind of covering: the left side of it was adorned with a large bundle of short feathers, which seemed to be a fixture there, for it was quite obvious that both his head and face were entire strangers to water, and to every kind of cleansing operation. His face, neck, arms, hands, and legs, and the rest of his body, so far as I could see, were smeared with red oxide of iron, which the Natives sometimes use to protect the skin from the bites of flies, and of other troublesome animals. But although there was nothing in his costume to distinguish him from the rest of his followers, yet his air and manner at once betrayed the Chief, and would have marked him out amongst a thousand to
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the eye of the most casual observer. He is a tall and powerful man, about six feet high, and well proportioned; his head is large, his forehead high, and well developed; his nose straight, and the rest of his features well formed; and there is an expression in his eye which fully justifies the common report of him, that, when his passions are roused, he is distinguished for his ferocious courage, even amongst a people naturally brave and fierce.
"He began by apologizing to Mr. Hadfield for not being able to give him a better reception; and after a few minutes' conversation, he delivered a speech, of which the substance was, that it was useless for the Missionaries to preach the Gospel to the Maories; that they (the Maories) were by nature bad; that they had brought the evil spirit from the far country from which they had originally come; that the evil spirit was still in them; and that they could not, therefore, be reformed. He then instanced the conduct of some Chiefs who had acted in a manner unbecoming their profession, as a proof that those who embraced Christianity were no better than others.
"In the mean time his wife busied herself in making preparations for our entertainment, screaming all the while to her attendants, and seeming to think the more noise she made the more honour she did to her guests. She was a coarse, dirty, and ill-favoured woman. Round her neck she wore a large ornament of greenstone; her body, like her husband's, was besmeared with red oxide of iron; her coarse and matted hair had evidently never known the use of a comb, nor undergone any kind of cleansing process; and her only garment was a sort of loose gown, which served for chemise, gown, and all, and was so filthy that I could not guess at its original colour. The result of her preparations were some roasted potatos, of which we ate heartily, and a small wild bird cooked in the flames, together with some tea, made in an iron saucepan, and served up in tin mugs, with dark brown or rather black sugar."
We append to this an account of a visit by the Governor, Sir George Grey, to Rangihaeata, at his Pa of Porotawhao, on which occasion the Rev. R. Taylor accompanied him.
When the conversation with the Governor had ended, Mr. Taylor spoke.
"I told the Chief my desire was to speak to him about the land above, and not the land below; that I came, as a Minister, to speak of things eternal. He said this was all nonsense. I told him we were both grey-headed men, and had not long to live: therefore we should show our wisdom in preparing for the world to come, instead of quarrelling about land, on which, at the most, we could only live a few years. He again exclaimed that it was all nonsense: that there was but one law for man and beast. Did not dogs, pigs, and men, all die? Was there any difference between them? Why, then, make so much talk about another life? I asked him if he really thought himself no better than the beast that perisheth; that, as a Chief on earth, my desire was he might become one in heaven, and thus preserve his rank for ever. His followers assented to all I said, and bade me still speak on; but Rangihaeata evidently wished to put an end to the conversation on religion, and impatiently demanded of his followers whether they had not prepared food for us; and, when they at last announced that it was ready, he invited us to enter his house and eat. He ordered all the Natives to go out, that we might not be disturbed. We found a large box, covered with a tolerably clean cloth, and a form, over which a red blanket was thrown. On the table were placed two large basins: one large enough to wash in was placed, as a mark of honour perhaps, before the Governor. On a tin plate were some fresh-baked cakes, and, on a newspaper, was laid some sugar. We had two table-spoons, and this comprised the entire preparation. A lady came in with a teakettle, out of which she poured some suspicious-looking water. I inquired what it was. She said, tea; and, as I begged to see the material it was made of, she went out, and returned with some dried mint. The Governor looked with dismay at the large potation placed before him, as he did not wish his entertainer to suppose he slighted his hospitality. When, however, the lady who waited upon us had turned her back, I took the opportunity of transferring the contents of our cups into a large calabash, from which our followers were drinking. We soon afterward took our departure, when the old Chief, and the entire population, turned out to bid us farewell. This crafty old man has selected the position of his Pa with great skill: a winding path, among deep swamps, is the only approach to it from the coast, along which, I fancy, few military men would like to lead their troops. The children of this world are, in their generation, wiser than the children of light."
And such, we may add, is a New-Zealand Chief in the darkness of his heathen state. How different the aspect which the native character assumes when brought under the renewing influence of the Gospel!
LONDON: Printed and Published by WILLIAM MAVOR WATTS, at No. 12, Crown Court, Pickett Place, Strand, in the Parish of St. Clement Danes, in the County of Middlesex--Saturday, June 29, 1850.
